“Mathematics is not about numbers, equations, computations, or algorithms: it is about understanding.”

William Paul Thurston

Intent

At Bladon School, we value the necessity to plan, teach and deliver high-quality mathematics lessons that provide our children with the fundamental skills and knowledge to understand the world around them. We strive for our children to be confident and independent risk-takers as they continuously develop into curious and competent mathematicians. With high-quality mathematics teaching, we aim to impart the knowledge and skills that allow the children to meet the underpinning aims of the National Curriculum:

  • To become fluent in the fundamentals of mathematics, including through varied and frequent practice with increasingly complex problems over time, so that pupils develop conceptual understanding and the ability to recall and apply knowledge rapidly and accurately
  • To reason mathematically by following a line of enquiry, conjecturing relationships and generalisations, and developing an argument, justification or proof using mathematical language
  • To solve problems by applying their mathematics to a variety of routine and non-routine problems with increasing sophistication, including breaking down problems into a series of simpler steps and persevering in seeking solutions.

As teachers of mathematics, we strongly believe that mathematic lessons, learning opportunities and environments should be places of surprise and wonder where all children can gain success and procure a sense of enjoyment and appreciation for the subject. We aim to provide low-threshold high-ceiling learning opportunities where children are presented with the accurate amount of challenge to stimulate their minds and critical thinking skills with the intention that this will encourage children to be curious and creative thinkers who ask questions to deepen their understanding.

 

Implementation

Planning

We recognise the importance of mathematical progression in skills and knowledge and therefore, we carefully plan sequenced lessons that build on children’s conceptual and prior knowledge, address misconceptions and give them opportunities to practise and develop their skills before moving them onto more complex problem-solving activities in different context.

To ensure consistent coverage across the school in line with the National Curriculum, in September 2022, we decided to implement the White Rose Maths schemes of learning for the whole school and use supporting resources from Grammasaurus, Twinkl, I See Reasoning, NCETM and NRICH. The White Rose schemes of learning support the teaching and learning objectives of the National Curriculum for mathematics through a mastery approach. They do this by building on children’s knowledge and skills through following the concrete-pictorial-abstract approach of learning to master a concept, building a solid foundation.

Concrete –Using concrete objects and manipulating them to physically represent the concept/method being taught. Examples of this that we use, but are not limited to, include, Rekenreks, Dienes, place value counters, cards and grids, Cuisenaire, fraction magnets and walls, Numicon, multi-link, clocks and natural objects that can be used to enhance understanding and learning.

Pictorial – Using pictorial representations to help visualise the concept or problem that needs to be solved. Examples of this that we use, but are not limited to, include part-whole models; bar models; interactive place value counters, Dienes and Rekenreks; dice and natural objects that match the context on the concept.

Abstract – Once children are secure with the concrete and pictorial stages, they can move onto more abstract questioning and reasoning that involves symbolic representations such as <, >, +, -, =.

Another reason we use White Rose is because, like us, it emphasises the importance of teachers using and teaching children specific mathematical language in order to support children to make meaning and to develop their mathematical vocabulary. Through learning mathematical language, children can confidently and accurately express their reasoning and justifications in both verbal and written forms. Using this language enables them to make more connections within different areas of maths and therefore, build on their understanding.

At Bladon, we believe that the Mastery approach best supports our children to fully understand the concept being taught and we understand the importance of making sure a concept is grasped before moving onto the next to ensure secure progression throughout the curriculum. Therefore, we teach in stages of learning rather than lesson by lesson as we recognise that mathematics teaching works best when it is flexible. This means that we can adapt our planning, based on assessment of the children’s understanding, to give more time to teaching the concepts our children need most support with as well as ensuring we cover each strand of the curriculum. However, we appreciate the need to adapt the schemes and resources to meet the needs of our children. Therefore, have created a whole school mathematics plan which is supported by the White Rose and National Curriculum content, but we order and arrange the content, knowledge and skills to best match our school and our children’s needs.

To ensure we implement the statutory requirements of the National Curriculum for mathematics, we have long-term, medium-term and short-term plans which reflect the concepts being taught and when in the year they are being taught. How and when we teach the concepts, as stated above, always reflects the needs of our pupils and how best skills and knowledge progress through each yearly curriculum strand. We carefully sequence our year group units to build on from one another, so children have the knowledge and skills they need to access the next stage in their learning. For example, we teach area after multiplication because we know that their knowledge and skills of multiplication will help them when solving problems with area.

Assessment

We use a range of formative and summative assessments to assess our children in mathematics. We believe that assessment plays a vital part in each and every stage of the learning process to make sure the content, tasks and delivery is of the right developmental level for every child. We assess throughout each lesson through informally assessing children’s understanding by asking them key questions throughout the lesson, especially during input, when first introducing the concept being taught. We use this assessment to adapt the lesson according to the children’s needs and we record this at the end of each lesson to inform the next day’s planning. This also helps us to identify if any children need additional support and help through interventions so they can keep up and not catch up. This enables us to be proactive with the teaching, learning and assessment cycle.

At the end of each unit, the children complete a White Rose end of unit assessment which is specifically designed to assess their knowledge of each part of the curriculum strand/unit. We use this to identify the areas in which the children are secure and/or need more time to grasp the concept. At the end of each long term, we assess the children using a White Rose assessment. This assesses children on the concepts/strands that they have learnt that long term. We use this to inform our judgements about each child and if they are on target to meeting the expectations of their year group or not and we will then plan accordingly to the needs of the children. Year 6 may also use SATS paper questions to assess their knowledge during assessment weeks.

What a daily lesson looks like

All our planning and assessment informs our everyday mathematics teaching. We teach an hour-long mathematics lesson each day. As we have mixed year groups, we have adapted our teaching style to best accommodate the coverage in each class. A typical lesson from Year 2 to Year 5 will consist of one year group having their teaching input first for 15 minutes whilst the other year group completes a combination of Flash Back 4s, Daily 10s, Times Table Rockstars or Mathletics challenges to ensure we are consistently revisiting prior knowledge and skills to ensure children have the opportunity to learn and remember more. Once the first year group has had their input, they will then go on to work in their workbooks. The children have two workbooks, one White Rose workbook and another maths book where anything the children complete, that we have done differently to White Rose, is recorded. The children are then supported by a TA and have opportunities to work independently, in pairs or small groups. The other year group will then have their input for 15 minutes and then go to work in their workbooks. When they have completed their work, we often use a combination of live marking and feedback, marking after the lesson and feedback the next day or we mark together in the lesson and address any misconceptions. The year group who had their input first will then go onto Times Table Rockstars or Mathletics. Year 6, Orchard Class, are not a mixed year group and so their daily lesson involves completing a Flash Back 4 and/or a Daily 10 as a recap of learning task and then they will have the teaching input. After their input, they will then complete the work/activity set in their workbooks.

In the mixed Reception and Early Years class, maths is taught in groups; children are grouped based on their mathematical learning needs. Each group with have a 10-to-15-minute input from the teacher. The Year one children then work in their workbooks or books, and they have support from a TA. They also have mathematical challenges set in their challenge books that they must complete, and this is achieved through continuous provision. After the Reception children have their input, they also have access to continuous provision where they can learn more and apply their mathematical skills and knowledge through play.

Differentiation and SEND

At Bladon, we value the importance of ensuring learning is accessible to all children and that all can gain a sense of achievement. Therefore, we ensure our mathematics lessons are tailored to the individual needs of children. All teachers are aware of the needs of their pupils, and we work together to identify how we can best support them, through quality first teaching, to learn the knowledge and skills they need to be confident mathematicians, and this is reflected in our planning, lessons and the children’s work.

As the National Curriculum emphasises that children should work within their year group and most of the children progress through the programmes of study at the same pace, at Bladon, we ensure that all children are given opportunities to succeed and be challenged at their level and pace through the Mastery approach. All children work towards the same objective in each lesson, but the content, process and product will be different for individual children. If we identify that a group of children need more support during the input, they may work in a small group with the teacher or TA to be given more scaffolding, modelling, and input. They may need more time in the concrete and pictorial learning stage of the process. They may also only be required to answer questions 1 to 4/5 in their books as this is the appropriate level of challenge. Those that need challenge, may have less or more advanced teaching input and will start from question 3 or 4 in their books and will then be provided with a further challenge to deepen their learning in that lesson from one of our supporting resources.

Interventions:

When required, teachers will plan pre-teach sessions where children are exposed to concepts and skills before the lesson to allow them to practice before the lesson, giving them more confidence and support in the lesson. Revisiting sessions in early work time may also be used to go over things from the previous day to ensure learners are secure before moving on. We are fortunate enough to have access to a mathematics tutor who offers one-to-one and small group sessions to help children keep up with what we are doing in class. The tutor is funded by the National Tutoring Programme subsidised funding. Teachers and TAs may also deliver small group interventions using NCETM progression materials and other resources to ensure children are secure in their learning. We also use the Plus one and Power of 2 intervention booklets for 1:1 intervention.

Effective Deployment of Resources:

We value the significant role concrete materials play in developing children’s understanding of maths, therefore, appropriate resources are always accessible to children. Each class has access to their own set of key concrete objects and resources that are beneficial throughout the strands of learning for each individual year group. Some classes have table baskets or boxes which have a variety of resources that children can access each lesson and others have maths trollies that children can access. We also have a maths resource area where we keep shared resources. As we use the White Rose learning scheme, we also have access to several interactive online tools that can be used to support teaching and learning.

Working walls and displays are used to display knowledge and skills that will be helpful to the children at each step of their learning and will be updated regularly, fitting in with the teaching sequence. Prior learning that helps children to access the concept they are learning will also be displayed in Key Stage 1 and 2 so children can make mathematical connections.

Teachers identify key children for teaching assistants to support during lesson times and interventions. Teachers will explain what the children need help with and how the teaching assistant can support the child with their learning. In Early years, the teaching assistants help facilitate and scaffold learning in continuous provision opportunities planned by the teacher. The teaching assistants across the year groups will also record and feedback any assessment of the children’s learning to the teacher either verbally or by adding to the daily lesson evaluation crib sheet.

Impact

Our approach to mathematics across the school is underpinned by our desire to enable all children to flourish as confident and competent mathematicians. With this at the heart of what we do and why we do it, we strive to achieve the following:

  • Make mathematics accessible, engaging and progressive to all children
  • Create positive attitudes towards mathematics
  • Children to make connections within mathematics including concrete objects, representations, abstract symbols and language
  • Children will achieve mastery through using the concrete-pictorial-abstract approach to support their understanding
  • The children will continuously enhance their knowledge and skills in all areas of the curriculum, and this will allow them to access more sophisticated and complex problems
  • The children will be able to recall and use their prior knowledge to help them with their understanding of their next steps in their learning
  • The children will be able to select and accurately use appropriate concrete objects, visual representations and abstract symbols and methods to solve problems
  • The children have fluent knowledge and can instantly recall number facts
  • The children can show initiative by being problem-solvers and independent thinkers
  • We can celebrate and value misconceptions and what we can learn from them.

Bladon School mathematics policies and documents

External website links