Maths

Mathematics at Bradley Barton

Maths is led across the school by Mr Cooper and Miss Lawton. If you have any questions about Maths at Bradley Barton, please speak to one of the team.

Our School Vision and Aims

Intent

At Bradley Barton, we believe that mathematics is an important part of every child’s development. We want our learners to be confident mathematicians who get excited when they spot the maths in their everyday lives. Our aim is for all pupils to understand that maths is an enjoyable challenge that requires careful unpicking.

At a level appropriate to their age, we want all pupils to:

• become fluent in the fundamentals of mathematics. They will develop a deep understanding of concepts and their ability to recall and apply knowledge is accurate and rapid.
• reason mathematically by following a line of enquiry and investigating problems in depth. They will recognise relationships between problems and are able to use mathematical language to justify and prove their thinking.
• solve problems by applying skills and knowledge in a variety of different contexts. They will be able to break down problems into a series of simpler steps and show perseverance when seeking solutions .

Implementation

At Bradley Barton, we use the NCETM’s (National Centre for Excellence in the Teaching of Mathematics) prioritisation documents. These documents combine the DfE’s (Department of Education) guidance on curriculum prioritisation with supportive classroom resources.

The resource covers the full mathematics national curriculum whilst prioritising the areas covered by the ready-to-progress criteria from the DfE guidance. These areas are taught earlier in the year and given extra time to ensure children are secure with them before moving on.

Some content has been moved from one year group’s programme of study to another within the same key stage. This is to improve coherence and to align with the ready-to-progress criteria. A couple of areas (such as Roman Numerals) have been removed as they can be taught within other areas of the curriculum (History, for example).

This document acts as a platform for maths lessons at Bradley Barton. Alongside the NCETM documents, teachers use a variety of resources from their own experiences to help scaffold quality maths learning.

You will see:

• Children retrieve prior learning through ‘low-stake’ testing.
• Children progress through a ‘Concrete, Pictorial, Abstract’ approach to help embed new learning.
• Children use sentence stems to aid their mathematical thinking and reasoning skills. This is closely linked to our ‘Challenging Learning’ project where children are encouraged to explore their learning in more depth.
• Mixed ability groups which promote high level thinking and appropriate vocabulary use.
• Interventions to help support children identified through diagnostic assessments.
• A tailored curriculum for children who are working at a significantly different level to their peers which ensures identified gaps are addressed.

Impact

The impact of these strategies is assessed daily by the class teacher, who will then decide upon the next steps necessary for each individual child. Using mathematical vocabulary, children are able to discuss key concepts, challenge the opinion of others and justify their own thoughts in a clear and precise manner. Children understand that learning is a pleasurable struggle; they recognise that learning is a journey on which they continuously travel. With the skills they learn, pupils feel empowered to tackle this journey confidently. Real life contexts within maths lessons ensure children are able to relate their learning to the wider world. By applying the skills and knowledge they have learnt in a wide range of scenarios, children make good progress which allows them to access the next stage of their learning.

Year 4 multiplication tables check

In Year 4, pupils are expected to take part in a multiplication tables check (MTC). The purpose of the MTC is to determine whether pupils can recall their times tables fluently, which is essential for future success in mathematics. At Bradley Barton, we use a number of different to develop pupils’ multiplication knowledge:

• Use of Times Table Rock Stars app. This app assesses children’s fluency in multiplication facts and provides a progressive framework for children to learn new facts when appropriate. In school, we regularly hold Times Table Rock Star battles and expect children to participate as part of their home learning.
• Use of times table songs to help promote fluency. Although we recognise the importance of not learning times tables by ‘rote’, we believe songs have a positive impact on children’s confidence when recalling facts.
• Children are encouraged to retrieve multiplication facts at regular intervals throughout the school day, with reference to useful tips such as the use of the commutative law.