Mathematics
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Intent Mathematics is a creative and highly inter-connected discipline that has been developed over centuries, providing the solution to some of history’s most intriguing problems. It is essential to everyday life, critical to science, technology and engineering, and necessary for financial literacy and most forms of employment. A high-quality mathematics education therefore provides a foundation for understanding the world, the ability to reason mathematically, an appreciation of the beauty and power of mathematics, and a sense of enjoyment and curiosity about the subject.
At Eastlands staff have a passion for high quality teaching and learning of mathematics. We believe that every child can succeed in maths and we aim to instil this belief in the children themselves, fundamentally, we want children to develop their own passion for maths, make connections, progress and exhibit real confidence and resilience when faced with opportunities to further their understanding by using their skills and knowledge of concepts. We are a Mathematics Mastery school; the curriculum approach we have adopted has three key principles:
with problem solving at its heart.
A crucial part of a 'deep understanding' in maths is being able to represent ideas in many different ways for example the children will use objects and pictures to represent abstract concepts. Our intent is to utilise the C.P.A approach in lessons:
Reinforcement of the learning is achieved by going back and forth between these representations and building our children’s conceptual understanding. Our teaching of the meaning of symbols is firmly rooted in experiences alongside real objects and pictorial representations, otherwise it becomes rote repetition of meaningless memorised procedures. Concrete and pictorial representations support with the development of a deep conceptual understanding. Children all access the same curriculum content and no ceiling is imposed on what they can achieve. We recognise that not all children have differing starting points, so the teachers plan additional resources to adapt for our children providing scaffolding and depth according to our children’s needs and use swift intervention when necessary. In our lessons at Eastlands, it is essential for pupils to develop mathematical thinking in and out of the classroom in order to fully master mathematical concepts. We want children to think like mathematicians, not just DO the maths. Our goal is that pupils should:
We support all pupils in developing their mathematical thinking, we carefully plan questions to develop pupils’ ability to compare, modify and generalise and build a deeper understanding of mathematics. The children use mathematical language and full sentences throughout lessons. We want them to see and hear each other and adults talking mathematically, immersed in a positive mathematical environment where mistakes can be made and rectified without concern. Every Mathematics Mastery lesson taught provides opportunities for pupils to communicate and develop mathematical language through:
Children revisit mathematical language from previous years and explore the concepts in greater depth and have opportunities to clarify vocabulary and explore activities that develop an understanding of the different concepts. With this in mind, we have these key non-negotiables which we aspire to for all our learners:
Finally, the Eastlands Mathematics Curriculum is designed to make sure that the requirements of the 2014 National Curriculum for England are fully met. The Mathematics Mastery curriculum is cumulative - each school year begins with a focus on the concepts and skills that have the most connections, and this concept is then applied and connected throughout the school year to consolidate learning. This gives pupils the opportunity to ‘master maths’; by using previous learning throughout the school year, they are able to develop mathematical fluency and conceptual understanding. |
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Implementation During our Maths lessons our pupils are expected to all solve the same investigations by the end of the lesson, meaning the key concepts and objectives are met by all pupils. Instead of accelerating higher attainers onto new content, we differentiate through depth, to develop pupils’ conceptual understanding. The principles of Teaching for Mastery, a product of extensive research into the highly successful teaching practice in Singapore and Shanghai, are used consistently throughout the school. A whole class teaching approach is adopted, keeping the class working together, with no acceleration on to new content. This is to avoid superficial, surface learning and foster a deep, secure understanding of all the concepts taught. In lessons we place a high importance on mathematical talk, children discuss their understanding and explain their thinking, both with the adults and their peers. Accurate use of vocabulary and terminology features prominently in our lessons, with teachers both modelling and expecting it from the children. Children are given maths homework weekly which is linked to the learning from that week and encouraging the children to practise and embed their skills further. Maths in the Wider Curriculum We realise that children learn best when they are able to make connections between their learning through a variety of experiences. Therefore, opportunities to apply maths learning and skills are woven throughout other curriculum areas, for example data handling in science, drawing different tessellations in art, measuring ingredients and working out proportions in D&T and Grid references and coordinates in Geography to name just a couple. Maths Meetings All year groups are given regular opportunities to revisit past learning and to work on key fluency skills during Maths Meetings. These are mostly daily, timetabled Maths sessions, often involving games, competitions, paired work and quick recall tasks. They are designed to be fun, fast paced and low stakes in order to help all children understand and gain quick recall of key ideas. Mastering Number Programme Eastlands are part of a national programme which started in September 2021. Children in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 have a daily teacher-led session of 10 to 15 minutes, designed to ensure that pupils develop fluency with, and understanding of, number that is crucial to future success in maths and academic progress more generally. https://www.ncetm.org.uk/maths-hubs-projects/mastering-number/ The benefits should be: This project aims to secure firm foundations in the development of good number sense for all children from Reception through to Year 1 and Year 2. |
Maths Mastery the whole school overview
Mastering Number - Reception to Year 2
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| Impact Our children are happy learners in maths lessons. They experience a wide-range of learning challenges and know appropriate responses to them. Children talk enthusiastically about their learning in mathematics. In a recent pupil voice a child stated “it's challenging” and another said “If I don't understand I persevere and try and get it done”. From ongoing monitoring and assessment children of all abilities and backgrounds achieve in mathematics. Our aim is to secure children’s understanding and our teachers are efficient in identifying where gaps exist and plan strategies and interventions to close these as quickly as possible. The focus on non-negotiable endpoints provide support for teachers and aims for the children; they guide all mathematical development plans and drive improvement.
Children are encouraged to be good mathematicians and Maths Mastery is a vital part of the children becoming fluent in the fundamentals of mathematics. The frequent and varied practice with increasingly complex problems over time, pupils show increasing understanding and the ability to recall and apply knowledge rapidly and accurately. Children are able to solve problems by applying their mathematics in a variety of problems with increasing sophistication, including breaking down problems into a series of simpler steps and persevering to seek solutions, “I usually get stuck on a lot of questions, but now i just read the question clearly and know the answer straight away”. We listen to children when they suggest ways we could improve maths teaching and learning with one child suggesting “Make it so you get to use objects more” and another asked that we “Do more work in my book”. |
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Useful Websites
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BBC Bitesize is the gold standard when it comes to getting help for your child with their maths homework |
Topmarks. Perfect for helping your kids get their heads round the basics in an engaging way, Hit the Button is an interactive maths game with quickfire questions on: Number bonds, times tables, doubling and halvingu, multiples, dvision facts and square numbers. |
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NRICH is a free maths site born from a Cambridge Maths Project to encourages children to think like mathematicians, become ‘good thinkers’ and generally develop curiosity about the world around them. |
Absolutely jam-packed with fun ways to learn more about maths, this site is ideal for children that like task-based learning and are motivated by tech, as the games are fast paced and full of action. |
Primary Homework Help. Games under lots of categories, fun and helpful when an extra bit of work is needed. |
