Maths
Vision and Rationale
We aim to make Maths exciting for our pupils by ensuring they have access to a high quality curriculum that is both challenging and enjoyable. We are committed to working towards a mastery approach that enables all children to achieve in Maths, regardless of their starting point.
We ensure that children are fully developed as independent learners with inquisitive minds who have secured mathematical foundations. We provide our pupils with a variety of opportunities, which will enable them to make the connections needed in real life situations and help them achieve greater levels of understanding.
Through careful questioning and collaborative work, we hope to develop children’s ability to think critically. We encourage children to articulate and discuss their cognitive thinking. All teaching staff use the White Rose Maths and Collins Busy Ant Schemes to support the teaching of Maths. In addition to this, they use high quality teaching resources such as NRICH and NCETM (Maths Hub).
By the end of Year 6, we ensure our pupils are fluent in all four operations (+, -, x, ÷) to enable them to solve problems involving long multiplication and division, fractions, decimals and percentages. We make every effort to ensure our pupils reach or exceed their full potential before they leave Risley in Year 6.
Using the Programmes of Study from the National Curriculum for Teaching Mathematics at Risley, it is our aim to develop:
- a positive attitude towards mathematics
- competence and confidence in mathematical knowledge, concepts and skills
- an ability to solve problems, to reason, to think logically and to work systematically and accurately.
- initiative and an ability to work both independently and in collaboration with others
- an ability to communicate mathematics
- an ability to use and apply mathematics across the curriculum and in real life
- an understanding of mathematics through a process of enquiry and experiment
At Risley the aim of teaching of maths is to develop the children’s use of knowledge and skills in order to solve a range of problems through reasoning, using and applying and fluency. We teach maths using learning objectives to meet the requirements of the new National Curriculum and the Foundation Stage Early Learning Goals.
Foundation Stage
In Reception, mathematics is taught following the key objectives that are in line with the Early Learning Goals for problem solving, reasoning and numeracy for reasoning & Numeracy in the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) published by DFES.
KS1 and KS2 teachers use the National Curriculum Programme of Study to teach mathematics.
Our school scheme of work (medium term plan) is a working document and as such is composed of ongoing plans produced on a week by week basis. This is developed from the National Curriculum Programmes of Study.
There is a whole school consistent approach to long, medium and short term planning for mathematics.
The school has developed a consistent approach to the teaching of written calculation methods to establish continuity and progression throughout the school.
Key Stage 1
At Risley, we aim to ensure that the children develop confidence and fluency through a solid understanding of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division using the related vocabulary.
In KS1 the children will also be introduced to the concept of fractions. Children will learn about
2D and 3D shapes and will develop their knowledge through drawing, sorting, comparing and
describing using vocabulary such as faces, edges, sides, square, cube, symmetry, right angles etc. The children will experience measures through a range of activities linked to length, mass, capacity/volume, time and money. By the end of KS1 the children should know their number bonds to 20, know their 2, 5 and 10 times tables and have a good understanding of place
value. We aim to provide the children with plenty of practice through practical work (e.g. using objects, pictures, number lines etc.) to ensure fluency within maths.
Key Stage 2
Our aim is to build on from the work in KS1 by developing and extending children’s knowledge of the four operations.
Children’s knowledge of shape, space and measure will be developed through reasoning so they can analyse the properties of shapes and the relationships between them, measure with increasing accuracy and make links between measure and number through everyday contexts. Children are also expected to use efficient written and mental calculation methods in order to solve a range of problems. They will experience more complex concepts within these areas e.g. conversion of units of measure, calculation of area, perimeter and volume and be expected to use and understand the related vocabulary.
At Risley, we aim to incorporate all of the above key skills and knowledge across both key stages, teaching the children to apply these through a variety of problem solving activities, develop their reasoning and fluency and allow them to become competent and confident mathematicians.
