Maths

Intent

At Wistaston Academy, we enable children to feel empowered as learners, developing their confidence in maths and nurturing a love and excitement for the subject. Throughout their time at our school, children become increasingly fluent with a wide range of mathematical concepts and develop the application of these skills to solve more complex problems. The curriculum has been designed to be ambitious and meet the needs of all pupils, including SEND and disadvantaged, ensuring all children are sufficiently challenged and supported. Teaching for mastery, and encouraging children to reason, is at the root of all lessons. Learning is sequential and follows a logical progression, with previous learning being built upon and regularly revisited in order to deeply embed it in pupils’ memories. Children are given ample opportunities to explore, discuss, explain and justify in order to ensure they develop a clear and deep conceptual understanding of all areas of maths. We teach with passion and creativity, developing an environment in which our children feel safe, valued and eager to learn. Lessons promote curiosity, resilience and perseverance by focusing on the journey of learning. We equip our children with the skills to become inquisitive, reflective thinkers who learn from mistakes and critically analyse information that is presented to them, thus equipping them with the cultural capital needed for later life. All children should feel confident in their ability to overcome challenges and persevere when faced with difficulties. By the time they leave Wistaston Academy, all children will have reached their full potential, and the vast majority will be operating at, or exceeding, age-related expectations.

We have designed the maths curriculum at WA with the intent that our pupils will:

• Be fluent in the fundamentals of mathematics through varied practice, developing their conceptual understanding and ability to recall knowledge rapidly and accurately.
• Develop their resilience and perseverance when faced with new and unfamiliar challenges.
• Be able to apply their mathematical understanding to solve increasingly complex problems.
• Possess a secure understanding of a range of mathematical concepts, understanding not only what is happening but also why.
• Discover links between different areas of maths and be able to draw upon these to solve increasingly complex problems.
• Be able to reason mathematically, develop arguments, make generalisations, justify and prove their thinking, using correct mathematical terminology.

Implementation

The Maths curriculum at Wistaston Academy is based upon the National Curriculum, which provides a broad and balanced framework and outlines the knowledge and skills taught at each Key Stage. Over recent years, we have developed our maths curriculum to ensure that we exceed the requirements of the National Curriculum, providing our children with a knowledge-rich education and a deeper understanding of the subject. The curriculum is led and overseen by the Maths lead, who works alongside SLT, class teachers and teaching assistants to plan, support, monitor and continually evaluate the maths taught at Wistaston Academy in order to ensure it is effective, exciting and continually improving. Teachers are supported to deliver excellence through regular learning walks, staff meetings and looking at children’s books. There is an open dialogue between members of staff to ensure that everyone is being consistent and that lessons are of a high quality. Teachers create a positive attitude to maths learning within their classrooms and provide children with rich learning experiences.

The curriculum at Wistaston Academy is implemented through:

• A well-planned, coherent sequence of lessons that are tailored to meet the needs of our children.
• Well-structured lessons which build on previous learning and have an emphasis on mastery.
• The regular review of previously taught concepts to embed the learning in pupils’ long-term memory.
• The regular practise of arithmetic, developing children’s confidence and mental fluency.
• The use of explore questions to develop rich mathematical talk, ensure misconceptions are addressed and enable children’s understanding to be deepened.
• A strong focus on the development of pupils’ resilience and independence when tackling unfamiliar and complex problems, celebrating mistakes as valuable learning points.
• The carefully planned opportunities for children to make links in their learning and draw on their existing knowledge.
• The explicit teaching of mathematical vocabulary through Word Aware, which is displayed in classrooms and consolidated wherever relevant.
• Vocabulary is pre-taught to children in Early Years, and to those who may require additional support with their understanding.
• The understanding that, particularly in Early Years, words that are opposites should not be taught together.
• Clear and progressive documents to support the development of mathematical skills and vocabulary.
• The development of meaningful cross-curricular links which allow children to apply their skills.
• The challenge of all children through their depth of understanding, using carefully-selected and progressive questions and sufficiently demanding tasks.
• The high expectations that teachers hold of all pupils, making the learning accessible to all children through the skilled use of high-quality concrete resources and pictorial representations to aid the conceptual understanding of maths.
• Regular feedback from teachers which not only addresses misconceptions but also deepens, challenges and supports learning.
• The regular teaching and recapping of Time
• The explicit and regular teaching of times tables from year 2 onwards
• The use of Numbots and Times Table Rock Stars as a way of promoting and encouraging regular practise of key skills and times tables across the school.
• A focus on reducing cognitive load and therefore supporting the long-term memory by consistency in PowerPoint visuals.
• Yearly events, such as Maths Week, which provide broader provision and the acquisition and application of knowledge and skills. During these events, there is also a specific focus on reading; texts are appropriately chosen to ensure the knowledge being taught relates to the core purpose of the lesson, building on pupils’ prior knowledge and vocabulary.
• Reading, which in maths is promoted through a clearly designed reading spine. Books are available on class reading trees and through accelerated reader, giving children the opportunities to read texts with a mathematical link, for pleasure.
• A celebration of mathematical resilience and achievement through special awards

The curriculum is implemented differently across the Key Stages to reflect the needs of the children:

• In EYFS, children are provided with a range of opportunities to explore mathematical concepts and develop their skills. In Nursery, maths is taught through “Magic Maths” (Early number sense), which focuses on developing and securing children’s understanding of number. In line with KS1 and 2, Reception follow the White Rose Maths ‘Small Steps’, linking them with Development Matters. This ensures children are meeting a wide range of learning intentions and enables children to meet the Early Learning Goals. All children in Reception are delivered two adult-directed sessions a week to ensure they acquire the knowledge, skills and understanding of early mathematical concepts. There is a balance between adult-directed and child-initiated learning through the carefully planned learning experiences in the Early Years environment which provide children with the opportunities to develop their curiosity, embed understanding and encourage mathematical language.
• In KS1 and KS2, we follow the White Rose Maths ‘Small Steps’, which are explicitly linked to the National Curriculum objectives and Ready To Progress Criteria. This ensures clear, logical progression, coverage of all areas and allows for consolidation time. Maths lessons begin with arithmetic and counting, embedding these key skills in children’s long-term memory. The focus of our maths curriculum is teaching for mastery, which ensures teachers have ambitious expectations of all children. Children are constantly challenged through questioning and being encouraged to explain further and explore deeper.

Impact

• Due to the planned revisiting of previous learning, children’s understanding is embedded in their long-term memory and the vast majority of children are operating at National Standard by the end of KS2.
• By the end of each academic year, assessments demonstrate that most children make good progress in the subject.
• Lessons are of a consistent high quality due to the CPD provided by subject leads in response to the needs of staff.
• High-quality maths lessons provide children with a deep understanding of the mathematical concepts taught across the key stages.
• Through the teaching for mastery structure of lessons, pupils will be able to reason mathematically, make links in their learning and show a deep conceptual understanding. Through their deeper understanding, as they move on to more complex learning in KS2, children will be able to adapt their skills and apply them to solve unfamiliar problems.
• Children are enthusiastic about and enjoy maths lessons. They develop a curiosity for the subject and engage well with the tasks, celebrating challenges and persevering when things are difficult.
• Through their exposure to and engagement with rich mathematical talk, children will become able to explain their understanding and ask questions, using correct mathematical terminology. Children will have a richer vocabulary which will enable them to articulate their understanding of taught concepts.
• The knowledge and skills taught will be embedded in pupils’ long-term memory and prior learning will be retained through the constant opportunities for review.
• Disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND achieve the best possible outcomes in maths.
• Children will leave Wistaston Academy with the skills, knowledge and attitude that will allow them embrace the next stage in their education.

Impact is measured through:

• Assessing children’s understanding of mathematical concepts through the use of mastery questions.
• Marking of work.
• Assessing children’s learning through questioning and mathematical talk.
• Pupil and staff questionnaires.
• Book scrutinies.
• Planning scrutinies.
• Lesson observations and learning walks.
• Dialogues at staff meetings.
• 1:1 meetings with staff.
• Termly assessments.
• Formal reporting at the end of each key stage.

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