Curriculum – Maths

What will take place before teaching in the classroom? 

The school’s senior leadership team will … 

• Lead the school staff to develop a curriculum intent consistent with school’s drivers and development of all curriculum subjects.  
• Develop specific Maths subject intent, which explains our school ethos and curriculum design in detail.  
• Support subject leader to spend time with staff to share skills.  
• Provide funding to support high quality implementation of the Maths curriculum.   

Curriculum leader will ...

• Understand and articulate the requirements of the curriculum. 
• Use this knowledge to support staff in the delivery of Maths  
• Ensure skills and knowledge are planned for progressively over time so that children become effective mathematicians.  
• Develop a long-term subject plan, which identifies the progression within each phase of knowledge, skills and vocabulary in Maths  
• Support staff to have a full picture of learning in Maths at each stage, including EYFS so prior knowledge is constantly referenced accurately. 
• Catalogue and organise an up to date range of resources so children have access to equipment, which supports them to extend their skills as a mathematician.  
• Establish and nurture links within the local community to mathematicians or those studying Maths, to give children aspirations.  
• Network with other local schools and the local authority to keep up to date with subject development.

The class teacher will, with the support of the curriculum leader … 

• Work in teams to develop curriculum skills grids, which outline the knowledge and skills to be covered over the course of each term and share with parents and carers alongside cross-curricular project Maths.  
• Use the long-term subject plan to ensure coverage in lessons is sequential, includes fluency, reasoning and problem solving, a balance between knowledge and skills and references prior learning. 
• Seek out the subject leader if they require support or advice.  
• Ensure lesson resources are engaging, appropriate and plentiful so children can learn knowledge and practise skills across the series of lessons.  
• Plan experiences, trips and visitors, which both enhance learning and place learning into context

What will this look like in the classroom? 

Our teaching sequence will be …. 

Mathematical development begins in EYFS and then becomes National Curriculum Mathematics in Year 1.  

At Neville’s Cross, we follow the 2014 National Curriculum for mathematics. The national curriculum for mathematics aims to ensure that all pupils:  

• Become fluent in the fundamentals of mathematics, including through varied and frequent practice with increasingly complex problems over time, so that pupils develop conceptual understanding and the ability to recall and apply knowledge rapidly and accurately.  
• Reason mathematically by following a line of enquiry, conjecturing relationships and generalisations, and developing an argument, justification or proof using mathematical language  
• Can solve problems by applying their mathematics to a variety of routine and non-routine problems with increasing sophistication, including breaking down problems into a series of simpler steps and persevering in seeking solutions.  

Children study mathematics daily covering a broad and balanced mathematical curriculum including elements of number, calculation, geometry, measures and statistics. 

Due to the interconnected nature of mathematics, at Neville’s Cross, we aim to teach maths in a cross-curricular manner as well as discretely to teach the practical application of mathematical skills. We focus not only on the mathematical methods but also focus on mathematical vocabulary. 

  Teachers draw from a range of high-quality resources such as White Rose Maths schemes, NRich and NCETM to expose children to a variety of reasoning and problem solving opportunities. Concrete, pictorial and abstract approaches are used to develop conceptual understanding. Teachers make clear links to real-life contexts to further broaden children’s ability to apply their mathematical knowledge. 

 To ensure full topic coverage, Neville’s Cross follow the Durham county grids to ensure continuity and progression in the teaching of mathematics. 

Children are assessed on a termly basis and any gaps in learning identified by teachers are addressed as a priority the following term. 

Times tables are taught discretely in all year groups with a particular focus in years two, three and four to ensure the children have met the curriculum objectives by the end of Year Four. 

To support the children with their multiplication practice, we use ‘Times Table Rockstars’ as an online and fun learning platform which also offer resources to be used in the classroom. 

Our classrooms will… 

• Provide a nurturing environment for learning where children, whatever their age can work individually, in pairs and cooperate in small groups. 
• Contain age-appropriate equipment specific to maths for children to use and refer to and a challenge area is located within the classroom 
• Displays - each class features a maths display with resources that children can refer to or support them with their learning that are dependent on age/phase. Key vocabulary is displayed that is linked to the area of mathematics that is being covered for children to refer to. 
• Non-negotiables for each year group are displayed in all classrooms. 
• Consistent approach to maths using county grids. 

Our children will be … 

• Enthused by their learning because coherent learning experiences give them the confidence to reach beyond their grasp. 
• Engaged by the challenge within lessons to demonstrate their knowledge.  
• Encouraged by specific feedback given by their teacher to reflect on their work and areas to improve using the marking policies consistently.  
• Nurtured to show confidence in contributing to their learning through sharing thoughts and ideas.  
• Develop Maths skills and confidence over time due to carefully planned, sequences of high quality lessons over time. 

How will this be measured? 

Pupil voice will show … 

• Enthusiasm and confidence in discussing their learning and experiences in Maths. 
• A clear understanding of the skills and knowledge relating to Maths, needed to be a mathematician.  
• A progression of the vocabulary used to articulate their learning and experiences as a mathematician.  

Displays around school and books will show ...

• Pupils have a balance of planned learning experiences including practical evidence in photographs on Seesaw, written work in books and work on display.  
• A varied and engaging curriculum, which develops a range of Maths skills.  
• Clear progression of skills in line with those identified on the long term plans.  
• That pupils, over time, develop a range of skills and knowledge across all parts of the Maths curriculum.  

The curriculum leader will … 

• Lead annual show case events to celebrate the success of children as mathematicians at Neville’s Cross. 
• Collate a portfolio of evidence, which reflect children’s deepening knowledge and experiences in all areas of maths over time.  
• Monitor standards of teaching, lessons and work.  
• Provide CPD opportunities including mentoring and coaching.