Mather Street Primary School

Mathematics

Intent: 

At Mather Street Primary School, we use the sequence of small steps from White Rose Maths to structure our high-quality maths curriculum. This framework is supplemented with other resources to provide appropriate national curriculum coverage that is challenging and enjoyable so that the children are given the opportunity to become confident mathematicians. We aspire for children to become fluent mathematicians; develop an in-depth understanding of mathematical concepts; and be able to reason mathematically and solve mathematical problems. Children throughout the school follow a mathematical process based on the CPA approach where they learn a mathematical concept using concrete apparatus, learn to represent it pictorially and then use the skills they have learnt in an abstract way to carry out calculations. The Mastering Number at Reception and KS1 programme helps children develop fluency in calculation and confidence and flexibility with number.

Implementation: 
At Mather Street, we use the White Rose small steps to plan our sequence of maths lessons to ensure that children develop skills sequentially, building a depth of understanding for each mathematical skill.  To support our teachers with the planning and delivery of high-quality maths lessons, we use a range of planning resources including those provided by White Rose, NCETM and Master the Curriculum. Our curriculum supports children with ‘bridging the gap’ between abstract mathematical concepts and concrete representations that they can manipulate and draw up. Our children access concrete, pictorial and abstract mathematical learning alongside rich language.   All classrooms are resourced with high-quality concrete manipulatives, which support our pupils in making meaningful mathematical links so that they are able to talk more effectively about the maths they are doing. 
All children are expected to succeed and make progress from their starting points and as such all children, regardless of their attainment, work through fluency, reasoning and problem-solving activities. Children have opportunities to revisit prior learning so that they develop and retain their fluency of mathematical facts. All teachers in KS2, plan and deliver additional maths sessions to support children’s fluency development. Reception and KS1, develop and demonstrate good number sense through engagement with the Mastering Number programme. Times Table Rock Stars is a tool used, at home and in school, to help support children with their times table facts. Individual pupil successes are celebrated weekly in our assemblies. 

All teachers are exposed to high quality CPD to help support their teaching and delivery of mathematics. Through our teaching, we continuously monitor children’s progress against the expected attainment for their age. We have termly pupil progress meetings with members of our senior leadership team.  Teachers update Sonar Tracker (our assessment tracker) on a termly basis. The main purpose of our assessments is to ensure that we are providing high quality provision for all children.  

Impact: 

After the implementation of our maths curriculum, our children understand the relevance of what they are learning in mathematics and how it links to everyday life.  Our pupils, foster an enjoyment of mathematics and this is evident in pupil feedback and the pride they take in their work. Our books evidence varied fluency, reasoning and problem-solving tasks and show progression through the school. Children demonstrate and show a deeper level of understanding: retaining taught concepts and knowledge, due to the CPA approach; are able to reason with increased confidence; and think analytically, approaching problems in various ways. Our outcomes are strong, and national average or above in end of key stage two testing. Most of our pupils are ready for their next stage of education. Those pupils that do not meet end of year expectations, still make good progress from their starting points. 

NCETM - Mastering Number Programme

This project aims to secure firm foundations in the development of good number sense for all children from Reception through to Year 1 and Year 2. The aim over time is that children will leave KS1 with fluency in calculation and a confidence and flexibility with number. Attention will be given to key knowledge and understanding needed in Reception classes, and progression through KS1 to support success in the future. This programme provides the lessons to cover the number element of maths lessons in Reception. As the children move into Key Stage 1, the programme is taught in addition to the maths lessons. 

Home Learning and Support with maths for parents from White Rose

Maths in EYFS