Year 2 pupils sat on the classroom floor , a teacher points at an interactive computer screen

Mathematics at Carleton Endowed CE (VA) Primary School

Intent:

The Mathematics curriculum at Carleton Endowed CE (VA) Primary School provides our children with the knowledge, skills and understanding to become fluent and confident mathematical problem solvers. Children are taught to think and reason mathematically, applying skills efficiently and fluently to come to an accurate answer to problems. Mathematics at Carleton Endowed CE (VA) Primary School aims to provide children with an understanding of the world around them and inspire a curiosity and enjoyment of the subject. Our intent for maths at Carleton can be summarised in 5 different ways.

  • Coherence

Connecting new ideas to concepts that have already been understood, and ensuring that, once understood and mastered, new ideas are used again in next steps of learning, all steps being small steps.

  • Representation and Structure

Representations used in lessons expose the mathematical structure being taught, the aim being that students can do the maths without recourse to the representation.

  • Mathematical Thinking

If taught ideas are to be understood deeply, they must not merely be passively received but must be worked on by the student: thought about, reasoned with and discussed with others.

  • Fluency
     

Quick and efficient recall of facts and procedures and the flexibility to move between different contexts and representations of mathematics.

  • Variation

Varying the way a concept is initially presented to students, by giving examples that display a concept as well as those that don’t display it. Also, carefully varying practice questions so that mechanical repetition is avoided, and thinking is encouraged.

Implementation:

At Carleton Endowed CE (VA)  Primary School, we use the White Rose Maths schemes of work to deliver the National Curriculum for Mathematics. We teach the maths mastery approach using CPA (Concrete Pictorial Abstract) in all year groups from reception to year 6. The CPA system involves:

Concrete: New mathematical concepts are introduced through the use of concrete resources (e.g. Numicon, Diennes blocks, counters etc) that they can manipulate.

Pictorial: Next the children use pictorial representations to solve problems - sometimes these are pictures of the concrete objects they were using, as well as other pictorial representations such as diagrams or number lines.

Abstract: Finally children solve problems where they only have the abstract; numbers or other symbols.

Building these steps across a lesson can help children to secure their understanding of new mathematical concepts and help them make links between concepts.

On Fridays we teach an Arithmetic session, in Years  2-6, where children focus on the rapid recall of facts and numbers.

A teacher pointing at a workbook a looked on shared by pupils sat at a desk

Impact:

We endeavour to ensure that all children achieve their maximum potential regarding their attainment in Maths. Rigorous monitoring exercises are carried out throughout the year in order to measure the impact of the curriculum design. Together with the Head teacher and senior leadership, the Maths subject leader monitors the teaching and learning of Maths across the school, evaluates pupil voice, shares effective practice and new initiatives and identifies the subject’s key strengths and areas for development. Teachers throughout the school carefully assess the impact of each lesson and the performance of all individuals to ensure that pupils are on track to reach the expectations of our curriculum. We intend the impact of our Maths curriculum will ensure that our pupils are self-motivated learners and are effectively prepared for life in the modern world.