Birstwith CE Primary School

Lessons

In all lessons the learning objective is clearly displayed.

Teaching is interactive and lively, and designed to encourage children to talk about mathematics:

Within a lesson, the teacher is required to:

• retrieve key knowledge through a review of prior learning
• direct and instruct using well-structured information underpinned by excellent subject knowledge
• demonstrate by modelling and describing mathematical methods using appropriate resources and visual displays
• explain and illustrate by giving accurate and well-paced expectations
• question using a range of question types
• discuss including making time for children's ideas and opinions
• reflect on and evaluate reponses - identify errors as positive teaching points
• review teaching content, enabling children to focus on next steps in future lessons.

The staff and governors at Birstwith CE Primary School are committed to creating an environment that enables children to be curious and positive about mathematics.  Driven by inclusion that underpins our endevours, school staff demonstrate an unwavering ambition for all children to fulfil their aspirations.

Mathematics is promoted as a subject which supports development and is profoundly important when making sense of and achieving success in the wider world.  We recognise the purpose of mathematics is to nuture creativity, abstract and/or spacial thinking, critical thinking, problem solving and communication skills.  Lamguage development is of crucial importance in supporting the use and understanding of mathematical vocabulary.

Staff and governors commit that they will:

• fulfil the requirements and deliver the content of the National Curriculum for Mathematics and the Early Years Foundation Stage Profile;
• prioritise mathematical fluency, arithmetical proficiency and mastery of the four operations;
• maintain up to date understanding of the knowledge and skills required by our children and use this to adapt and inform approaches to teaching, learning and assessment;
• build a mathematical curriculum that is based on endpoints that are in sequence and support progression;
• engage parents in children's learning;
• expect and demand only the best standards of teaching, learning and assessment from school staff with a priority on knowing and understanding the needs of our children

Implementation

To ensure that children achieve the best possible outcomes through a well sequenced and inspiring mathematics curriculum, school staff work within their role to:

• prioritise mathematical fluency as a starting point for progress
• check understanding, identifying and correcting misconceptions
• deliver teaching and learning opportunities that develop conceptual understanding
• use carefully crafted planning to build a progressive understanding of concepts
• enable children to routinely explore mathematics in depth, using mathematical language to reason and explain their workings
• provide access to a wide range of mathematical resources in order for pupils to explore and show their workings in concrete, pictorial or abstract form wherever suitable
• set an expectation that children can explain their choice of methods and thereby develop mathematical reasoning skills

Planning and Organisation

​Long-term planning

The National Curriculum for Mathematics 2014, Development Matters and Early Learning Goals (Number and Numerical Patterns) provided the basis of the long term planning for mathematics taught in school.

Medium-term planning

Reception to Year 6 use White Rose Maths schemes of learning as medium term planning documents.  These schemes are broken down into fluency, reasoning and problem solving  - the key aims of the National Curriculum.  Through high quality exemplification of mathematics objectives, White Rose strategies support a mastery approach to teaching and learning whereby teachers are guided to prioritise depth of understanding over bredth of coverage.  By continuing to explore and apply concepts, children become proficient, secure and confident within the scope of age related expectations.  This is fundamental to preparing children for the next step of their education, both within their current year group and as they progress through school.

Short-term planning

The White Rose Maths schemes of learning support daily lesson planning.  All classes access a daily mathematics lesson.  Lessons are forty-five to sixty minutes long.  Teachers in EYFS ensure children learn through a mixture of adult led and child initialled activities both inside and outside the classroom.

Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND)

Daily mathematics lessons are inclusive to children with special educatiuonal needs and disabilities.  Where appropriate, the targets in a child's Individual Action Plan (IAP) incorporate relevant objectives from the National Curriculum for Mathematics.  Teachers are required to take into account the content of IAPs when planning lessons.