Maths
Maths at Ravenshead
Intent and Vision
For children to learn in safe and secure environment where they are free to explore mistakes and can work to their full age, ability and aptitude.
For children to understand the process of their learning to give them the best opportunity to apply maths into real world situations.
For children to have a deep and secure knowledge of mathematical concepts.
For children to have access to a rich, balanced and progressive curriculum.
To provide children with a concrete, pictorial and abstract framework for learning.
To make sure that maths is a high priority subject that is enjoyed at our school.
To make maths creative and relevant to a child’s real-world experience.
To provide a solid foundation for understanding the world and to allow children to grow and achieve later in life.
To enable children to develop reasoning and problem solving skills.
To build on team work as well as independent learning.
To enable children to foster rich connections between fluency, reasoning and problem solving.
To challenge children.
To nurture a love of maths and a thirst for learning.
Implementation
At Ravenshead we base our maths teaching on Whiterose which is a combination of a mastery and spiral curriculum which makes sure that pupils are exposed time and time again to concepts in different contexts and in different years.
In EYFS, children follow the Numicon Firm Foundations which allows children to see the structure in number, the relationship between number and subitising. It is a visual and tactile programme that allows children to recall information about number quickly and without reliance on rhymes. It supports the six Early Learning Goals and gives children a solid basis for learning in Year 1.
In KS1, children follow the Primarystars programme which is aligned with Whiterose. It breaks the small steps of learning down even further and has far more practical ways of teaching the children, keeping them engaged in their learning.
We use Numbersense in Years 1 to 3 as a daily 15 minute whole class lesson to build fluency in addition and subtraction facts, to build confidence and to plug any learning gaps from lockdowns. It is also used as an intervention across KS1 and 2 where necessary for the same reasons.
In Key Stage 2, in Years 4-6, children are exposed to a daily Anchor Task which develops their reasoning and problem solving skills. These tasks are designed to be talked about and this supports children who may not be as confident in maths as their peers. In Key Stage 1 and Year 3, these Anchor Tasks are found in the Enhanced Provision to prevent cognitive overload and to allow the children to explore at their own pace and ability.
To make sure that we have learning embedded, each lesson will start with a Tough Ten fluency task which is specific to a class/year group need plus a Flashback activity from Whiterose which embeds sticky learning from previous year groups.
Formative assessment takes place during each lesson and children are encouraged to mark their work so that they can see errors and the reasons why they made them. Our marking and feedback policy allows teachers to recognise gaps and to provide same day interventions where necessary.
Teaching of maths is also monitored by the maths lead via pupil voice interviews, book looks and learning walks. These are carried out every half term.
We formally assess the children in Maths every term:
- EYFS – Maths on a Page.
- Year 1 - Primarystars
- Year 2 and Year 6 – Past SATs papers.
- Years 3-5 – Autumn and Spring – Whiterose assessments and Summer – PUMA assessments.
Pupils who grasp concepts quickly are challenged with more in-depth reasoning and problem solving questions. Those children who find it hard to grasp concepts are supported through their learning by adult intervention, concrete resources and additional practice.
Impact
Children enjoy their Maths lessons and are ready for challenges.
Maths is a high priority subject and is accessible for all children.
Children are able to talk about their lessons with enthusiasm.
Children can talk about the different maths days/weeks we have as a school.
Children can relate maths to the real world and take their learning with them to support them in daily life.
Progress is evident across the school.
If you were to walk into a Maths lesson at Ravenshead you would see:
- Engaged learners.
- Supported learners.
- Enthusiasm for learning new things.
- Problem solving and reasoning skills backed by fluency being used.
- Rich vocabulary use.
- Enthusiastic staff.
Successes in 22/23
- The children are very positive and enthusiastic about their maths lessons and can talk about maths in a wider context within the school as well as their learning.
- Numbersense has had a positive impact on learning with children being able to understand the role of numbers and how to manipulate them.
- Fluency is secure and a priority across the school.
- Sticky learning is a priority across the school and is secure.
- Children enjoy thinking about reasoning and problem solving.
- Children making expected or good progress and support for those who are at risk.
Priorities for 23/24
- To monitor and support the children who are not making expected progress.
- To monitor sticky learning and fluency across the school.
- To support teachers in their successful delivery of maths across the school.
- To continue to keep maths as a priority subject across our school.
Teaching Sequence for Each Year Group
