Intent:

At our school, we want to create lifelong mathematicians. To achieve this, we have designed our curriculum to spark and kindle an interest and enthusiasm for the subject. Our aim is to cultivate a deep understanding, confidence and competence in maths that produces strong, secure learning.  

 Children are given opportunities to grapple, tussle, explore, question, challenge and be challenged so as to logically arrive at thoughtful conclusions. We facilitate this through a classroom conversation ensuring all children achieve. As a school, we recognise that the key to unlocking the potential in our children is through the development of basic mathematical skills and the understanding of mathematical concepts. We therefore place great emphasis on the use of concrete resources and pictorial representations at all ages, to enable children to fully understand the concepts and principles, when presented with abstract calculations and questions.  

Within our lessons, we aim to build mathematical fluency, develop reasoning skills and provide children with the opportunity to articulate their understanding, thus nurturing mathematicians of the future. Most of all, we aim to build a love of maths.  

Implementation:

Our maths lessons are designed to foster collaboration, deep understanding and high achievement for all pupils. Aligned with the National Curriculum for Primary Maths, we incorporate elements of the White Rose Maths resource to support effective learning. Teachers use effective questioning to guide pupil-led discussions, integrating concrete, pictorial and abstract representations in lessons. Maths is placed in real-life contexts, with a strong focus on developing mathematical vocabulary. Whole-class teaching ensures all pupils engage with the same content, while differentiation is achieved through deepening knowledge or providing timely individual support. If a pupil struggles with a concept, interventions are implemented promptly within the lesson. Pupils record their mathematical thinking in their books, offering valuable insights into their progress and understanding.

Impact:

In Maths lessons daily, ongoing assessment is a crucial method of assessment which provides instant feedback to the teacher and ensures progress within every lesson. AFL strategies provide a clear picture of a child’s level of understanding and, ensure that teachers can quickly assess when a child does not understand and needs greater support. Our teachers are effectively trained to nurture an environment that allows children to approach maths in a deep and meaningful way.  The impact of maths teaching is monitored through pupil voice, data outcomes, planning, book looks and displays, learning walks and discussions with teaching staff, pupils and parents. The outcomes are joined-up, analysed and evaluated to assess impact and drive teacher development.  

By the end of Year 6, we aspire that a Grand Avenue Primary and Nursery School mathematician will have developed a bank of efficient and accurate skills that can be used to calculate effectively. These will have been underpinned by the CPA approach so children understand rather than just do, which ultimately will allow children to identify when solutions do not make mathematical sense. Children will be able to apply these calculation skills and understanding of other areas to become confident and resilient problem-solvers with the ability to reason and articulate their ideas mathematically. Children will have acquired the language to be able to justify, reason and explain their lines of enquiry and subsequent answers.