Maths
Maths Lead – Mr N Sell
At Rossington St Michael’s, we firmly believe that every child is a mathematician, and through supportive, engaging and creative teaching, we strive to help children realise this quality in themselves. We foster a love of ‘thinking mathematically’, which enables pupils to reason, solve problems and assess risk in a range of contexts. The basic skills of mathematics are vital for the life opportunities of our children and we want every child to achieve excellence in mathematics. Children can experience a sense of excitement and achievement as they solve a problem for the first time, discover different solutions and make links between different areas of mathematics.
Achieving mastery of a skill can’t be rushed, so we take time to deliver new concepts to the children, ensuring that they master the necessary areas before moving on to new content; this ensures deeper learning. Pupils constantly revisit and build upon prior learning so that they can recall and apply knowledge rapidly and accurately. We recognise that the quality and variety of language that pupils hear are key factors in developing their mathematical vocabulary. Pupils are encouraged to follow lines of enquiry, make links and justify their ideas. We create classroom environments where pupils feel safe to have a go and make mistakes. Developing this resilience enables them to reason and problem solve with increased confidence.
We believe that enjoyment of maths is key to developing confidence in the subject, therefore, we value the impact of maths games, and utilise these to develop children’s fluency alongside more formal methods of recitation and questioning. We endeavour to make cross-curricular links to really enthuse the children and make maths a meaningful experience for them.
Maths at St Michael’s is about equipping every one of our children with the skills they need to solve problems in their everyday lives, both now, and in the future.
How is Maths taught at Rossington St Michael’s?
Our Maths curriculum is based on the National Curriculum. Please see the documents below.
Multiplication and Division Policy
MATHEMATICS PROGRAM OF STUDY: KEY STAGES 1 AND 2
Mathematics Programmes of Study: Key Stages 1 and 2
We believe that our Maths curriculum needs to ensure that all children know and remember more. Our curriculum is based on mastery principles using the White Rose scheme where pupils acquire a deep, long term, secure and flexible understanding of maths. Our long term plan is based on a blocked curriculum to ensure children develop a strong understanding of the maths that has been taught so that they are able to move on to more advanced material. Underpinning this is planned spaced retrieval which consists of ‘Can I still?’ activities and deliberate practice. Using our Long Term Plan will ensure this is not left to chance. Sessions will include generative activities such as brain downloads, multi-choice questions, quizzes, summarising, mapping, drawing, imagining, explaining thinking, teaching others and enacting.
White Rose resources are supplemented with the spine documents from the NCETM and a range of sources with practical activities, games and use of ICT. We encourage the use of the concrete, pictorial and visual approach and develop a knowledge of mathematical concepts as well as emphasise mental calculation and the use of correct mathematical vocabulary including Stem Sentences. We believe that applying mathematical knowledge is vital and as well as a daily mathematics lesson, children are encouraged to develop their mathematical reasoning in all activities in order to encourage connections within and between subjects.
We understand the importance of both guided and independent practice so each class has a deliberate practice session every day to develop fluency.
Our Maths teaching starts in Early Years where foundations for numbers and mathematical concepts begin to be built. We aim to ensure that all children develop firm mathematical foundations in a way that is engaging, and appropriate for their age and teaching focuses on learning 6 main areas: Cardinality and Counting; Comparison; Composition; Pattern; Shape and Space; and Measures. Early Years NCETM materials are used for highly effective maths teaching and learning to occur, with the use of their Numberblocks programme.
How is learning broken down into small steps?
Please click these links to see samples of how units have been broken down into small steps:
YEAR 1 SCHEME OF LEARNING SMALL STEPS
YEAR 2 SCHEME OF LEARNING SMALL STEPS
YEAR 3 SCHEME OF LEARNING SMALL STEPS
YEAR 4 SCHEME OF LEARNING SMALL STEPS
YEAR 5 SCHEME OF LEARNING SMALL STEPS
YEAR 6 SCHEME OF LEARNING SMALL STEPS
How can I support my child at home?
We encourage children to practice their Maths little and often, in as many different contexts as possible. There is Maths everywhere in the world, so try practising their skills with money when shopping, or telling the time for bedtime, or during a family board game... The opportunities are endless!
TT Rockstars - As a school, we sign up to TT Rockstars - a way of the children practicing their multiplication and division knowledge with the aim to know their times table facts accurately and quickly.
Reflex – Y3 and Y4 children are all expected to practise their Maths facts daily on the Reflex programme.