This page will give you more information of what your child is learning in Maths. We have included our calculation policy on this page to show you how the children are taught to calculate at Kilkhampton Junior and Infant School.

Intent

In Maths, our intent for the curriculum is to teach a rich, balanced and progressive curriculum, using Maths to reason, problem solve and develop fluent conceptual understanding in each area. At Kilkhampton, we use our schemes, polices and resources to fulfil this vision and enable all children to be confident mathematicians. We aim for children to be able to reason and solve a range of mathematical problems. Our school follows the White Rose schemes of work to implement this and teachers are given a range of resources in order to allow the children to achieve their potential. Teachers are provided a range of resources to provide a rich and balanced curriculum.

The aims of our Maths curriculum are to develop pupils who:

• Make rich connections across mathematical ideas to develop fluency, mathematical reasoning and competence in solving increasingly sophisticated problems.
• Can recall key number facts e.g. number bonds and times tables with speed and accuracy and use them to calculate and work out unknown facts.
• Are able to apply their mathematical knowledge to all other subjects.
• Know that maths is essential to everyday life
• Are confident mathematicians who are not afraid to take risks.
• Are independent learners with inquisitive minds who have secure mathematical foundations and an interest in self-improvement.

Subject leaders and teachers decide how the children in their class will be best supported and challenged for different areas of maths in how they use resources and planning from these schemes. The mapping of Mathematics across school shows clear progression in line with age-related expectations. We follow the white rose scheme to ensure parity across different classes with split year groups however staff use their professional judgement when deciding if and when certain areas of maths need more practise, consolidation and extending.

Implementation

The Maths curriculum is taught daily in all classes following the White Rose schemes of work. This is also followed in Year 6 however the order in which this is taught is slightly different to fit with SATs. We support children’s learning through ‘Concrete – Pictorial – Abstract’, to ensure that children develop a deeper understanding of what they are learning.

Teachers predominantly use White Rose resources to teach the curriculum however they have other resources to supplement their learning. These include: Deepening Understanding, Testbase, Classroom Secrets, Nrich and others. Teachers are free to use resources of their choice as long as the White Rose scheme of work is being followed. We have a range of practical resources available for teachers to use appropriately for their children’s age and ability.

Children are given opportunities to reason and solve problems regularly in all areas of mathematics. Children’s fluency is developed through practising key skills, repeating, reinforcing and revising. Children are given time to practice and perfect their calculation strategies, including having opportunities to make appropriate decisions when estimating, calculating and evaluating the effectiveness of their chosen methods. A big focus within our school is on perseverance and to develop resilience. Children are constantly reminded about the importance of perseverance when faced with a solving a problem in Maths.

We have a calculation policy linked to White Rose Maths which shows clear progression of methods before moving into a more concise written method. Our children are given lots of opportunities to practise and improve their knowledge and fluency with their tables using Times Table Rockstars. This is introduced in Year 2 and happens more regularly in KS2.

Assessments are carried out every term to help with tracking children’s progression. Formative assessment is vital at Kilkhampton Junior and Infant School and is used in conjunction with summative assessments to enable teachings to make accurate judgements.

Formative Assessment: Teachers carry out formative assessment in each session and feedback is given to children verbally, and through marking. Teachers then use this assessment to influence their planning, including adding a RAG rating to an assessment document to gain a clearer picture of how the children are progressing through each unit.

Summative Assessments: Children complete End of Block assessments for each phase of learning. The results of these are recorded using an assessment document (Year 1-5). These are shared across teaching staff including subject leaders. Results are used to further inform planning and allow for tailored interventions groups to take place to ensure the objectives are secured. We also assess with termly tests at the end of the Autumn, Spring and Summer term. In Year 1-5 we use the White Rose end of term assessment tests. In Year 6, they are assessed using past SATs papers.

Interventions: At Kilkhampton Junior & Infant School, we believe that children have the potential to achieve in maths, and focus on whole class teaching. However, where required, interventions happen with children who are identified as needing more support and practise to reinforce concepts and understanding. Subject leaders in tandem with class teachers identify children who are behind age related expectations and analyse summative data (termly tests and end of unit tests) to find areas of weakness in the curriculum. Our interventions are focused and timely to support children to progress on identified areas of weakness.

Impact

The impact of our mathematics curriculum is that our children, across all abilities, move through the curriculum making similar progress. We aim for each child to be confident in each yearly objective and develop their ability to use this knowledge to develop a greater depth understanding to solve varied fluency problems as well as problem solving and reasoning questions. However, decisions about when to progress should always be based on the security of pupils’ understanding and their readiness to progress to the next stage. This can be assessed through formative and summative assessment (end of unit tests) during each unit.

Pupils who grasp concepts are challenged through rich and sophisticated problems to deepen their understanding before moving onto new content. Those who are not sufficiently fluent with earlier material consolidate their understanding, occasionally through interventions. Our maths books and White Rose workbooks (KS1) have a range of activities/questions which show evidence of fluency, reasoning and problem solving.

Subject Monitoring: We regularly monitor the quality and impact of our mathematics curriculum through targeted learning walks, book scrutiny and pupil interviews. Data analysis happens regularly to identify areas of weakness in the curriculum.