Mathematics
Intent
At Prior Heath Infant School, Maths is engaging and interesting for all children so they develop curiosity for the subject. We strive for children to have a solid working knowledge of maths, to develop a clear sense of number and to be able to use manipulatives confidently and appropriately to support their learning. We also aim for our children to be confident in their ability to apply their knowledge and discuss their learning using appropriate mathematical vocabulary in a variety of contexts and across the curriculum. Our mastery approach to the curriculum enables children to progress through the curriculum content at the same pace. Opportunities for pre-teaching and overlearning are implemented to ensure all children are successful in line with their individual needs. Learning tasks are designed to allow children to develop their knowledge and skill at a greater depth.
Implementation
We follow the White Rose Maths Schemes of Learning and supplement this with resources from NCETM Mastery Documents to teach a broad and challenging curriculum. Our Maths curriculum will provide many opportunities for children to develop confidence and fluency with whole numbers, counting and place value. The use of manipulatives, such as concrete objects and measuring tools, will support the children to gain a deeper conceptual understanding before being challenged through tasks and questions to explain their reasoning and solve a range of problems. The children are equipped with the skills to recognise shapes and their properties and measures to describe and compare different quantities such as length, mass, capacity/volume, time and money. Our young mathematicians will be provided with many exciting opportunities, through planned continuous provision and a mix of adult-led and child-initiated activities, to develop and improve their skills.
A variety of methods are used to find out what the children know and understand. Lesson activities are scaffolded to suit the different abilities and learning styles. Maths lessons allow for collaborative learning and thus encourage children to talk in pairs, small groups or through class discussion, to share learning. For those children who grasp concepts rapidly, they will be challenged through a range of problems, whilst those not sufficiently fluent will be provided with opportunities to consolidate their understanding through pre-teaching, overlearning and intervention.
Children in the Early Years Foundation Stage will be initially assessed using the statutory baseline tool. They are then assessed against termly checkpoints in line with the end of year mathematics Early Learning Goals. In Key Stage 1, children’s understanding will be monitored using daily assessment for learning and White Rose end of block assessment tasks. Additionally, children in Year 2 will be assessed against the End of Year 2 Teacher Assessment Framework.
Impact
The children at Prior Heath demonstrate high levels of curiosity and engagement in Maths, develop a solid sense of number, become fluent in the fundamentals in Maths and are confident in their mental maths abilities. Our children can discuss Maths using the appropriate vocabulary, showing a deeper understanding of the subject through their well-developed reasoning and problem solving skills . They see the value of Maths in their daily lives and appreciate that it is a facilitating subject to enable them to access other areas of learning.
The Progression of Skills for Mathematics from Reception to Year 2 can be found here. (PDF, 791.47 kB)