Maths

Curriculum Statement

Welcome to the Maths section of Harlands Primary school website. Here you will find lots of information about how Maths is taught across the school and how children are supported as they aspire to become confident, resilient and enthusiastic mathematicians!

As a school we have a clear ethos and moral purpose.  “A tree has roots in the soil yet reaches to the sky. It tells us that in order to aspire we need to be grounded and that no matter how high we go it is from our roots that we draw sustenance. It is a reminder to all of us who have had success that we cannot forget where we came from.”  How we teach Maths at Harlands reflects this as we work hard to give our Early Years children a strong foundation in the subject.  In addition to this we strive to develop all of our children as independent curious learners who can have the confidence to challenge themselves and solve problems.

Intent

The following principles underpin teaching and learning in Maths at Harlands. These principles, which are applied across the school, are in place to help support all children make sustained and purposeful progress as enthusiastic, resilient, creative and logical mathematicians.

• An appreciation that finding a final solution in Maths is not always the only target and that successes which are achieved along the way are just as important and should be celebrated.
• Developing children’s personal confidence, competence and fluency in using age-appropriate mental arithmetic and written calculation methods is of significant importance because these skills allow them to successfully access other areas of learning in Maths.
• Consolidation and mastery of mathematical topics is of greater importance than ‘speeding through’ the curriculum because the stronger the building blocks that are in place, the more adept and able learners will be to apply their understanding to new concepts.
• All Maths lessons should provide all children with an opportunity to succeed and progress.
• Children gain confidence as mathematicians in a variety of different ways so should have access to a range of approaches, apparatus and contexts in order to support their progression.

Implementation

At Harlands, we recognise that children learn best in different ways. For this reason, teachers - and those school staff working with small groups - make informed judgements based on their professional expertise and working relationships with the children about how best to support individuals and groups of children.

Children’s learning is regularly monitored by school staff to ensure progress can be made by all children in a way and/or at a rate that is most suited to them. Methods used to monitor progress in children’s learning in order to identify effective ways forward may include: 1:1 child/adult discussions; making of workbooks; and termly assessments.

The CPA (concrete, pictorial, abstract) approach forms of key part of all Maths learning. This means that concrete/physical resources are used to develop children’s knowledge and confidence with new concepts. This learning is then built upon by the use of pictorial/visual representations. Finally, the children will be introduced to abstract ideas on paper where they can apply their knowledge throughout a range of fluency, reasoning and problem solving activities.

In Maths and within other curriculum areas, regular problem-solving opportunities allow children to develop their independence and confidence as mathematicians. These ‘inquiry-based’ activities deepen children’s understanding of mathematical concepts as well as allowing them to understand how Maths can be useful in everyday life.

In Maths lessons, school staff combine a mixture of resources from specialist Maths providers such as White Rose Maths and Nrich with age and class-appropriate contexts and themes in order to provide all children with the opportunity to consolidate, master and enjoy the mathematical content their year group is covering.  Through delivering a bespoke curriculum to our children, we are able to ensure that Rosenshine’s Principles of Instruction underpin the pedagogy.

In all Maths sessions and when Maths-skills are being utilised in other curriculum areas, children are encouraged to adopt a reflective, analytical and positive approach to their learning. This is underpinned by a core belief that mistakes are a key part of the learning process. Children and school staff are encouraged to ask and explore mathematical questions as a way of deepening understanding amongst learners.

Impact

We believe that every child has the potential to become a confident and successful mathematician at Harlands.

During their time at Harlands and after they move on, we believe that all children should:

• confidently and rapidly recall and apply age-appropriate mathematical facts;
• become fluent and confident in the use of age-appropriate mental arithmetic and written calculation methods;
• be enthusiastic, resilient, creative and logical problem-solvers, who are able to break down more extended problems into small steps;
• be able to successfully apply Maths in contexts away from the ‘traditional mathematical setting’; and
• appreciate that finding a final solution in Maths is not always the only target and that successes which are achieved along the way are just as important and should be celebrated.

Updated April 2022