Mathematics

 

Our Maths Lead is Kerri-Ann Weston.

Intent 

C: We promote and embed a positive Maths culture. 

H: Maths is vital in everyday life. Through problem-solving children are encouraged to be resilient, and accept that struggle is often a necessary step in learning, promoting positive mental health. 

A: We aspire for children to secure a deep and adaptable understanding of Maths which they can apply to different contexts. 

I: We develop our children’s mathematical identity by providing the opportunity to develop conceptual understanding through range of practical, investigative and written work.   

R: Children foster good relationships by talking about their Maths and working cooperatively to solve problems. They demonstrate respect for their peers and their ideas.

Values

Our curriculum is underpinned by our British values, equalities, school ethos and the need to build cultural capital for all our pupils.

At Rushden Primary Academy, we use the Teaching for Mastery approach to ensure our curriculum ...

• gives the opportunity for every child to learn and enjoy maths.
• encourages children to reason, problem-solve and make connections to real-life contexts.
• allows children to work collaboratively to refine and improve their learning.
• uses the CPA approach (concrete, pictorial, abstract) to teaching mathematics. 
• is built in small, logical steps to allow pupils of all ages to acquire a deep, secure and adaptable understanding of mathematical procedures.
• nurtures a positive attitude and builds confidence in mathematics so that all children can achieve
• develops procedural fluency and conceptual understanding.
• is taught together as a whole class and the focus is on depth - not acceleration - so that all children have a chance to embed learning..
• uses a ping-pong approach to teaching, allowing for questioning, short tasks, explanation, demonstration, and discussion, enabling pupils to think, reason and apply their knowledge to solve problems.
• Uses precise mathematical language to enable all pupils to communicate their reasoning and thinking effectively.
• allows us to quickly identify a pupil who may fail to grasp a concept and address gaps in understanding to prevent them from falling behind.

Vision and aims for maths in our school:

Children will have/be able to: 

• Foster reasoning and articulate problem-solving skills. They will learn how to analyse problems, make connections, and articulate their understanding using mathematical language. Through regular practice and exposure to a range of problem-solving tasks, students will become confident in explaining their mathematical thinking and reasoning.
• Promote collaborative learning and exploration of mathematical concepts. Collaborative tasks promote communication, peer learning, and the sharing of different perspectives. By working together, students can deepen their understanding through meaningful discussions and learn from each other's approaches.
• Connect mathematics to real-life contexts and applications.
• Develop automaticity in learning mathematical facts through regular practice and repetition. By developing automaticity in fundamental operations, such as addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division, students can solve problems more effectively and efficiently, freeing up cognitive resources for higher-level thinking.

By implementing this approach, we strive to provide students with a deep understanding of mathematics, the ability to explain their reasoning, the opportunity to work together, and a practical understanding of how mathematics is used in the world.

Progression of key concepts

Learning is pitched appropriately, in line with both the National Curriculum objectives and the Mastery Approach to teaching mathematics (see the maths curriculum progression linked at the bottom of the page). Rushden Primary Academy, we embrace the Mastery Approach to teaching mathematics. Every year group loosely follows the White Rose maths scheme. This ensures that a coherent, consistent approach is adopted in all year groups. The teaching blocks are broken down into smaller steps ensuring that significant time is spent developing a deep knowledge of the key ideas that are needed to underpin future learning. This means that all pupils can master concepts before moving to the next part of the curriculum sequence, allowing no pupil to be left behind. Pupils who grasp concepts rapidly are challenged by being offered greater-depth problems. Teachers provide scaffolding and relevant support as necessary. Children who don’t make expected progress are identified and interventions are put in place to support these children. We also use quality resources from other sources, including NCETM, Testbase, Nrich and I See Maths.

Resources

We use a combination of concrete resources, pictorial and abstract methods within our academy including clocks, scales, 2D and 3D shapes, numicon, number lines, tape measures, rulers, fraction walls and counters to name a few. Each class is equipped with a set of resources, which are displayed under the maths working wall for easy access. 

Maths vocabulary- 'maths sticky words.'

At Rushden Primary Academy, we use a mixture of white rose, planpanion and rising stars to help underpin our maths vocabulary within each year group (see vocabulary document linked below). Pupils are encouraged to use mathematical vocabulary to reason and explain their work. Discussion in maths is often generated by key questions such as ‘What do you notice?’ and ‘What's the same/different?'

Assessment

At Rushden Primary Academy, teachers utilise both formative and summative assessments to gauge students' progress and understanding of mathematics. Formative assessments are conducted while children are actively engaged in their learning, allowing teachers to provide immediate feedback and support. These assessments help identify any misconceptions or areas where additional instruction is needed.

In addition to ongoing formative assessments, teachers administer summative assessments at the end of specific units or academic years. These assessments serve as a way to evaluate students' overall achievement and provide a comprehensive picture of their mathematical knowledge and skills. Some of the assessments used at Rushden Primary Academy include:

1. White Rose tests: These assessments align with the White Rose Maths scheme and are designed to assess students' understanding of specific mathematical concepts and skills.

2. KS2 SATS: The Key Stage 2 SATS (Standardised Assessment Tests) are national assessments administered at the end of Year 6, respectively. These tests cover a range of mathematics topics and provide standardised measures of students' attainment.

3. Year 4 Multiplication Check: This is a national assessment administered in Year 4 to evaluate students' fluency in multiplication tables up to 12x12.

4. PIXL papers: PIXL (Partners in Excellence) papers are assessments provided by the PIXL organisation. These papers help identify individual student's strengths and areas for improvement, providing targeted support and intervention.