Maths

Maths Curriculum
Intent, Implementation and Impact

Intent

At Montem our intent is to develop our pupil’s ability to reason mathematically, problem solve and develop procedural fluency and conceptual understanding in each strand of the curriculum.

To achieve our intent, we provide a rich, balanced and progressive curriculum which caters for the needs of all pupils through varied and high quality activities.  Pupils are required to explore maths in depth, using mathematical vocabulary to reason and explain their workings.  

At the core of our curriculum is the concrete, pictorial and abstract approach to maths.  They are taught and encouraged to explain their choice of methods and develop their mathematical reasoning skills.  We encourage resilience and conceptual variation and an acceptance that struggle is often a necessary step in learning.

Implementation

Our maths teaching across the school places emphasis upon a mastery approach. This approach seeks to build flexible learners with a depth of understanding that allows them to access a range of problems that are presented in a variety of formats. 

The principles and features that characterise our approach are: 

• An expectation that all children are capable of achieving high standards in maths. 
• That the large majority of children progress through the curriculum content at the same pace. 
  Teachers use precise questioning in class, using SOLO Taxonomy to test conceptual and procedural knowledge, and assess children regularly to identify those requiring intervention so that all children keep up. 
• Differentiation is achieved by emphasising deep knowledge, extension activities and through individual support and intervention. 
• Teaching is 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. 

Lesson approach and teaching methods.
In order to develop mastery, maths teaching at Montem utilises the CPA (concrete, pictorial and abstract) approach. When introducing new concepts children are given the opportunity to use concrete objects to model problems. This then moves on to children being able to represent these objects pictorially which encourages them to make a mental connection between the physical object and abstract levels of understanding. Finally, children are then able to understand and represent mathematical concepts in an abstract way where symbols are then used to model problems. These three stages however are not linear. Teachers will often go back and forth between each representation or model them alongside each other to reinforce concepts. 

In Early Years foundation stage, we relate the mathematical aspects of the children’s work to the Development Matters statements and the Early Learning Goals, as set out in the EYFS profile document.  Mathematics development involves providing children with opportunities to develop and improve their skills in counting, understanding and using numbers; calculating simple addition and subtraction problems; and describing shapes, space, and measures. Children will develop their understanding through planned, purposeful play and through a mix of adult-led and child-initiated activity.

EYFS combine planning and activity ideas from White Rose, Collins and Maths No Problem. Lessons in Years 1 to 5 are taught using the ‘Maths- No Problem!’ scheme of work, with Year 6 continuing to use the ‘Singapore’ strategies previously taught, but combining these with planning and resources drawn from White Rose Maths Hub. 

Impact

• Maths lessons are engaging and well-resourced with the pupils acknowledging that the journey to finding an answer is most important factor. Our children are resilient and they make measurable progress against the National Curriculum objectives.
• Children are keen to attempt a range of problems and choose the equipment they need to help them to learn, along with the strategies they think are best suited to each scenario. 
• Children are developing skills in being articulate and are able to reason verbally, pictorially and in written form. 
• End of year and key stage attainment is above national (93%), with progress also above national (+2.1)
• Well-planned sequences of learning support pupils to develop and refine their maths skills.
• Children are able to independently apply their knowledge to a range of increasingly complex problems.