With love and faith, we aspire and achieve
Our belief
At St Matthew’s we empower our children with a ‘CAN DO’ attitude, embracing our school vision – “With Love and Faith, We Aspire and Achieve” We aim for all children to enjoy and achieve together in mathematics and become confident mathematicians. We have built an aspirational curriculum that encourages children to show perseverance and resilience in all that they do. We believe that all children are capable of understanding maths and are neither ‘born with the maths gene’ or ‘just no good at math.’ They all have the potential to ‘go deeper’ and broaden their understanding of mathematical concepts.
Our aims
Our Mathematics Curriculum
St Matthews has adopted a Teaching for Mastery approach to mathematics to ensure that our children have a deep, long-term, secure and adaptable understanding of the concepts they are taught. In Years 1-6, teaching focuses on securing and deepening understanding of mathematical concepts. In Early Years and where appropriate in Year 1 the principles of the EYFS Framework are followed, and children ‘Explore Maths’ and develop their understanding of mathematical concepts through play. The phrase Teaching for Mastery describes the elements of classroom practice that combine to give children the best chances of mastering maths. Mastery is not just being able to memorise key facts and procedures and to answer test questions accurately and quickly. Mastery means being able to use prior knowledge appropriately, flexibly and creatively and to apply it in new and unfamiliar situations. The ability to solve problems in a range of contexts, to reason mathematically and to be fluent and confident with number and the number system is embodied in the aims of the National Curriculum and is at the heart of mastery.
Mathematic lessons
Children are taught through whole-class interactive teaching, where the focus is on all pupils working together on the same lesson content at the same time. Lesson design identifies the new mathematics that is to be taught, the key points, the difficult points and a carefully sequenced journey through the learning. It is recognised that practice is a vital part of learning, but the practice used is intelligent practice that both reinforces pupils’ procedural fluency and develops their conceptual understanding. After developing fluency, children need to show that they can apply their knowledge in mathematics and then move on even further to prove they have mastered the concept. Using mistakes and misconceptions is an essential part of learning and challenge is provided through rich and sophisticated problems.
A typical mathematic lesson design
1.) Hook: Generates discussion about the key learning point
2.) Teach & Practise: Live modelling of the new learning with explicit use of potential misunderstandings as all children practise together.
3.) Hinge question: Allows for fluid grouping. Who understands? Who needs more support?
4.) Practice: 5 questions incorporating procedural variation
5.) Apply: Explain a misconception using precise mathematical vocabulary and the key concept statement
6.) Deepen: Apply understanding to solve new problems
Mathematics clinic sessions
In addition to maths lessons, our maths clinic sessions provide essential opportunities for:
Mathematics road maps
Our road maps show the units of learning throughout the year and the terms that they are taught in.
Our Mathematics Calculation policy
Our calculation policy sets out methods for addition, subtraction, multiplication and division from Year 1 through to Year 6. For each of the four rules of number, different strategies are presented, together with examples of what concrete materials could be used and how. The representation examples are not exhaustive, and teachers and children may well come up with alternatives. Mathematics is an interconnected subject in which children need to be able to move fluently between representations of mathematical ideas in order to develop a secure and deep understanding. The 2014 National Curriculum is explicit in articulating the importance of children using the correct mathematical language as a central part of their learning. It is therefore essential that teaching using the strategies outlined in this policy is accompanied by the use of appropriate and precise mathematical vocabulary. Our calculation policy promotes understanding in Key Stage 1, while laying the correct building blocks for understanding with greater sophistication in Key Stage 2.
Mathematics at home
Mathematics Knowledge Organisers
The mathematics knowledge organisers capture the key learning that has taken place during each term across the different year groups. They are clear and structured in sections to support remembering the new learning that has taken place. These are really useful for parents/carers to use to support children learning at home.
Times Table Rock Stars
Times tables are recognised as essential to access many mathematical concepts and knowledge will be assessed at the end of Year 4, by a National test.
When it comes to times tables, speed and accuracy are important – the more facts children remember, the easier it is for them to solve harder calculations. Times Table Rock Stars is a fun and challenging platform designed to help children master the times tables.
Year 4 Multiplication Check
In June, the children in Y4 participate in the statutory multiplication tables
Check. The purpose of the check is to determine whether your child can fluently recall their times tables up to 12. It is an on-screen check consisting of 25 times table questions. Your child will be able to answer 3 practice questions before taking the actual check. They will then have 6 seconds to answer each question. On average, the check should take no longer than 5 minutes to complete.
We encourage your child to use their online Times Table Rock Stars account on a daily basis. This should be for no more than 5 minutes. It has an excellent track record for improving times table recall and is great fun! One of the excellent features of TTRS is the ‘Sound Check’. This is an online game set up in the same way as the MTC in June. Practising via ‘Sound Check’ will help children to prepare for the MTC.
The following YouTube link provides a little more insight into the MTC if you’d like to watch it:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ct5cDctLVTI&list=PL6gGtLyXoeq9eWA31dGs2RmsAM8jDhDXs&index=3
Numbots
This game comes from the innovators of Times Tables Rock Stars. It’s an engaging platform for learning to add and subtract aimed predominately at EYFS and KS1. Children are exposed to a variety of representations and question styles for each concept, from pseudo-concrete, to pictorial, to abstract. This depth-before-breadth approach allows children to build up connections between key concepts and ideas, while the visual representations help to create mental models for more advanced questions. Minimal changes are made to questions from one level to the next, slightly shifting what children are concentrating on and gradually increasing the level of demand. The sequenced, unlockable levels prevent children from moving ahead until they have fully understood the current concept and grasped the skills they need to confidently tackle the next challenge. Within a level they keep the majority of each question the same, only varying a single element to focus on. By fixing certain common elements this reveals the underlying structure, helping children to recognise what is fundamental in order to select an efficient mental strategy.