Maths

Vision: intent, implementation & impact  

At Rotherfield School, our intent is to ensure that all children become fluent in the fundamentals of mathematics, are able to reason mathematically and can solve problems by applying their mathematics. To achieve this, we will follow the White Rose maths curriculum. We will embed a Mastery approach to maths which will foster deep learning (recall and use of mathematical knowledge) and deepest learning (transference and application of mathematical knowledge in a variety of contexts).  

We will implement our vision through all teachers having a secure understanding of the maths curriculum. We will use White Rose schemes of work to inform our daily practice with the understanding that teachers have the flexibility to adjust these based on their class's needs to ensure a secure understanding. Maths concepts will be taught using the concrete, pictorial and abstract approach and children will have access to manipulatives that have been carefully chosen to support each small step. Fluency will be taught in dedicated sessions three times a week; two of these sessions will be dedicated to arithmetic fluency and one to procedural fluency. Maths lessons are arranged so that misconceptions can be picked up by teachers and interventions can be delivered on the same day. Feedback will be given according to our feedback policy. Maths will be assessed using the school’s assessment tracker at the end of each long term and this will then inform future planning. Summative assessment will take place according to the school’s assessment timetable and teachers will use this to inform their planning. Children will understand and recognise the importance of maths in the wider world and develop into confident and independent learners who are empowered to show their learning and mathematical thinking. 

 
Impact:  

The impact of the vision will be: 

•     A rapid recall of facts and procedures  
•    The ability to recognise relationships and make connections in mathematics  
•     The flexibility to move between different concepts and representations in mathematics 

Long Term Planning

 Please click here to access the White Rose online planning  

What you will typically see:

* The large majority of our pupils progress through the curriculum content. Differentiation is achieved through the complexity of the work given, providing opportunities to show a deep knowledge and through individual support and intervention. 

* 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 check conceptual and procedural knowledge and continually assess pupils understanding within lessons to identify those requiring additional support so that the pupils keep up. 

* Teachers will use the concrete, pictorial and abstract approach (CPA) to ensure that procedural and conceptual understanding are developed.

In lessons, children are developing the confidence to use different models to explain the concepts that they are learning – eg part part whole and bar models.

Pupils spend longer on key mathematical concepts in number, those children who grasp the concepts more quickly are given opportunities to deepen their knowledge and improve their reasoning skills rather than accelerating onto new curriculum content. The school follows the White Rose Scheme of Work.

The lessons are designed so that teachers recap previous learning - then they introduce the next steps to the children. They use concrete apparatus and visuals to enforce the concept being taught. Children have the opportunity to practise the new skills using carefully crafted and varied questioning. The children will have the opportunity to discuss feed back and explain how they solved the problems. The teacher will then explain and demonstrate the next stage of the learning and move children into recording their work using a more abstract procedure.  

During the teacher input, teaching assistants help to support the children who do not grasp the concept as quickly as the others. The teacher, together with the teaching assistant, then have the opportunity to work with those children while the others practise. The children should, as far as possible, practise their skills independently and not become too reliant on adult support.

 Interventions are carried out as quickly as possible by either the class teacher or teaching assistant. These will involve practicing activities and questioning. Those children who have not grasped the concept or who have misconceptions will have a rapid intervention to ensure that they are ready for the next day’s learning. This same day intervention will take place from 10 – 10:20 each day and will allow the teacher or teaching assistant to work closely with children who need further support. The rest of the class will be working on problems and reasoning to deepen their conceptual understanding.

Differentiation will be seen by children working on differing complexities of problems within the same objective. Children who are confident in the concept being taught, will have challenging problems to solve to ensure that they continue to make progress. There will be some children who are using practical equipment for longer in order to support learning.

At the end of a teaching sequence (each long term ) the children’s learning will be assessed through questions and problem solving that require the pupils to remember, understand, apply, analyse and evaluate their knowledge and skills. The results will be kept by the teacher and used to inform termly pupil progress meetings. A judgement of whether the children are on track to achieve age related expectations in maths will be made each short term and recorded on Target Tracker. 

It is acknowledged that a great deal of time is needed for teachers to produce the visuals and varied practice activities to support the learning. The school has invested in and developed the resources required to aid the children’s understanding.