Maths

Maths at St Andrew's CE School

At St Andrew’s CE School, our intent for mathematics is to teach a rich, balanced and varied curriculum.  We want all pupils to experience the power and enjoyment of mathematics and develop a sense of curiosity about the subject with a clear understanding, resulting in a good relationship with number to support them in their futures.  We aim for mathematics learning to take place across a variety of learning opportunities, not just formal maths lessons.  We foster positive ‘can do’ attitudes and believe all children can achieve in mathematics.  We teach for secure and deep understanding of mathematical concepts through manageable steps. Mistakes and misconceptions are an essential part of our teaching and learning, and we provide challenges through rich and sophisticated problems. Our school value of ‘Perseverance’ is an integral part of maths lessons.

We aim for all pupils to:

• become fluent in the fundamentals of mathematics so that they develop conceptual understanding and the ability to recall and apply knowledge rapidly and accurately. This is done through daily fluency sessions.
• be able to solve problems by applying their mathematics to a variety of problems with increasing sophistication, including in unfamiliar contexts and to model real-life scenarios.   
• reason mathematically by following a line of enquiry and develop and present a justification, argument or proof using mathematical language. We aim to provide the children with reasoning opportunities at different stages of a lesson.
• have an appreciation of number and number operations, which enables mental calculations and written procedures to be performed efficiently, fluently and accurately to be successful in mathematics.

Mathematics lessons at St Andrew’s CE School, follow a mastery approach, as we believe this gives all children the best opportunities to develop their skills.  The children sit in mixed-ability groups to allow all children to be involved in rich mathematical discussions.  Lesson design is carefully thought out to give opportunities to learn, rehearse and deepen mathematical skills and knowledge.  Opportunities for maths dialogue are both planned for and taken whenever the occasion arises.  Concrete apparatus is used to support learning for all learners. Pictorial images are used to both explain concepts and provide variation to deepen learning. Abstract calculations and mathematical concepts are carried out and discussed regularly.

We currently plan and deliver lessons following the NCETM Curriculum Prioritisation in Primary Maths subject map.  This allows us to break the learning down into small steps giving all children the chance to keep up, as well as providing the opportunity for children to retain what they have learned.  The NCETM also provides all teachers with excellent CPD documents, and these are intended to be used before the lesson planning stage. Teachers confidently adapt the pace of teaching points to suit the learners in their class. Further, daily fluency sessions are also taught to improve children’s mental maths and their automaticity. 

All of these aspects of a Mathematics lesson combine to give the children at St Andrew’s CE School both fantastic learning opportunities and an enjoyment of Maths.