Maths

Intent

We want the teaching of Mathematics to introduce our children to concepts, skills and thinking strategies that are essential in everyday life and support learning across the curriculum. Our intention is to help our children make sense of numbers, patterns and shapes to appreciate the relationships and inter-connectivity they see in the world around them and offer ways of handling data in an increasingly digital world and make a crucial contribution to their overall development as successful learners. We want our children to delight in using mathematics to solve a problem, especially when it leads them to an unexpected discovery or new connections.

Implementation

At St. Joseph’s, it is a priority to foster positive attitudes to learning in all areas of maths. We aim to ensure that maths is fun and engaging for all the children as we understand that children’s enjoyment, enthusiasm and confidence in this subject are crucial for maintaining high levels of attainment as well as making good progress. We adopted the ‘Rising Stars’ programme from Year 1 to Year 6 to support effective teaching and learning and to ensure we are able to fulfil our intent. Teachers use the programme ensuring a consistent and effective mastery curriculum across the school. Class teachers use their skills to provide engaging, well-pitched learning activities that allow the children to learn through exploring concepts and topics. The pupil textbooks and workbooks work well together in allowing children to become increasingly independent in their learning. Teachers use the carefully designed questions and exercises provided in the ‘Rising Stars’ framework as a starting point to introduce intelligent practice and teaching.  However, they retain the freedom to develop their own questions and activities, incorporating variation that best suits the needs of their children.

Rising Stars Mathematics is built around four themes: Number Sense, Additive Reasoning, Multiplicative Reasoning and Geometric Reasoning. Each covers the concepts from the related Programme of Study areas. This approach ensures that clear connections are made between areas of mathematics. During maths lessons we feel that it is fundamental for children to be able to move from conceptual learning to abstract learning in order to be able to successfully understand, use and apply their mathematical skills.  Mental Maths with a number focus is planned for at the beginning of every maths lesson. Developing pupils’ understanding of number and place value is essential and underpins all mathematical understanding and are explored daily.

Through quality first teaching, we provide learning opportunities that enable all pupils to make good progress. Every child has an equal right to be taught mathematics, in daily lessons of approximately 1 hour. Challenge will always be present in lessons through the teacher questioning; promoting mathematical thinking and connections; developing reasoning skills and moving from the specific to the general.

Impact

Our maths teaching at St. Joseph’s engages and challenges all children.  Leaders know this because children can talk confidently about their maths learning. Our children are supported in their learning through the use of a variety of resources and their learning is tracked and monitored to ensure all children make good progress. Our children become enthusiastic mathematicians who enjoy showcasing their developing reasoning and problem solving skills. They are confident to take risks in their maths and love to discuss and share their ideas to prove their answers. Our children are able to demonstrate a quick recall of facts and procedures; includes the recollection of the times table. Our outcomes at statutory testing ages are significantly above national levels.