Intent:

Through maths, children develop essential skills for everyday life. It is our intent that pupils will be fluent in maths. They will develop a strong number sense through exploring the composition of numbers and maths talk. They will develop fluent recall of number facts and use efficient calculation methods. We want our children to make links, recognise patterns and become resilient in solving problems. Pupils will be challenged to achieve their potential and supported to develop a growth mindset. Our children will develop the skills to apply their knowledge in everyday life and enjoy their maths learning. All pupils will be able to demonstrate that they know more, can do more and remember more in maths. 

Implementation:

What does maths look like in our school?

The concrete, pictorial and abstract approach is central to our teaching. All classrooms have a maths working wall and manipulatives to support the learning in maths. These may include double-sided counters, rekenreks, Numicon, base ten equipment or place value counters. The same resources are used throughout the school to ensure consistency and reduce cognitive load. Maths talk is encouraged and children are challenged to justify their methods and answers. 

Maths in EYFS:

How do we plan maths?

Children in all classes access a daily maths lesson. We use White Rose Maths as our main scheme and follow the small steps as our planning. However, teachers may also choose to supplement the scheme with resources from sources including Twinkl WRM, I see Reasoning, Can you Convince Me? and N-rich.

We teach maths through a mastery approach. Teachers use the White Rose Maths small steps and progression documents to inform planning and ensure curriculum coverage. EYFS – Y2 follow the planning for single-age classes and Y3-6 used the mixed-age planning.

Through responsive teaching, we identify and address areas to develop. We use the small steps from White Rose Maths and apply a flexible approach so that sufficient time is allowed to secure key concepts. In Y2 and Y6, teachers adapt the teaching sequence to ensure coverage and allow the children to master concepts in preparation for end-of-key stage tests. 

How do we develop fluency?

Children in EYFS – Y6 start the day with daily maths activities to develop fluency in their recall of number facts and to embed calculation skills. In EYFS and Y1 these take the form of practical or written activities and recall of key number facts. In years 2-6, this takes the form of a maths UFO, which includes questions on the four operations as well as revisiting prior learning through flashback questions. Marking is through discussion and children are encouraged to explain their working out and justify their answers and approaches.

Children in EYFS – Y2 take part in daily Mastering Number sessions to develop their mathematical fluency and build strong foundations for learning in KS2 and beyond.

We use maths sentence stems to structure our mathematical thinking.

How do we mark and assess maths?

EYFS: Through observations during taught sessions and through children accessing activities in continuous provision.

Y1:  Ongoing assessment and end-of-block assessments to inform the next steps.

Y2 – 6:  Ongoing assessment, end-of-block and termly assessments. NFER tests (or SATs) in the Autumn and Summer terms.

Teachers use the WRM small steps statements to continuously monitor progress and assess maths. We use responsive teaching to address areas identified in assessments. We use the White Rose progression documents and may refer to the NCETM Progression Map to identify prior learning where necessary.

Where possible, marking takes place in the lesson and immediate feedback is given. There is no next step marking as the next lesson or follow-up activity provides the next step.

How do we support children who are at risk of falling below their age-related expectations?

All children are supported to achieve through our mastery approach based on small steps. We believe in 'mastery for all and reasoning throughout' in our approach to lesson planning. Manipulatives are used effectively to scaffold and support children’s understanding. Adults and other children model methods and approaches. Our lessons include partner work and promote the use of manipulatives to explain and reveal the maths in order to achieve depth in understanding. We use responsive teaching strategies and adaptive teaching to provide immediate intervention. 

Our strengths:

• Our mastery approach and the use of the White Rose Scheme reduce cognitive load and ensure consistency of maths teaching methods across the school.
• Mastering Number sessions in EYFS, year 1 and year 2 promote a secure understanding of the composition of numbers. As a consequence, our young pupils have positive attitudes to maths, show good resilience and enjoy maths learning.
• In Y2 – 6, our daily UFO sessions promote maths talk and allow the children to articulate their mathematical thinking and justify their approaches. They support our children in developing fluency in calculation.