At HWCE we use creative approaches to teaching, providing practical and outdoor learning to enhance the learning experience. Furthermore, our curriculum is embedded with the use of a growth mindset approach within all our lessons. Through the wider curriculum and key events, we provide opportunities for our children to utilise their maths skills outside of core lessons.
Every child is delivered 4 x 1 hour core maths lessons a week, 1 x 30 min arithmetic lesson and 30 minutes independent learning on our online platform – Maths Whizz. Online homework (Maths Whizz and Timestable Rockstars) is used to develop and review a child's learning.
Fluency / Problem Solving / Reasoning is an integral part of teaching and learning.
EYFS
Number, Patterns and Spatial Reasoning
Developing a strong grounding in number is essential so that all children develop the necessary building blocks to excel mathematically.
Children should be able to count confidently, develop a deep understanding of the numbers to 10, the relationships between them and the patterns within those numbers.
By providing frequent and varied opportunities to build and apply this understanding - such as using manipulatives, including small pebbles and tens frames for organising counting - children will develop a secure base of knowledge and vocabulary from which mastery of mathematics is built.
In addition, it is important that the curriculum includes rich opportunities for children to develop their spatial reasoning skills across all areas of mathematics including shape, space and measures.
It is important that children develop positive attitudes and interests in mathematics, look for patterns and relationships, spot connections, ‘have a go’, talk to adults and peers about what they notice and not be afraid to make mistakes, developing their resilient mind-set.
Key stage 1
The principal focus of mathematics teaching in key stage 1 is to ensure that pupils develop confidence and mental fluency with whole numbers, counting and place value. This should involve working with numerals, words and the four operations, including with practical resources.
At this stage, pupils should develop their ability to recognise, describe, draw, compare and sort different shapes and use the related vocabulary. Teaching should also involve using a range of measures to describe and compare different quantities such as length, mass, capacity/volume, time and money. Pupils should develop their ability to solve a range of problems and be able to reason in line with year group expectations
By the end of year 2, pupils should know the number bonds to 20 and be precise in using and understanding place value. An emphasis on practice at this early stage will aid fluency.
Pupils should read and spell mathematical vocabulary, at a level consistent with their increasing word reading and spelling knowledge at key stage 1.
Key stage 2
The principal focus of mathematics teaching in key stage 2 is to ensure that pupils become increasingly fluent with whole numbers and the four operations, including number facts and the concept of place value. This should ensure that pupils develop efficient written and mental methods and perform calculations accurately with increasingly large whole numbers. This should develop the connections that pupils make between multiplication and division with fractions, decimals, percentages and ratio.
Pupils should develop their ability to solve a range of problems and be able to reason, including with fractions and decimal place value. Teaching should also ensure that pupils draw with increasing accuracy and develop mathematical reasoning so they can analyse shapes and their properties, confidently describing the relationships between them. It should ensure that they can use measuring instruments with accuracy and make connections between measure and number. With this foundation in arithmetic, pupils are introduced to the language of algebra as a means for solving a variety of problems. Teaching in geometry and measures should consolidate and extend knowledge developed in number. Teaching should also ensure that pupils classify shapes with increasingly complex geometric properties and that they learn the vocabulary they need to describe them.
By the end of year 4, pupils should have memorised their multiplication tables up to and including the 12 multiplication table and show precision and fluency in their work.
Pupils should read and spell mathematical vocabulary correctly and confidently, using their growing word reading knowledge and their knowledge of spelling; pronouncing mathematical wording correctly.