Curriculum Intent

Curriculum Intent

Here at Peel Park, we aim for our pupils to be successful mathematics learners and leave us as successful and confident mathematicians who are able to openly communicate their mathematical knowledge and are ready for the mathematical challenges posed by secondary school and modern day life.  Our school maths curriculum adds value: many of our children begin their journey with us with barriers to communication or additional needs and the majority leave our school in line with national expectations. 

We believe that our pupils deserve an ambitious and inclusive mathematics curriculum, based upon a mastery approach. Our principles and beliefs are that all pupils are capable of doing and understanding maths. We want our children to be able to achieve their goals in life and being numerate is key to that.  Being numerate is a life skill and the ability to problem solve and reason about mathematics provides a platform for children’s futures, both academically and in life:

So many of the important decisions we must make as adults are based on numbers. This means that people who are not confident and capable with numbers are estimated to be worse off than those with good numeracy skills. A report in 2021 by Pro Bono Economics found that the average cost to individuals with poor numeracy could be nearly £1,600 a year.  NationalNumeracy.org.uk

We teach a mastery curriculum that lays the key foundations for mathematical understanding and builds understanding and rich connections. We do this by sequencing knowledge, concepts and procedures over time through teaching small steps. To support us in building this sequence and making connections, we mainly use the White Rose Mathematics Scheme of Learning.  In teaching for mastery, we aim to keep the majority of our pupils in a class working together on the same topic through the use of pedagogical practices (such as the use of concrete and pictorial approaches) as pupils master (or gain greater depth) proficiency and understanding; our intention is that pupils keep up not catch up.  Children's knowledge is built upon throughout each year and across the year groups.

To help our children make connections and retain their learning over longer periods of time, we revisit learning through our maths drills, a time dedicated to re-enforcing prior learning and building automaticity with calculation skills.  Our maths curriculum is Inclusive: children learn at different paces and in different ways. Considering how children learn and what they need to learn is an important part of the maths curriculum here at Peel Park and we support this through targeted practice, concrete apparatus, pictorial images, working walls and vocabulary. In some year groups, we have focussed groups who focus on studying less but securing more.

Throughout Nursery and Reception, children develop their conceptual understanding of number through exploratory play. Maths is embedded throughout the Early Years environment and links are made as the children become secure in the understanding of the world. We use lots of songs and rhymes to help the children learn their early maths.

To achieve fluency in mathematics, our children need to know facts: addition facts are key in Key Stage 1 and multiplication facts are vital in Key Stage 2. To help our children practice these facts, we use a number of online maths apps. We use verbal counting to reinforce counting forwards and backwards. We play maths games in some Basic Skills lessons to re-inforce number facts.

We ensure that our teaching staff have the content knowledge to deliver mathematics teaching through targeted and whole school CPD. Staff have worked together to ensure that there is a shared understanding of the four operations by drawing together a whole school calculation policy that builds on previous learning before applying new content and uses key pieces of mathematical equipment to limit multiple representations that could confuse the children.

Mathematics is not just fluency and facts. The ability to make connections, identify patterns, problem solve and reason is key to being a successful mathematician. Through our curriculum, our ambition is that pupils achieve mastery by being able to apply their mathematical knowledge appropriately, flexibly and creatively in new situations.

Implementation

From Nursery to Year 6, we follow the White Rose scheme of learning to deliver the National Curriculum for Mathematics. We respond to the needs of our pupils and add to or amend the materials as necessary. To develop communication, we develop oracy skills, maths vocabulary, use songs and rhymes and encourage children to provide oral explanations.

To support our learning of maths facts, we use engaging apps: Stick ’n’ split in years 1 to 6, which promotes addition and subtraction facts as well as multiplicative reasoning; Times Table Rock Stars, which is mainly used in years 2 to 6 to promote speed and accuracy with times tables; and, our EYFS team advise parents that the White Rose app is a good one to use to help the children with subitising and counting.   Homework for maths is time on our maths apps.

Maths lessons in Years 1 to 6 usually last 1 hour and happen five times a week. We revisit learning through maths drills, sometimes in the maths lesson and sometimes in Basic Skills sessions.  We introduce new learning through concrete apparatus and visual images and our new learning builds upon prior learning. We support new learning through the use of working walls for maths and we consider cognitive overload when planning our maths lessons.  

In Years 5 and 6, our children are taught in maths sets and not Registration Classes. This allows for the maths to be more targeted at the children’s specific needs. We utilise Tuition, very successfully, to target the acquisition of times table facts in year 4. To meet specific need, there are some targeted maths interventions for pupils with SEND. There is a breakfast club maths intervention that runs for some Year 6 pupils. 

We have a whole school written calculation policy that the staff team developed which includes concrete and pictorial images to support learning. Our maths cpd this year is focussing on the acquisition of addition and subtraction facts in lower school and promoting mental maths throughout school.

Impact

The vast majority of our children begin school way below national expectations. Through the delivery of our maths curriculum, a majority of our children reach a good standard in the national Multiplication Tables Check and achieve age related in Year 6.