Intent
Developing a love of number, patterns and problem solving
Our aim is that children develop a love of and secure understanding of the highly interconnected discipline of mathematics. We use a range of concrete resources, varied images and real life contexts to ensure pupils are fluent in the fundamental skills of mathematics, can solve problems and use their mathematical thinking to reason patterns and problems.
In Mathematics at Coads Green Primary School, we base the teaching of mathematics on the White Rose Scheme of Learning. The scheme allows pupils to follow small steps to achieve mastery in mathematics whilst covering all concepts in the National Curriculum. This is supported by concrete resources and a range of images and pictorial representations.
The scheme is carefully structured to build on prior learning from previous year groups and areas of learning already covered within the school year. It ensures all pupils have the opportunity to develop secure knowledge and fluency skills and provides the opportunity to solve problems and apply mathematical reasoning.
Lessons are full of purposeful practice opportunities and embed an approach using concrete, pictorial and abstract representations to support learning. Careful questioning encourages deep mathematical discussions and thinking, and pupils lessons are carefully crafted to foster deep conceptual and procedural knowledge.
Staff ensure that learning is built on pupils’ prior knowledge and plug any gaps by completing assessments at the beginning and end of each unit. Units are structured to develop understanding throughout each year as pupils build on their place value and numerical knowledge, use the four operations, understand decimals and fractions, explore geometry, measure and statistics. To aid deeper understanding, staff also use rich resources such as puzzles and ‘low threshold, high ceiling’ tasks provided by nRich.
At Coads Green we also strongly believe that times tables are a core skill on which so many other mathematical concepts are built, so we give all pupils from Year 2 upwards the opportunity to practise multiplication facts in school and at home using resources including Times Table Rock Stars. Progress is monitored with the Around the World challenge which tests pupils knowledge and speed of all multiplications, reciprocating divisions facts, squares and square roots to 12 x 12.
Assessment
Assessment in Coads Green Primary School is viewed as building a picture over time of a child's learning progress across the curriculum and is viewed as an integral part of teaching and learning.
Assessment for learning (AFL) and Visible Learning underpin all learning. A variety of feedback is used to inform the pupils about their learning so that they become more involved in their own learning and from this gain confidence in what they are expected to learn and how to progress it further.
Both formative and summative assessment is used to gather evidence. Some examples of this maybe:
End of KS 1 and KS2 SATs
Year 4 Multiplication check
EYFS Early Learning Goals
Reception Baseline check
White Rose beginning and end of unit tests (Maths)
NTS Mathematics assessments
Around the World – multiplication tables
Formative assessment is used within and between lessons to ensure children make good progress within and across a series of lessons.
Whole School Tracking and Progress
Coads Green Primary School uses iTRACK which is the online pupil tracking software that uses powerful data analysis to track pupil progress and attainment in real time.