Our Vision for Mathematics at St Mary & St Margaret's

At St Mary and St Margaret’s we believe maths is essential to everyday life, critical to science, technology and engineering, and necessary for financial literacy and most forms of employment. Our high-quality mathematics education therefore aims to provide a foundation for understanding the world, the ability to reason mathematically, an appreciation of the beauty and power of mathematics, and a sense of enjoyment and curiosity about the subject.

National Curriculum Aims:

The national curriculum for mathematics aims to ensure that all pupils:

• become fluent in the fundamentals of mathematics, including through varied and frequent practice with increasingly complex problems over time, so that pupils develop conceptual understanding and the ability to recall and apply knowledge rapidly and accurately.
• reason mathematically by following a line of enquiry, conjecturing relationships and generalisations, and developing an argument, justification or proof using mathematical language
• can solve problems by applying their mathematics to a variety of routine and non-routine problems with increasing sophistication, including breaking down problems into a series of simpler steps and persevering in seeking solutions.

Our Aims:

We aim for each child to:-

1. Have a positive attitude towards mathematics.

2. Have self-confidence in their ability to deal with mathematics.

3. Be able to work systematically, co-operatively and with perseverance.

4. Be able to think logically and independently.

5. Experience a sense of achievement regardless of age or ability.

6. Understand the appropriate underlying skills, concepts and knowledge of number, measurement, shape, space and handling data.

7. Be able to apply previously acquired concepts, skills, knowledge and understanding to new situations both in and out of school.

8. Understand and appreciate pattern and relationship in mathematics.

9. Be able to communicate with peers and adults, ideas, experiences, questions, clearly and fluently, using the appropriate mathematical language.

10. Be able to explore problems using the appropriate strategies, predictions and deductions.

11. Have equality of opportunity regardless of race, gender, or ability.

12. Be aware of the uses of mathematics beyond the classroom.

13. Become proficient in the use of mental calculations and develop efficient strategies to work out the answers.

Our School Principles:

1. To develop fluent and confident mathematicians who can reason and problem solve.
2. To use concrete resources, models and images to allow children to develop a deep understanding of mathematical concepts.
3. To create an environment in which children enjoy maths, discover their own patterns and relationships and are unafraid of making mistakes.
4. To support and intervene appropriately when children come across difficulties in maths.
5. To stretch and challenge all children regardless of ability.

How We Teach Mathematics in KS1 & KS2:

At St Mary and St Margaret's we teach mathematics using the White Rose Maths primary scheme of work. The consists of blocks of work (that usually last 3-4 weeks) that give the children time to develop a deep understanding of the concepts being taught. Below is a document that details the order these blocks are taught throughout the year. Also below you can find a curriculum overview for each year group. These overviews give more detail about the objectives covered in each block.

Maths in the Early Years

In the Early Years, children follow the NCETM's 'mastering number' programme and also use the NCETM's Numberblock planning to cover the EYFS maths curriculum. Children work towards the two Early Learning Goals throughout the year. These are:

Number: 

-Have a deep understanding of number to 10, including the composition of each number;

- Subitise (recognise quantities without counting) up to 5;

- Automatically recall (without reference to rhymes, counting or other aids) number bonds up to 5 (including subtraction facts) and some number bonds to 10, including double facts.

Numerical Patterns

-Verbally count beyond 20, recognising the pattern of the counting system;

- Compare quantities up to 10 in different contexts, recognising when one quantity is greater than, less than or the same as the other quantity;

- Explore and represent patterns within numbers up to 10, including evens and odds, double facts and how quantities can be distributed equally.

Please see the document above that shows the content of the mastering number programme in Reception.