Mathematics
At St Vincent’s Catholic Primary School, we want every child to develop a love of mathematics and the confidence to use it in everyday life. We believe that all children can become successful mathematicians when they are given the right teaching, support, challenge and opportunities to practise.
Our mathematics curriculum is designed to build secure knowledge and understanding from the Early Years through to Year 6. We use the White Rose Maths scheme as a foundation for our planning, ensuring that learning is carefully sequenced and that children build on what they already know.
Learning for Mastery
Our approach is based on the principles of mathematical mastery. Rather than rushing through content, we give children time to develop a deep understanding of important mathematical ideas.
Lessons provide opportunities for children to:
• explore new mathematical concepts
• use practical resources and representations
• develop mathematical vocabulary
• explain their thinking and reasoning
• make connections between different areas of mathematics
• practise and apply their knowledge
• solve increasingly challenging problems.
We use concrete resources, pictorial representations and abstract mathematical notation to help children understand concepts deeply and make connections between different ways of representing mathematics.
Fluency, Reasoning and Problem Solving
Our mathematics curriculum develops three important aspects of mathematical understanding.
Fluency helps children develop accuracy, efficiency and confidence with number facts, calculations and mathematical procedures.
Reasoning helps children explain their thinking, justify their answers, make connections and use mathematical vocabulary accurately.
Problem solving enables children to apply their mathematical knowledge to solve problems, make decisions and tackle unfamiliar situations.
These skills are developed throughout the school so that children become increasingly independent and confident mathematicians.
Building on What Children Know
Learning is carefully sequenced so that new knowledge builds on previous learning. Teachers use assessment, questioning and retrieval to identify what children already understand and where misconceptions may have developed.
Key knowledge and skills are revisited regularly so that children can remember and apply their learning confidently. Children are encouraged to make connections between different areas of mathematics and use what they know in new situations.
Supporting and Challenging Every Child
We have high expectations for every pupil and believe that all children can succeed in mathematics.
Teachers use adaptive teaching to respond to individual needs within lessons. Children who need additional support are given carefully chosen resources, explanations, modelling and opportunities to practise. Children who are ready for greater challenge are encouraged to deepen their thinking and apply their knowledge in more complex contexts.
We pay particular attention to ensuring that disadvantaged pupils, vulnerable pupils and pupils with SEND are supported to overcome barriers and achieve well in mathematics.
Mathematical Vocabulary and Talk
We place a strong emphasis on mathematical language. Children are taught the vocabulary they need to describe mathematical ideas, explain their reasoning and communicate their thinking clearly.
Classroom discussion is an important part of mathematics lessons. Children are encouraged to share different methods, listen to the ideas of others and explain why an answer or strategy works.
We want our pupils to be confident enough to say, “I know this because…” and “I can explain my thinking.”
Making Mathematics Meaningful
Mathematics is not just about completing calculations. We want children to understand how mathematics is used in the world around them.
Through problem solving and real life contexts, pupils apply their learning to situations involving money, measures, time, data, shape and everyday decision making. They develop the confidence to use mathematics beyond the classroom.
Developing a Love of Mathematics
We want our children to see mathematics as something to explore, question and enjoy.
We celebrate perseverance and encourage children to learn from mistakes. We want them to understand that being successful in mathematics is not about being the quickest, but about developing understanding, making connections and being willing to think hard.
By the time children leave St Vincent’s, we want them to be confident and resilient mathematicians who have secure mathematical knowledge, can reason and solve problems effectively, and are ready to use mathematics successfully in secondary school and beyond.
Through our approach, every child is encouraged to achieve, belong and thrive in mathematics and to let their light shine.
Intent
The Intent of our maths curriculum is to:
- Equip children with the skills to become confident, competent and fluent mathematicians.
- Enable children to reason critically and problem solve confidently.
- Equip children to be confident with applying their mathematics to real-life contexts so they can apply their learning to the wider world.
At St Vincent’s we aspire to make the learning ambitious for all learners. Our school curriculum includes the knowledge, skills and life experiences children need to thrive. Our learning is carefully planned and sequenced using the National Curriculum that can be found below:
National Curriculum Mathematics
Knowledge and skills are built on from previous years and there is clear progression in each subject. You can see an overview of progression below:
Each curriculum area is taught across the year and evidenced on a long term plan, divided into half termly blocks. You can see the long term plan below:
Maths Developments Spring 1 2024
Maths Developments Spring 2 2024
