Maths

‘To strive for excellence in learning and all that we do’

As a school, we believe that pupils should strive for excellence in maths. This underpins our approach to how we deliver the subject to a high standard across the school. We want our children to enjoy, engage and achieve on a daily basis. Maths is embedded in everything we deliver in our whole school curriculum.

Intent
At Great Dunmow Primary School, we believe that all pupils deserve to engage in a relevant maths curriculum that allows them to develop key life skills and gain an understanding of how maths fits into the wider world. We want pupils to understand how their learning relates to real life, everyday situations, as well as future employment. Our curriculum adopts the mastery approach, where we aim for every child to leave school having mastered the key skills that they will need to progress further as learners. We strive for pupils to have secure and embedded knowledge alongside a passion and enjoyment for the subject. Our learning outcomes are focused on the fundamentals that underpin all aspects of maths, allowing pupils to make links in their learning to further develop their understanding and become independent thinkers. Our curriculum allows pupils to reason mathematically, using subject specific vocabulary, and develop investigative skills. They are also taught to problem solve independently through application of their knowledge to a wide range of question types and styles. We endeavour to mould our pupils into learners that persevere through challenges and find solutions from the strategies that they have been taught.

 Implementation

Within our maths lessons, we follow a sequential curriculum, which builds upon previous knowledge and aims to deepen their understanding. We adapt our lessons to suit the diverse needs of our pupils through streaming and a concrete, pictorial and abstract approach. We encourage the children to develop their own lines of enquiry and explore concepts and links between their knowledge. Our children think independently when problem solving, which allows them to engage and use their understanding of a variety of skills. We follow the White Rose Scheme, ensuring that all mathematical areas are covered in depth across the school and that there is continuity across all year groups. This allows us to deliver a curriculum that revisits concepts through fluency to ensure that learning is committed to long term memory. We have developed a calculation policy that allows the children to build upon their understanding of relevant methods, choosing them efficiently. Through the experiences we provide the children, they are given opportunities to access competition and challenge. We encourage pupils to access maths at home by using online resources that are tailored to what they are learning. Teachers use regular feedback and assessment to inform lessons and interventions, ensuring that all misconceptions are picked up and addressed quickly. Times tables and arithmetic skills are embedded throughout our curriculum so that pupils develop fluency, helping them understand maths in all contexts.

Impact

At the end of a child’s learning journey at our school, we aim for them to be able to independently solve problems, using reasoning and the fluency of the key skills. The knowledge they gain from a memorable curriculum ensures they are able to apply their knowledge in the wider world. The consistent approach to assessment across the school means that children’s progress is measured accurately and gives teachers the power to provide a relevant curriculum for their class. Assessment is carried out on a daily basis in lessons, and alongside formal assessment, gives teachers the opportunity to track individual progress and benchmark against national standards. The way we adapt our curriculum to suit the diverse needs of our pupils allows all children to make progress and achieve outcomes that are relevant to them. The achievements of our children are demonstrated in the high standard of results and data across the school, which we are immensely proud of and strive to maintain. Pupil voice informs us that our children are confident and enthusiastic about the subject and remember what they are learning. All children believe that they can be capable mathematicians and endeavor to achieve in every lesson because of our high expectations and whole school positive attitudes. All staff feel responsible for our pupils making progress and are supported to achieve this by the leadership team. The maths coordinators closely monitor the impact of teaching and learning to ensure the curriculum is kept relevant, accessible and engaging for all learners.

Mr A. Coleman - Mathematics Lead