Drighlington Primary School

Maths

Intent

At Drighlington Primary School we have ambitious expectations for our children in mathematics and use a mastery approach to prepare children for the next stage of their education and the real world. We develop a secure understanding of mathematical concepts through concrete, pictorial and abstract methods. Children become fluent in essential number facts and procedures. There are daily opportunities for reasoning and problem solving and children explain and justify their problem-solving decisions with confidence and clarity. Children persevere with complex problems and learn from their mistakes. This is aided by the use of 5 problem solving characters as seen in the image below. Mathematical skills are used across the curriculum so that children see the relevance of these skills in enabling them to advance in the real world. Times tables facts and number sense underpin everything we do in maths. We are training children to become lifelong mathematicians and to see the value of maths in every day life.

“Without mathematics, there's nothing you can do. Everything around you is mathematics. Everything around you is numbers.” (Shakuntala Devi, Indian writer known as “The Human Calculator”).

problem solving squad

Implementation

In our teaching across the curriculum, we implement a range of mathematical skills so that children can see the relevance of maths in enabling them to advance in the real world. Where mathematical skills are needed in other subjects, these have been identified on curriculum unit plans. We follow the White Rose Maths scheme of learning which sets out small steps of intended learning within each topic. There is clear progression in the development of knowledge and skills over time and recap sessions are built in to strengthen prior knowledge before moving on.

Throughout our school, we develop children’s understanding of mathematical concepts by implementing concrete, pictorial and abstract teaching methods. Children firstly experience mathematical concepts through hands-on experience of concrete resources. When they are ready, they move on to pictorial representations which support their understanding. Abstract methods are only introduced when children show a secure grasp of the concept at the concrete and pictorial stages.

In Early Years, we implement a mastery approach to the teaching of mathematics to develop a deep understanding of each number in turn. Each number is initially explored through hands on experience of concrete resources and children are encouraged to make their own jottings to show their understanding. Mathematics is taught in daily lessons but is also developed in other areas of provision to allow children to make links in their learning and to experience mathematics in different contexts.

We implement daily opportunities for reasoning and problem-solving within maths lessons and children are given opportunities to explain and justify their problem-solving decisions using the problem solving skills based on characters. There is an expectation that children will use the correct mathematical vocabulary and this is modelled by teaching staff. Our school’s strong focus on resilience and reaching high means that children are encouraged to persevere with complex problems and learn from their mistakes.

To develop fluency, we implement daily practice of essential number facts and procedures through “Fluent in 5” sessions which start every maths lesson in Year 1 – Year 6. During these sessions children revisit prior learning to embed and revise facts and procedures. This approach means that children are constantly strengthening their memory and understanding so that when these facts and procedures are needed, they can be quickly retrieved.

Each maths lesson also teaches times tables relevant to that year group using the counting stick method. Children practise times tables facts every day and are asked quick fire recall questions to aid retention of facts.

We have implemented the use of online programs which children access both at school and at home to give further opportunities to rehearse essential facts. Children in Key Stage 1 use Numbots to practise their quick recall of number facts. Children in Key Stage 2 use Time-tables Rockstars to develop quick recall of times-tables facts.

Maths lessons follow the White Rose progression however there is a real emphasis on slowing down teaching and learning and adaptive teaching where needed to ensure we embed key concepts and knowledge.

Parents and carers are encouraged to take an active role in their child’s learning. We use Class Dojo to facilitate communication between teachers and home. Children are expected to engage in online practice at least 3 times per week in Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2.

Impact

We assess children's knowledge and understanding in mathematics all the time using observations of children, discussions with children and work in children’s books. This information is used to inform future lesson planning and to provide feedback to children. We assess more formally at the end of each term, using standardised tests in Year 1 to Year 6. The school carries out the following statutory assessments in mathematics:

End of year Early Years judgements.
End of Key Stage 1 optional SATs tests and Teacher Assessment.
Year 4 Multiplication check
End of Key Stage 2 SATs tests.

Assessment Results for 2022-23 (the last year external data was reported)

Key Stage One:

Met the Expected Standard: 55%

Met the Greater Depth Standard: 6%

Key Stage Two:

Met the Expected Standard: 54%

Met the Greater Depth Standard: 14%

Enrichment of the maths curriculum

There are lots of enrichment opportunities throughout the year in maths. We take part in TTRS tournaments both nationally and with our local cluster of schools, we take part in National Numeracy Day every year and invite parents in to talk about how they use maths in their careers and year 4 also compete in the annual Times Tables Bee with our local schools.

National Numeracy Day 2024

Making our own clocks. Year 1 & 2 Numbots Bingo! A parent came to speak to year 6 about her job at Lloyds bank!

A very tense Times Tables Bee between

year 3 and year 4!

How you can help your child at home

Partnerships with parents and carers is an important part of Drighlington Primary School. Working closely with parents enables us to ensure parents feel confident that their child is safe, well looked and is receiving a high quality education during their school hours. The links below offer a range of resources that may also be useful to families.

EYFS Maths Guide for Parents and Carers

Times Tables Rockstars (children will need to get their login details from school)

Arithmetricks (Mental maths tips)

Maths questions when at the shops and walking home

Maths questions about books and clocks

Questions whilst reading or looking at the calendar