St Joseph's Catholic Primary School (Nympsfield)

Mathematics

'I can do all this through him who gives me strength.'

Philippians 4:13

Our vision for Maths at St Joseph's

Our hope for all children at St Joseph's is to develop love and enthusiasm towards Maths, inspiring children to become future Mathematicians. We want the children to be able to see the relevance of Maths in their every day lives, using it in a range of situations to support them in their academic and personal development. To do this, our curriculum is sequential, using the child's prior knowledge and understanding to enable them to build upon the Mathematical skills they have been blessed with. We have ensured that there is a clear progression of skills throughout the primary phase, ensuring children know more and remember more. The children will then be able to use these to effectively solve problems and have good mental arithmetic skills.

What does Maths look like at St Joseph's?
Within the Early Years Foundation Stage, Maths is developed through purposeful, play based experiences and will be represented throughout the indoor and outdoor provision. Mathematical understanding can be developed through stories, songs, games, imaginative play, child initiated learning and structured teaching. As pupils progress, they will be encouraged to record their mathematical thinking in a more formal way.

From Year 1 to Year 6 we follow the 'Can Do' Maths scheme. Mathematics lessons are split into two parts, the main lesson (45 minutes) and Maths On Track (MOT) session (20 minutes). The main lesson is where new concepts are learned, or knowledge and skills are built upon from previous learning. The outline of our lessons are below:

1. Recap: Children start with a 'hook' to recap prior learning from the day before.
2. Teach It: Live modelling of the new learning with explicit use of potential misunderstandings. This is also known as 'I do', whereby the Class Teacher will 'think out loud' with the children.
3. Practise It: All children practise together and notice something about the structure of the mathematics. This is also known as 'we do' and 'cold calling' is used to work through the methods together. Children will then work independently ('you do') on their whiteboards and formative assessment is used.
4. Do It: Up to 5 examples – exploring standard and non-standard form, what it is / is not.
5. Secure It: Exploring misconceptions, mistakes, active arguments. Supported by 'stick knowledge' and key vocabulary.
6. Deepen It: Apply understanding to solve new problems.

Following this, a Maths On Track session (MOT) is a session that is used to further deepen understanding, or pick up misconceptions from the children's learning. Using our MOT sessions, the children have hope that if at first they don't get it right, they can try it again to strive for success. It is also an opportunity to practice fluency in basic skills including number bonds timetables and formal written methods. Our aim is to ensure that all children develop mathematical fluency, so that they are able to apply their knowledge to increasingly complex problems over time.

Please find the link to the Maths National Curriculum here.

Maths Road Maps

In our curriculum, each year group has a road map, outlining the journey of units throughout the year. This has been carefully planned to ensure a progression of knowledge.

Maths Curriculum coverage

Each class has a 'curriculum intent' document which outlines the objectives for each year group throughout the year. This ensures that the whole of the National Curriculum has been covered within each year group. Please see an example of this for Year 2 below:

Knowledge organisers

Below are the knowledge organisers for each term, for each year group. These outline the methods and key concepts that the children have been working on throughout the term. Please use these to refer to when supporting children with homework and additional learning at home.