Maths
Intent
It is essential that we give children the tools they need to be successful when using mathematics. At Churchfields Primary School, our mathematics curriculum is based on fluency, reasoning and problem solving. As a school that is part of the Collective Vision Trust, we plan and teach from the trust’s Crucial Knowledge curriculum. Our daily lessons are planned and taught in a way that ensures the National Curriculum expectations are met.
We have adopted White Rose Mathematics as a tool to help us to sequence our mathematics curriculum so that there is a clear rationale about when each maths unit is taught. White Rose Mathematics ensures that the way we teach the subject is consistent across and within all year groups. Mathematics is most effective when we acknowledge that certain concepts must be taught before others. For example, ‘place value’ must be fully secure before children begin to add and subtract. Another good example is that addition must be taught before multiplication as multiplication is simply repeated addition. The White Rose programme puts a strong emphasis on number skills and place value first in all year groups. It also compliments our curriculum which advocates practical concrete activities (counting blocks) being secure before any kind of pictorial representation (drawing blocks) and ultimately abstract computation (10-3=7 without any blocks). We use other materials alongside WRM to ensure fluency and progress in the classroom.
Recap
A key aspect of our mathematics curriculum is RECAP. The most fundamental component for all learning at our school is that children, “know more, remember more, apply more”. As a school we believe strongly in ensuring that appropriate ‘cognitive load’ must lead to children developing their long-term memory. Therefore, we place a great deal of emphasis on RECAP and this takes the form of:
• Explicit quality first teaching
• Regular recap within the lesson
• RRM (rapid recall mathematics) sessions that all children do which is similar to the daily dedicated phonics time
• Dedicated RECAP weeks which occur after every break in learning - half-term weeks and Christmas and Easter breaks. No new concepts are taught during RECAP week
• We use dedicated White Rose Maths resources to help us recap
• Teachers adapt and alter plans and planning to ensure RECAP meets the needs of the class they have taught
• Dedicated catch-up groups in specific year groups to ensure children are successful
Implementation
There is dedicated mathematics lesson/session every day
Mathematics is also further explored in Rapid Recall Maths, at least three times, weekly. This where we revisit key aspects of mathematics, particularly arithmetic, to ensure fluency and understanding
Our mathematics lessons are all based on the ‘I do’, ‘We do’ and ‘You do’ model.
‘I do’ – explicit quality-first teaching, modelling, demonstrating, etc to ensure children understand the crucial knowledge.
‘We do’ - a supported part of the lesson, where the teacher gives examples/explores concepts in greater depth and the children work with the teacher and other students to ensure this understanding is developed and consolidated.
‘You do’ – the children are given a variety of problems, questions, activities that follow up the earlier ‘I do’ and ‘We do’ lesson elements to develop confidence and understanding, increase fluency, ensure pupils are being supported and allow children to be challenged at their own level.
