Maths

Subject Overview

At Cordwalles Junior School, we teach maths using Power Maths.  This is a whole-class, textbook-based mastery resource designed to spark curiosity, excitement and help teachers to nurture confidence in maths.  It is based on a small-steps approach, which means the concepts are broken down so the children can acquire a deep, long-term, secure and adaptable understanding.  It has been designed to support and challenge all pupils and is built on the belief that everyone can learn maths successfully, by building number fluency, confidence and understanding, step by step.  Power Maths allows children to tackle concepts in a tangible and accessible way.  All ideas are built on previous knowledge and pupils have plenty of opportunities to recognise relationships between topics.

Curriculum Intent

We recognise that maths plays an integral part of developing and enriching a child’s understanding of the world around them.  A secure understanding of maths is vital in allowing children to develop real-life practical skills such as reasoning logically and thinking in abstract ways, whilst also helping them to achieve well in other subjects such as science, computing, history and geography.  The aim of our curriculum is to ensure that our children master their understanding of maths at their age related expectations.  We aim to develop children who:

• Become fluent in the fundamentals of mathematics, including the varied and regular practice of increasingly complex problems over time.

• Reason mathematically by following a line of enquiry, understanding relationships and generalisations, and developing an argument, justification or proof using mathematical language.

• Can solve problems by applying their mathematics to a variety of problems with increasing sophistication, including breaking down problems into a series of simpler steps and persevering in seeking solutions.

Curriculum Implementation

A discrete maths lesson is taught for an hour and 15 minutes a day in every year group at Cordwalles Junior School.  Each lesson follows the suggested Power Maths structure but this has been adapted where necessary to best meet the needs of our children:

1. Arithmetic Starter- each lesson begins with an arithmetic starter which supports fluency in key number facts and reinforces key skills such as times-tables, the four operations and fractions, decimals and percentages.  The whole-class approach to Power Maths depends on fluency, so this is a powerful and essential activity.

2. Discover- the class are given a problem to solve, often a real-life example, sometimes a puzzle or a game to explore, which introduces the new learning.  These are engaging and fun, and designed to get all children thinking.  It is often completed in pairs with concrete materials to support understanding.

3. Share- the class shares their ideas and compares different ways to solve the problem, explaining their reasoning with hands-on resources and drawings to make their ideas clear.  Children are able to develop their understanding of the concept with input from the teacher.

4. Thinking Together- the next part of the lesson is a journey through the concept, digging deeper and deeper so that each child builds on secure foundations while being challenged to apply their understanding in different ways and with increasing independence.  It follows the ‘I do, we do, you do’ structure, which gives the children opportunities to think together in their groups and also work independently.

5. Practise- now children practise individually or in small groups, rehearsing and developing their skills to build fluency, understanding of the concept and confidence.  The children are encouraged to use concrete materials and mathematical representations and structures to support their understanding as necessary.

6. Reflect- finally, children are prompted to reflect on and record their learning from each session and show how they have grasped the concept explored in the lesson.

Throughout lessons, teachers use effective ‘Assessment for Learning’ questioning skills, underpinned by Bloom’s Taxonomy, to formatively assess understanding of key concepts, promote appropriate discussion and correct any misconceptions.  Following our feedback and marking policy, teachers give immediate feedback within lessons, stretching and challenging the children through individualised questioning techniques, as well as formal written feedback in books which ensures children are clear on their next steps.

Outside of the discrete maths lesson, children are provided with many opportunities to develop and strengthen their mathematical understanding.  These include:

• A maths based ‘Early Morning Work’ activity once a week

• A ‘3 a day’ activity each day

• The use of targeted intervention groups 

• TT Rockstars sessions

• Cross-curricular and real life maths links are continuously emphasised to children in a variety of different contexts such as assemblies and foundation subjects.

Regular CPD is provided to all staff to enable them to successfully deliver the maths curriculum.  Good practice is shared between teachers and all members of staff are encouraged to continually reflect on their own practice.  Collaboration with the Surrey Maths Hub provides us with the opportunity to continually refine and develop our maths curriculum using the advice of experienced Maths Specialists.

Curriculum Implementation

At Cordwalles Junior School, the expectation is that the majority of pupils will move through the programmes of study at broadly the same pace.  We aim for each child to be confident in each yearly objective and develop their ability to use this knowledge to develop a deeper understanding and to solve a variety of fluency problems as well as problem solving and reasoning questions.  However, decisions about when to progress should always be based on the security of pupils’ understanding and their readiness to progress to the next stage.  Pupils who grasp concepts rapidly are challenged through rich and sophisticated problems before any acceleration through new content.  Those who are not sufficiently fluent with earlier material consolidate their understanding before moving on.  A mathematical concept or skill has been mastered once a child can show it in multiple ways, using the mathematical language to explain their ideas, and can independently apply the concept to new problems in unfamiliar situations.

Teachers carry out formative assessment through AfL in each session and feedback is given to children verbally, through self/peer assessment and through marking.  Teachers then use this assessment to influence their next steps.  Children are rapidly identified as needing further challenge or additional support, and we ensure that this is provided in a timely manner.  Children’s knowledge and understanding is formally assessed each half term using the PIXL assessment papers.  The data obtained from these assessments is carefully analysed by the class teacher using QLA which then informs future interventions and teaching.  The maths subject lead and SLT regularly monitor the quality and impact of our mathematics curriculum through targeted learning walks, book looks and professional dialogue.

What a 'typical' lesson looks like

A typical maths lesson at Cordwalles:

• Follows the suggested sequence and lesson structure of the Power Maths scheme

• Teachers have considered how to deliver the lesson to suit the individualised needs of their class

• Teachers have high expectations of presentation and engagement

• Content is explained clearly using correct mathematical language and vocabulary

• All learners are supported or challenged appropriately through the use of carefully considered questioning/discussions and the use of manipulatives and visual representations

• LSAs are deployed effectively

• Children understand the LI and how this builds on their prior learning

• Children understand how they can be successful throughout the lesson as a result of a shared SC

• Children are provided with opportunities to work collaboratively with their peers as well as independently

• Rich, whole-class discussions take place in order to deepen the children’s understanding and address any misconceptions that may arise

• Children show resilience and determination towards their learning and know what to do if they don’t understand their learning

• Children are encouraged to reflect on their learning at the end of the lesson by RAG rating the LI

• A range of AfL strategies are implemented by the class teacher during and after the lesson to assess the children’s understanding and plan their next steps

• Feedback and next steps are given to children during and after the lesson through VF and written marking

Teaching & Learning

Maths is taught every day for an hour and 15 minutes.  The following documents contain the areas of study for each year group throughout the academic year:

Year 3 Maths Curriculum Overview

Year 4 Maths Curriculum Overview

Year 5 Maths Curriculum Overview

Year 6 Maths Curriculum Overview

SEND

Mastery is an inclusive way of teaching.  It emphasises that through differentiation of teaching strategies, rather than of lesson content, pupils can progress together.  All children can achieve if they are given sufficient high-quality teaching and enough time.  At Cordwalles Junior School, we understand however that many of our children with Special Educational Needs will require further support in order to access and understand their learning.  Class teachers use their knowledge of the individuals in their class, alongside the expertise of the SENDCo to ensure the needs of all learners are met throughout each maths lesson.  Common approaches include the use of targeted interventions, differentiated lesson outcomes, manipulatives to support a conceptual understanding and highly skilled questioning throughout the lesson.

Home Learning

All children receive one piece of maths homework each week which is uploaded onto Seesaw.  The aim of each piece of homework is to further consolidate the learning from the children’s maths lessons, allowing them to gain a secure understanding of the concept.