Maths

Curriculum Statement

Maths at Stamshaw Junior School

Intent

Mathematics is fun! We want all our children at Stamshaw Junior School to have a positive and enthusiastic attitude to Maths. Our philosophy is that all children can achieve in Mathematics, and we continuously strive to ensure that the Mathematics taught at our school stimulates curiosity, fosters creativity and equips our children with the skills they need in life beyond school.

At Stamshaw Junior School, our 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.

Implementation

We teach Maths using the White Rose scheme as our initial base for coverage and order, and then pair this with other (research supported) pedagogy and expertise. We teach Maths via the key concepts, in small steps, whilst building fluency and providing opportunities for pupils to reason and problem solve. Our children study mathematics daily, covering a broad and balanced mathematical curriculum including elements of number, calculation, geometry, measures and statistics. This is adapted according to the needs of the children to ensure needs are met and there is no ceiling to their learning. Alongside daily maths sessions, additional time is spent focusing on The Big Five (addition, subtraction, multiplication, division and fractions) to build fluency and precision in these areas and to think about numbers in a different way.

The school’s status as a mastery specialist school, as part of the DfE funded Maths Hubs programme, continues to ensure that staff at all levels understand the pedagogy of the approach through training and personal development. New concepts are shared within the classroom for children to discuss with their peers. This is done through an already familiar problem whilst promoting an awareness of maths in relatable real-life contexts that are linked to other areas of learning. Children are also encouraged to solve problems each day using concrete resources, pictorial representations and abstract thinking (the C-P-A approach). This helps children tackle concepts in a tangible and more comfortable way.

Impact

We encourage our children to build confidence and resilience. We teach them the growth mindset philosophy that abilities are not fixed, but can be developed through practice, support, dedication and hard work. This supportive ethos cultivates children in developing their collaborative and independent skills, as well as empathy and the need to recognise the achievement of others.

Regular and ongoing assessment informs teaching, as well as intervention, to support and enable the success of each child. Throughout each lesson, a formative assessment takes place, with feedback being given to the children through discussion, and/or marking. Next step tasks are then given to deepen learning, clarify understanding and even preteach. Teachers then use this assessment to influence their planning and ensure they are providing a mathematics curriculum that will allow each child to progress. The teaching of maths is also monitored on a termly basis through ‘book looks’, learning walks and lesson observations. Each term, children complete a summative assessment to help them to develop their testing approach and demonstrate their understanding of the topics covered. We use a combination of White Rose tests, online assessments and previous SATs papers (Years 5 and 6). The results from both the formative assessment and summative assessment are then used to determine children’s progress and attainment.

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