Teaching and Learning Policy
MATHS ADDENDUM
SEPTEMBER 2023
Policy last reviewed: September Reviewed by: Matthew Ascroft Agreed by governors: Shared with staff: Frequency of review: Annually Date of next review: September 2024 |
Head Teacher: Matthew Ascroft Leaders with responsibility for Teaching and Learning Policy Inclusion Lead : Lucy Pater Curriculum : Ellen Parker Reading : Sarah Morris Writing : Nicola Burns Maths : Callum Morrow Early Years : Carla Lapworth Early Years and Phonics : Carla Lapworth
Chair of Governors: Mr Bill Gallagher |
1 Vision
Believe and Achieve!
Stoke Primary School seeks to ensure that every member of the community can
Believe and Achieve.
The learning systems that are established within this policy place each and every child at the centre of their learning. By empowering each child with skills, knowledge and learning systems, they can significantly impact on their own achievement and seek to be the best they can be.
2 Aims and Objectives
Mathematics is essential to everyday life. It intertwines many other disciplines and is critical to science, technology and engineering whilst being essential for financial literacy. The national curriculum aims to ensure that all children develop fluency, mathematical reasoning and competence in solving increasingly sophisticated problems. At Stoke, we aim to achieve this by fostering a sense of enjoyment and curiosity about the subject. Children learn core concepts through use of the concrete, pictorial, abstract (CPA) approach and this ties into White Rose Maths mastery and deep learning. Children are given the chance to understand and explain what they’ve learned by ‘doing’ first of all, using concrete objects. Developing children’s mathematical vocabulary is key to this and all lessons drive the use of accurate vocabulary and maths displays are built around this so that they become a crucial element of the learning. To plan lessons the teachers follow the white rose overview. The yearly overview for each year group suggests the teaching time needed for every block of learning. The Autumn, Spring and Summer sections are split equally into 12 weeks comprising 11 weeks of blocks followed by a week of consolidation. The objectives in each block are broken down into a series of carefully planned small steps. Teachers teach the content in the suggested order as the step sequence is designed to gradually develop children’s understanding. Teachers then adapt planning as necessary to meet the needs of their pupils.
3 Key Principles of Effective Learning at Stoke Primary
Stoke understands the importance of lifelong learning skills for all our children to enable them the chance to fulfil their dreams. To facilitate this we have three key aspects of effective learning.
Stoke Primary School recognizes that many elements of maths are best taught discretely however where we have immersive topics we seek those opportunities to make meaningful links to contextualise maths skills. Whenever possible, teachers also relate learning to the real world ensuring that children understand that maths is in the world all around them and not just the classroom.
Stoke Primary School considers the Characteristics of Effective Learning, as defined in the EYFS, to be key components that lead to lifelong learning. Stoke Primary School applies a progression of these throughout all year groups as a structure that underpins good learning. The language and its application develops through school and our children learn to develop these characteristics throughout all their learning.
These characteristics support effective mathematical learning:
Active Learning
The small step sequence provides children with a goal to aim for. Children are encouraged to develop their perseverance to mathematical problems and to be proud of their achievements when overcoming adversity.
Playing and Exploring
Children are encouraged to become independent learners, selecting appropriate mathematical resources for themselves that will effectively support their learning and to use accurate mathematical vocabulary in their oral and written explanations.
Creating and Thinking Critically
Children are encouraged to share ideas and their different ways of approaching a question or problem. At Stoke, we are developing the children’s ability to choose their own appropriate ways to present their answers and working out.
At Stoke, maths sequences of learning follow an adapted version of the white rose small steps progression which are a series of carefully learning objectives that children need to master to progress onto more challenging lessons. There are small steps for each year group, which are sorted into blocks of weeks.
We have used white rose maths recommendations to carefully plan the order of these steps to help children gradually develop their skills.
Our routes through calculation have been devised to meet requirements of the National Curriculum 2014 for the teaching and learning of mathematics, and are also designed to give pupils a consistent and smooth progression of learning in calculations across the school. We are using the policy from White Rose calculations policy so that they tie in with the White Rose schemes of learning used across the school. Children have access to a wide range of concrete resources throughout the learning sequences.
We believe that through a variety of interactive, visual and engaging techniques, all children can achieve the full multiplication tables knowledge by the time they leave Primary School. The new National Curriculum (2014) states that by the end of year 4, pupils should be able to recall multiplication and division facts for multiplication tables up to 12x12. Children in Year 4 are also required to take a multiplication tables check (MTC) in the Summer Term. The purpose of the check is to determine whether pupils can fluently recall their times tables up to 12, which is essential for future success in mathematics. To support children’s learning of multiplication tables children have access to Times Tables Rockstars and we use regular times tables battles across different year groups to raise the engagement.
To support our children's learning, each class will develop a learning wall for their current learning objective or unit of work. Learning walls contain key vocabulary that has been gathered and discussed as part of the teaching sequence. Our learning walls contain examples of working methods that the children can independently access to support their learning. The learning wall will also contain a challenge question and examples of resources that the children can use to help their learning.
As a school, we recognise the importance of number fluency and how it is vital to give children the best chance of success in the future. As a result of this, we use Key Instant Recall Facts (KIRF) and the children will work a specific number fact skill for each half term. Depending on the year group, these include such things as number bonds, properties of number, counting and times tables. We also include arithmetic starters four times a week where the children recall key facts and methods they have previously been taught.
4 Planning and Assessment
We believe that planning and assessment are inextricably linked and are fundamental to effective learning. Teachers have the responsibility to assimilate core information to ensure that planned learning is tailored to meet the needs of the class and through effective assessment, progress can be clearly defined.
As a school, we are now using an S planning frame to plan each of our maths units. Within this S plan, teachers are looking at the sequence of the small steps for that unit as well as deciding which manipulatives and representations will be the most effective for each step. Key vocabulary and common misconceptions are also considered during the planning process to give our children the best opportunity to succeed.
Our wider topic plans include maths skills where strong and secure mathematical development is supported. Stoke does not advocate tenuous maths connections being made in topics and instead promotes discrete maths teaching and learning.
Teachers plan in year groups and then tailor plans and resources for each class’s attainment needs. Teachers follow the white rose long term plans which ensure national curriculum coverage. Weekly planning utilises a small step sequence of learning to ensure that a cohesive sequence of learning is planned that will cater for the needs of all learners and develop the identified target skills.
Where monitoring identifies planning as insufficient for effective learning or has limited impact on pupil progress, support is provided by subject leaders with the use of established formats and guidance.
Assessment spreadsheets are used to assess and record attainment in mathematics. The spreadsheets contain key developmental skills and enable teachers to measure, track and share children’s attainment. They are used to record formative and summative assessment and provide the supporting evidence necessary to make age-related judgements on children’s attainment.
To aid maths assessment, structured summative assessments are used
Assessment information is used to support effective teaching and learning and to ensure than planning caters for the needs of the cohort.
Moderation is conducted within the network in line with county expectations and as part of professional development in school.
5 Policies that support the Teaching and Learning Policy
6 Research to support policy approach
“Manipulatives and representations can be powerful tools for supporting pupils to engage with mathematical ideas. Teachers should ensure that there is a clear rationale for using a particular manipulative or representation to teach a specific mathematical concept.” (EEF Improving Mathematics in Key Stage 2 and 3). We use a calculation policy that sets out which manipulatives would be effective for teaching each objective so there is a clear rationale for their use.
“Quick retrieval of number facts is important for success in mathematics.” (EEF Improving Mathematics in Key Stage 2 and 3). We place a high focus on retrieval and fluency of number facts. We have specific Key Instant Recall Facts (KIRF) for each year groups to focus on for each half term and also have dedicated time 4 days a week where the children practice their arithmetic fluency which includes number facts.
“Focusing on children spending a short time with a teacher before the lesson to go over a concept they failed to grasp in the previous lesson.” (Closing the attainment gap in maths: a study of good practice in early years and primary settings, 2017). Primarily, our maths interventions are same day interventions where children who have failed to grasp the concept in the morning will spend some additional time in the afternoon working on this before the next lesson.
“Carefully structured teaching is planned in small steps. This provides both the necessary scaffold for all to achieve, and the necessary detail and rigour of all aspects of the maths to facilitate deep thinking. The small steps are connected and concepts are built. This leads to generalisation of the maths, and the ability to apply it to multiple contexts and solve problems,” (Mastery Explained, NCETM, 2022). All of our units have a small step sequence to help scaffold their learning journey to give everyone the best chance to succeed.
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