At Gamesley Primary School, we have adopted a mastery approach to the teaching of mathematics. This means that we send more time going into depth about a subject as opposed to racing through the things that all children should know.
We want to ensure that children have a solid, concrete understanding of subject knowledge and skills as well as being emotionally resilient for secondary school. We take learning at a steadier and deeper pace, ensuring that no child is left behind, as well as providing deeper and richer experiences for children who are above the national expectation for their age.
Children are taught as a whole class and supported to develop their fluency skills before deepening their understanding through reasoning and problem-solving activities therefore allowing them to master mathematical concepts fully.
We use the “Power Maths “scheme as the basis of our maths teaching supported by materials from NCETM, Classroom Secrets and White Rose.
Our Aims in Maths Teaching
- Develop children’s knowledge and understanding of mathematical concepts whilst enabling them to practice and hone skills and methods
- Enable children to think critically and communicate their understanding
- Give children opportunities to apply learnt mathematical skills in different contexts across the curriculum
- Provide opportunities to develop problem-solving skills useful for maths and across the curriculum · Prepare children for applying their skills effectively in everyday life situations, in their future learning and in the work place
- Have the building blocks in place and provide a solid foundation to lead onto secondary, further and higher education
How we Teach Maths
- Maths learning builds from a concrete understanding of concepts where children are manipulating objects. When children are able to see concepts this way, they then need to understand the same concepts represented pictorially. Children are then ready for abstract representation before being able to apply their knowledge to different situations.
- Children are encouraged at all times to communicate their understanding of maths so that it clarifies their thoughts and develops their use of mathematical language.
- Children’s mental maths is of great importance, with number bonds, times tables facts and various strategies for calculation taught and practiced at school through 15 minutes of teaching before the delivery of the main maths lesson.
- A progression towards efficient written calculations should be developed and applied consistently in each year-group. The school Calculation Policy (see below) is followed to ensure consistency throughout the school.
- The majority of lessons involve all children working towards the same year group objective; differentiation will occur through use of resources, adult and peer support.
How we mark and Assess Progress in Maths
- Assessment for learning occurs throughout the entire maths lesson, enabling teachers and teaching assistants to adapt their teaching/input to meet the children’s needs. Feedback is incisive and regular.
- Teacher assessment is used to plan and deliver same-day interventions to allow every child the opportunity to master the learning objective
Pupil’s work is marked in the lesson, in line with the Marking Policy, and models how corrections should be made, giving children a chance to learn from their misconceptions or incorrect methods.
- Assessment of work and progress is ongoing by the class teacher and informs future planning.
- Summative assessments are made every six weeks in order to provide further understanding of the level a child is working at and to inform a more rounded judgement of their abilities.
Display & Resources for Maths
- In all classrooms, there are level appropriate resources, particularly concrete and pictorial apparatus to support children to grasp concepts.
- Mathematical vocabulary is displayed so that children use this in the communication of their understanding.
- Maths work is on display in all classrooms in order to encourage a positive attitude and enthusiasm towards mathematics for all groups of children.
- Displays are active learning walls, which are used and referred to during the teaching of mathematics.
Our School Calculation Policies
Key Stage 1 Calculation Policy