Maths
Intent
At Ursula Taylor, we want our children to become fluent in the fundamentals of Mathematics, to be able to reason and to solve problems. We have adopted the curriculum from White Rose Maths to achieve this. Our Intent, Implementation and Impact statements draw heavily from the White Rose Materials.
The Curriculum from White Rose Maths embraces the National Curriculum aims and allows the children to become:
- Visualisers: We use the Concrete, Pictorial, Abstract (CPA) approach to help pupils understand mathematics and to make connections between different representations.
- Describers: We place great emphasis on mathematical language and questioning so pupil scan discuss the mathematics they are doing, and support them to take ideas further.
- Experimenters: As well as being fluent mathematicians we want pupils to love and learn more about mathematics.
The intent of the White Rose Curriculum is to provide an ambitious, connected curriculum accessible for all pupils in school from Reception to the end of Year 13. At Ursula Taylor, we use White Rose as our central core from Reception to the end of Year 6.
In Key Stage 1, we complement the White Rose curriculum with 'Primary Stars'.
Implementation:
White Rose is structured to ensure that children learn effectively through the concept that some aspects need to be learned before others are tackled. For example: Place Value needs to be understood before working with addition and subtraction, addition needs to be learnt before looking at multiplication (as a model of repeated addition). White Rose Maths places an emphasis on number skills first, carefully ordered throughout the curriculum. Some topics are not as critical, e.g. Shape and Statistics. which do not require number to be covered first.
Each year the Schemes start with blocks on Place Value, followed by essential calculation skills that children need to success in Maths. This firm grounding gives children confidence and helps them to access the rest of the Maths curriculum.
At Ursula Taylor, we have also made use of the DfE's Ready to Progress Materials, which also link to the curriculum within White Rose Hub.
The White Rose Progression documents (below) detail how topics / strands progress as children move through school.
We also use the NCETM (National Centre for Excellence in the Teaching of Mathematics) materials, especially the documents created to support the Ready to Progress materials and the 'Mastering Number' materials for Reception and Key Stage 1. These materials aim to secure firm foundations in the development of good number sense for all children in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2.
We also use a range of Knowledge Organisers to support children's learning in class and at home. These are added to the children's books each time they start a new unit, to support their new learning and to aide revision and revisiting of each aspects covered.
Some examples of these organisers are shown below.
The Impact of our Provision:
Through discussion and feedback, children talk enthusiastically about their maths lessons and how they love learning about maths. They can articulate the context in which Maths is being taught and relate this to real life purposes. Children show confidence and believe they can learn about a new maths area and apply the skills and knowledge they already have.
Pupils know how and why Maths is used in the outside world and in the workplace. They know about different ways that maths can be used to support their future potential.
Mathematical concepts or skills are mastered when a child can show it in multiple ways, using the mathematical language to explain their ideas, and can independently apply the concept to new problems in unfamiliar situations.
Children demonstrate a quick recall of facts and procedures. This includes the recollection of the times table. Children used acquired vocabulary in Maths lessons. They have the skills to use methods independently and show resilience when tackling problems. Our children build the flexibility and fluidity to move between different contexts and representations of maths.
Children show a high level of pride in the presentation and understanding of the work and have the chance to develop the ability to recognise relationships and make connections in Maths lessons.
Teachers plan a range of opportunities to use Maths inside and outside the classroom, ensuring that our teaching and learning opportunities are inclusive and can be accessed by all of our children. To ensure inclusivity, a number of approaches are used to adapt the curriculum. These include; scaffolding, use of manipulatives to support learning, re=phrasing or representing a question or problem differently, scribing, reading for the child and using a range of differentiated worksheets, tasks and activities to support the individual needs of the children.
At the end of each year we expect the children to have achieved the 'Age Related Expectations' (ARE) for their year group. Some children will have progressed further and will be working at 'Greater depth'. Children who have made less than the expected rate of progress will receive additional support, through small group work, pre-learning, intervention and in some cases, through a Learning Support Plan if they need additional support above the level provided through quality first teaching.
Every half term we assess the progress our children are making through a range of assessment strategies. These include White Rose Maths, end of term and end of unit assessments, PUMA (Rising Stars assessments) and SATs papers for Year 2 and Year 6 children. The information gathered through day to day teaching and more formal assessments is used to inform our next steps for teaching, to determine any gaps in learning and identify any misconceptions that children may have.