Mathematics
Intent
At Collingwood we want all pupils to have a love of Maths. Our aim is for our children to have an understanding of maths in the real world and be confident in their own abilities. To do this we provide a rich, balanced and progressive curriculum – embedding the skills outlined in the National Curriculum Programmes of study. The mapping of mathematics across the school shows clear progression in line with age related expectations.
Maths lessons at Collingwood should inspire children to confidently calculate, reason and problem solve whilst seeing relationships and making connections between concepts. We aim for all children to be inquisitive mathematicians and understand the application of their mathematics learning in real-life.
We want to encourage children to see maths as a tool for everyday life by creating a range of practical tasks, real-life problems and contextual experiences. Through the learning activities and tasks provided, the children will experience success and develop the ability to reason mathematically.
Implementation
In addition to following the National Curriculum, we use White Rose as our main approach in the teaching of mathematics.
The White Rose scheme begins in EYFS with having a secure understanding of numbers to 10, then moving on to 20 and beyond. They will also develop an understanding of patterns, measures and shape. As the children progress into Year 1, their knowledge from EYFS is built upon to secure their understanding of numbers to 20 to enable them to solve calculations and problems using these numbers. Through Key Stage 1 and 2, the small steps are sequenced to allow revisiting of the previous year coverage to address any gaps or misconceptions before teaching the new learning.
White Rose Maths concentrates on developing a child’s fluency, reasoning and problem solving in all areas. We follow the small steps highlighted for a child to develop their understanding in a particular area of mathematics. The progression of the small steps allows connections to be made and any gaps in a child’s understanding to be quickly identified and remedied.
To boost our times table recall speed, the pupils in KS2 also have access to Times Table Rock Stars. Using this website, the children are challenged to recall as many times tables facts as possible within a set time. We often hold inter-class and inter-school competitions to increase engagement and add another level of excitement for the children.
Key Stage 1 and 2 also have weekly fluency sessions to ensure our children leave school ‘fluent in the fundamentals of mathematics’. This will incorporate recapping of basic mathematical operations, looking back at mathematical concepts and applying their previous learning to problems.
Impact
Teachers carry out formative assessments daily through their direct teaching and when looking at children’s work. This informs the following session and highlights any misconceptions the children may have. As a result, teachers plan review activities or an intervention session for those needing further support to enable the success of every child.
Quality first teaching accompanied with high expectations and challenges appropriate for the age and ability of the children, ensures pupils become confident in their knowledge and understanding of mathematical concepts and can successfully progress to the next stage of their learning journey.
Foundation Stage 1
In Foundation Stage 1, the children focus on numbers 1-5; subitise up to 3 objects, use 1:1 correspondence to count up to 5 objects and compare quantities using the language of more than and fewer than.
Children also explore the properties of 2D and 3D shapes through meaningful and practical experiences.
Foundation Stage 2
In Pelican and Phoebe, the children focus on numbers 1-10. They work on representing numbers, composition of numbers and recognising numerals to 10. The children start work on finding one more and one less and link this to real life contexts whilst using concrete objects alongside pictorial representations.
Year 1
In Neptune and Mars, children begin by focusing on numbers to 10. Children develop their understanding of addition and subtraction within 10; exploring number facts using a variety of contexts, resources, models and images. Later in the year, children then begin to work within numbers to 20 again using a variety of contexts, resources, models and images
Year 2
Orion and Royal Sovereign begin by working on number and place value, looking closely at tens and ones. They then use this place value knowledge to solve addition and subtraction problems with numbers up to one hundred.
Children also practise counting to one hundred in steps of 1, 2, 5 and 10, then use this knowledge to develop their understanding multiplication and division.
Year 3
In Year 3, the children begin exploring the place value of 3 digit numbers; they use a range of practical resources to deepen their understanding of the base ten system. The children then use this knowledge to further their understanding of addition and subtraction; initially with 2 two-digit numbers before moving onto 3 digit numbers.
As part of year 3's multiplication and division work, the children consolidate their previous work on the 2,5 and 10 times tables before moving onto the 3, 4 and 8 times tables.
Year 4
The main focus in year 4 is ensuring that children are increasing fluent with whole numbers and the four operations, including number facts and the concept of place value. We work hard to ensure that children develop efficient written and mental methods to perform calculations with increasingly large numbers.
By the end of year 4 children should have memorised their times tables up to 12x12.
Year 5
The focus in year 5 is to entend children's knowledge of the number system and place value to include numbers up to 1 million. We also aim to develop the connection that children make between multiplication and division with fractions, decimals and percentages.
Children are encouraged to use this knowledge to solve a wide range of problems.
Year 6
In Year 6, we continue to work on ensuring that children are fluent in written and mental methods for all four operations working with numbers up to 10 million. Alongside, developing children's understanding of fractions, decimals and percentages.
In May, children complete their SATs tests which assess their understanding of the full maths curriculum. In addition to assessing their understandng of place value and the four operations, the tests also include questions on measures, geometry, algebra and statistics.
