Mathematics
Intent
Mathematics is essential to everyday life, critical to science, technology and engineering, and necessary for financial literacy and most forms of employment. We aim to provide a high-quality mathematics education which will establish a foundation for understanding the world, to develop an appreciation of the beauty and power of mathematics, and a sense of enjoyment and curiosity about the subject.
Our pupils will leave Dudley House as confident, resilient mathematicians, demonstrating conceptual and procedural fluency, with the ability to reason mathematically and efficiently solve problems.
At Dudley House School, we aim to provide a high-quality mathematics education with a mastery approach so that all children:
- become fluent in the fundamentals of mathematics;
- reason mathematically;
- can solve problems by applying their mathematics. (National Curriculum 2014)
These three aims of the National Curriculum are embedded within our Maths lessons. We want all children to enjoy mathematics and experience success in the subject whilst also developing their curiosity about the subject. Therefore, aim to equip all pupils with the knowledge and confidence to solve a range of problems through fluency with numbers and mathematical reasoning.
It is vital for us that we foster a positive can-do attitude amongst all children and we actively promote the fact that we can all do maths! We believe all children can achieve in mathematics, and teach for secure and deep understanding of mathematical concepts through manageable steps. We use mistakes and misconceptions as an essential part of learning and provide challenge through rich and sophisticated problems.
Implementation
To ensure consistency and progression for all children as they move through the school, we use the Herts for Learning ‘Essential Maths’ scheme to support the delivery of mathematics across the school. We wholeheartedly believe that this method will provide a consistent approach to our teaching of maths as it is underpinned by a methodical curriculum design that spirals and builds upon prior learning. Crucially, ideas are revisited at higher levels as the curriculum spirals through the years.
Key elements of our implementation include:
- Teachers reinforce an expectation that all children are capable of achieving high standards in Mathematics.
- The large majority of children progress through the curriculum content at the same pace.
- Differentiation is achieved by emphasising deep knowledge and through individual support and intervention.
- Teaching is underpinned by methodical curriculum design and supported by carefully crafted lessons and resources to foster deep conceptual and procedural knowledge.
- Practice and consolidation play a central role. Carefully designed variation within this builds fluency and understanding of underlying mathematical concepts.
- Teachers use precise questioning in class to test conceptual and procedural knowledge and assess children regularly to identify those requiring support.
Features of our Maths teaching:
- Whole class together – we teach Maths to whole classes. In line with the expectations of the National Curriculum, we believe that all children, where possible, should be exposed to the same curriculum content at the same pace, therefore allowing them full access. We believe that this will help to develop both a deep understanding and secure fluency of key mathematical concepts. At the planning stage, teachers consider the scaffolding that may be required for children struggling to grasp concepts in the lesson and suitable challenge questions for those who may grasp the concepts rapidly.
- Longer but deeper – topics are taught in units of work that focus on key concepts and allow for children to gain a deep understanding. Supported by HfL Essential Maths, lessons and resources are crafted carefully to foster deep conceptual and procedural knowledge. Decisions about when to progress are always based on the security of pupils’ understanding and their readiness to progress to the next stage. Therefore, where appropriate, teachers supplement HfL lessons with their own carefully crafted lessons to allow the children to learn the content more deeply. Learning is focused on one key conceptual idea and the steps in learning are small in order to allow connections to be made. In turn, this will give an opportunity for every child to master a concept and allow some children to be challenged deeper through applying their knowledge and understanding to greater depth tasks.
- Key learning points – these are identified by teachers during planning and ensure they are drawing attention to the key mathematical concept. These enhance children’s ability to talk maths confidently and provide scaffolding for children who need support to explain their thinking.
- Questions – teacher questioning is key to ensuring that all children are challenged at an appropriate level and that children’s understanding, or misconceptions, can be addressed. Open questioning will probe pupil understanding through-out, taking some children’s learning deeper. We encourage children to respond using precise mathematical vocabulary.
Mathematics in the Early Years provides children with opportunities to develop and improve their skills in counting, understanding and using numbers, calculating simple addition and subtraction problems; and to describe shapes, spaces, and measure
The teaching of maths is practical, playful and inclusive, with support and challenge from adults in class sessions, small groups and working with individuals.
Impact
We believe that our approach to teaching maths will enhance understanding, enjoyment and achievement for every child. We want all our children to become confident learners and experience both success and challenge. It is hoped all children will feel empowered to aim high, challenge themselves and strive to achieve and succeed. Through experiencing an appropriate level of challenge, we want children to develop a positive attitude to challenging mathematical situations and, therefore, develop their resilience. They develop a can-do attitude and understand the value in learning from set-backs and mistakes. Furthermore, we promote children’s independence through the use of them selecting the appropriate methods and equipment. Children are exposed to a wide range of equipment throughout the whole school, as a tool to support learning and problem solving.
We have high expectations of the children to be able to verbalise their mathematical thinking. We aim to promote the skills of collaboration and effective communication. The consistent teaching and reinforcement of key vocabulary by teachers give all children the tools to explain their learning. Consequently, children have the opportunity to explain their own mathematical thinking and apply reasoning therefore enhancing their overall speaking and listening skills.
At Dudley House School, assessment is an integral part of the teaching process. Assessment is used to inform planning and to facilitate differentiation. The assessment of children’s work is on-going to ensure that understanding is being achieved and that progress is being made.
Feedback is given to the children as soon as possible, and marking work is guided by the school’s Marking and Feedback Policy.
By the end of KS2, we aim for children to be fluent in the fundamentals of mathematics with a conceptual understanding and the ability to recall and apply knowledge rapidly and accurately. They should have the ability to solve problems by applying their mathematics to a variety of situations with increasing sophistication, including in unfamiliar contexts and to model real-life scenarios. Therefore, they will be ready for the next stage in their learning.
Mathematics Curriculum Map 2023
Long Term Plans
Nursery Long Term Plan & Progression
Although these plans show weekly coverage, the amount of time spent on each area will vary. This time will be informed from the the daily formative assessment of the children’s knowledge and understanding to ensure the learning needs of all the children are met.
Please download some useful maths resources below:
