St Wilfrid's C of E Primary School

At St Wilfrid's our children are...

Through dedicated teaching, we aim to foster a love of mathematics within our pupils and to promote a love of challenge. We believe learning how to be a mathematician should be fun, rewarding and achievable for all pupils.  We aim to offer depth and access to challenge for all learners.  We expect all pupils to be fluent with number and to be able to apply their knowledge to solve problems.  We follow a mastery curriculum, with the view that all pupils will deepen their conceptual understanding as they progress through each Key Stage.   

We believe that everyone can learn maths, everyone can learn from failure, and that all pupils will develop into able mathematicians through experiencing our curriculum.

We follow the National Curriculum and the aims stated within it, as seen below:

The national curriculum for mathematics aims to ensure that all children:

• become fluent in the fundamentals of mathematics, including through varied and frequent practice with increasingly complex problems over time, so that children develop conceptual understanding and the ability to recall and apply knowledge rapidly and accurately
• reason mathematically by following a line of enquiry, conjecturing relationships and generalisations, and developing an argument, justification or proof using mathematical language
• can solve problems by applying their mathematics to a variety of routine and non-routine problems with increasing sophistication, including breaking down problems into a series of simpler steps and persevering in seeking solutions

At St Wilfrid’s, we use White Rose Maths as the sequenced, progressive framework for our mastery approach delivery of maths.  This is supplemented by a wide-range of other resources such as Nrich and Gareth Metcalfe’s challenges, which have been curated to ensure that all children experience the opportunity to think deeply, reason and solve problems.  We work with Turing Maths Hub to ensure all staff have access to the latest, research-led professional development.  Our mastery journey has seen us engage with staff, children and parents to ensure that the teaching of maths is tailored to the needs the of school community. We follow a CPA approach, with all children having access to concrete resources and everyone being exposed to variation in models and images.

In EYFS, our children are exposed to a language-rich mathematical diet, incorporating Mastering Number and exploration through continuous provision.  Mastering Number is also used throughout Key Stage One as a daily, whole-class session.  Our membership of Turing Maths Hubs has allowed us access to this fully-funded project, with the aims set out below:

This project aims to secure firm foundations in the development of good number sense for all children from Reception through to Year 1 and Year 2. The aim over time is that children will leave KS1 with fluency in calculation and a confidence and flexibility with number. Attention will be given to key knowledge and understanding needed in Reception classes, and progression through KS1 to support success in the future.

In Key Stage Two, our children continue to embed additive facts alongside learning multiplicative facts.  We have daily counting sessions and encourage the use of interactive tools like Times Tables Rock Stars and Numbots.  We assess and support the learning of key facts, in partnership with parents, as they are the bedrock upon which great mathematicians are built. In all year groups, children witness teachers modelling how to reason and solve problems, with a focus on the language of explanation.  Children are expected to demonstrate arithmetical proficiency, justify their thinking and explain what they have done.  Teachers model that having a positive attitude to maths, alongside the determination to not be defeated by an incorrect answer, allows for learning to take place for all children.  Our half-termly jigsaws alert parents to the upcoming topics in maths and parents are kept-informed about progress through parents’ evenings and the sharing of data from assessments.  Parents have the option to join teacher-led sessions on how maths is taught in EYFS, how to support children prior to undertaking the Multiplication Tables Check and Year 6 SATs.  In classes, each child learns about a famous mathematician.  These people have been selected from groups that have been traditionally underrepresented in society.

As a core subject, we report data for maths at the following points:

• EYFS Baseline
• Year 4 Multiplication Tables Check
• Year 6 SATs

We use termly NFER assessments in years 2-6 to support judgements, alongside White Rose assessments.

In daily teaching, we use a variety of assessments techniques and adaptations to ensure children make progress.  Interventions are rapid, on-the-day and adapted to each pupil’s needs.  Children with SEND are regularly assessed and supported, with IEP targets reviewed with parents regularly.

By the time they leave St Wilfrid's, children are able to make connections between mathematical concepts and feel like they have the confidence, resilience and relevant skills and knowledge to solve increasingly complex mathematical problems. They are able to understand the relevance and importance of mathematical ideas and relate this to real life. We want all our children to feel confident enough to “have a go” and have the resilience to be persistent when problem solving. Children will leave St Wilfrid's equipped with the mathematical tools to prepare them for the next step in their education and life in the wider world.