Glenmead Primary School

Maths Curriculum Statement

INTENT

At Glenmead Primary School, it is our intent that all children can develop into mathematicians with the fluency, reasoning and problem-solving skills required for life within and beyond school. By delivering lessons that, as well as building on and strengthening prior knowledge, are creative and engaging, children develop deeper richer connections within and across mathematical ideas, enabling them to enjoy maths and experience success.

IMPLEMENTATION

To ensure consistency and progression, we use a style of Mathematics teaching that promotes mastery: White Rose. Within this, teachers use the CPA (concrete, pictorial, abstract) approach, ensuring children have a connected, meaningful understanding of Mathematical concepts, underpinned by basic skills. This approach allows most children at Glenmead to progress through the Mathematics curriculum at the same pace as others. The school has recently joined the Maths Hub programme to ensure that staff at all levels understand the pedagogy of this approach.

As mathematical fluency is a key skill that unlocks all areas of Mathematics, at Glenmead we work hard to ensure children have acquired the necessary fluency skills to access lessons, as well as calculate efficiently and with increasing accuracy. This way, children can then move onto more challenging aspects of Maths confidently and with pride. Because of this, carefully planned daily short-burst activities support the children’s ability to retain key mathematical facts:

TTRS (Times Tables Rock stars)
4-a-day arithmetic skills
99 club

Children are taught by starting each lesson with a problem that is open ended, requiring discussion, reasoning and can be answered in multiple ways, sparking creativity, inquisitive thinking and respect for differing opinions and approaches. In KS1, there is a higher focus on pictorial and object (concrete manipulatives) for children to use and feel confident whilst making mathematical connections. In KS2, there is a slight shift towards more abstract thinking, to engage deeper thinking and promote further discussion, aligning to real-world problem-solving skills. Teachers use carefully planned, meaningful questioning to promote deeper discussion and challenge in a safe learning environment. Once children have been led through differing strategies and approaches by the teacher, they can independently test their fluency, reasoning and problem-solving skills using these different methods and make progress.

Mathematical topics are taught in blocks, to enable the achievement of ‘mastery’ over time. Each phase provides the means to achieve greater depth, for children who are ready to have the opportunity to experience richer, more challenging problems, as well as exploratory and investigative tasks. Topics covered in blocks are revisited as required to further strengthen skills and are assessed throughout the year.

Our intentions:

Delivering a Mathematics curriculum which is sequenced to develop the acquisition of key knowledge and skills
Providing children with daily fluency practice to ensure increased consolidation and retention of key mathematical facts required to access the rest of the Maths curriculum
Ensuring children develop problem-solving and reasoning skills to become increasingly confident and independent mathematicians by the time they leave Glenmead
Promoting and instilling a love for Maths for children of all ages