Maths
Intent –
We invest time and energy into helping pupils in EYFS to set and reflect on their own goals by aiming high and developing a love of number. This is delivered through a holistic curriculum which maximises opportunities for meaningful cross-curricular links and learning experiences as well as promoting the unique child by offering extended periods of play and sustained thinking following children’s interests and ideas. We value imagination and creativity and seek to create a sense of enjoyment and fascination in learning through a vibrant continuous indoor and outdoor provision.
Mathematics teaches children how to make sense of the world around them through developing their ability to calculate reason and solve problems. It enables children to understand relationships and patterns in both number and space in their everyday lives. Through their growing knowledge and understanding, children learn to appreciate the contribution made by many cultures to the development and application of mathematics.
Implementation –
Our Maths approach in Reception has an emphasis on studying key skills of number, calculation and shape so that pupils develop a deep understanding and the acquisition of mathematical language. Pupils learn through play, games and tasks using concrete manipulatives which are then rehearsed and applied to their own learning during exploration. Nursery pupils begin to develop these key skills during daily maths meetings where they explore sorting, quantities, shape, number and counting awareness. These early mathematical experiences are carefully designed to help pupils remember the content they have been taught and to support them with integrating their new knowledge across the breadth of their experiences and into larger concepts.
Mathematics is taught every day using teaching for mastery at Thomas Whitehead. Our principal aim is to develop children’s knowledge, skills and understanding. At TWA we work closely with the NCETM and are part of the pilot cohort of KS2 Mastering Number, after a successful year with KS1 Mastering Number. This has ensured that children at TWA are fluent at number, building confidence and efficiency. During our daily lessons we encourage children to ask as well as answer mathematical questions. They have the opportunity to use a wide range of resources to support their work. Lessons begin with mental and oral maths work before the main teaching activity extends the children’s knowledge and understanding of mathematical skills and concepts. We provide suitable learning opportunities for all children by matching the challenge of the task to the ability of the child. We achieve this through a range of strategies – in some lessons through differentiated group work and in other lessons by organisation of children to work in pairs on open-ended problems or games. We use teaching assistants to support some children, and to ensure that work is matched to the needs of individuals. All KS2 children are expected to learn and practise their multiplication tables and these are tested regularly.
Impact –
We believe through our high standards and enriched play-based exploration, alongside the rigour of assessment and teaching the children have as they move through the early years, that this will ensure a rich diet of balanced learning experiences which is undoubtedly the best way to develop happy, curious children with a love of number.
When leaving Thomas Whitehead, children will have been given the opportunity to have -
- Quick recall of facts and procedures
- The flexibility and fluidity to move between different contexts and representations of mathematics.
- The ability to recognise relationships and make connections in mathematics
A mathematical concept or skill has been mastered when 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.
These will be assessed through: assessment, tracking, pupil progress meetings, performance management, moderation and standardisation.