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Maths

Our and St Patrick's vision for Maths 

As a school, we want to ensure every child has the ability to 'talk maths'. The children will be fluent in communicating their understanding by using the correct mathematical vocabulary to reason and justify their knowledge in maths. 

Intent

At OLSP, we aim to teach our children a rich, progressive and sequential Maths curriculum which develops their ability to calculate, reason and solve problems, enabling them to make sense of the world around them. We aim to provide high-quality mathematical learning experiences in order to develop the children's mathematical skills and understanding. Children are encouraged to explore Maths using practical experiences and investigative work, building a sense of enjoyment and curiosity about the subject. 

We aim to give all children, particularly the most disadvantaged, the knowledge, and experiences to become educated citizens and to succeed in life. 

The aims of teaching Maths, as outlined in the National Curriculum, are to ensure that all children:

• become fluent in the fundamentals of mathematics, including through varied and frequent practice with increasingly complex problems over time, so that pupils have conceptual understanding and are able to recall and apply their knowledge rapidly and accurately to problems 

reason mathematically by following a line of enquiry, conjecturing relationships and generalisations, and developing an argument, justification, or proof using mathematical language 

solve problems by applying their mathematics to a variety of routine and non-routine problems with increasing sophistication, including breaking down problems into a series of simpler steps and persevering in seeking solutions. 

This is carried out through daily maths lessons, by developing cross-curricular links, and by enabling pupils to use their maths in real-life situations.

 

Implementation

At OLSP, we believe that all children can be successful in the study of maths. We teach the class as a whole who have a wide range of abilities and do not group children by prior attainment, except where significant gaps in learning exist. This is central to our Mastery approach to teaching and learning.

In order to achieve Mastery, our expectation is that through quality teaching, all our children will successfully access the learning. We expect the vast majority of children to through the programmes of study at broadly the same pace. However, for children who lack fluency, we provide opportunities to consolidate their understanding through additional scaffolding (this could be through adult support, concrete resources or adapted resources). 

Across the school daily Maths lessons are taught where the children:

- practice fluency and the ability to recall and apply knowledge accurately and quickly. 

- develop reasoning skills by following a line of enquiry, generalising, making links and justifying using mathematical language.

-develop the ability to solve increasingly complex problems. 

 

Early Years Foundation Stage 

 In EYFS, teachers use the Power Maths programme. This is matched to the National Curriculum Early Learning goals. Maths is a specific area of learning in the Early Years curriculum.

Play-based opportunities are carefully planned and provided by staff. The learning environment both inside and outside is set up to create a stimulating space where children feel confident, secure and challenged in their mathematical thinking. Learning experiences provide children with a chance to explore, use their senses and become independent in their learning. Enhanced provision to meet the children's individual needs and next steps can be seen in the provision provided. 

 

 

How does Power Maths work?

Each Maths lesson is divided into evidence-based sections and set out clearly in the textbooks. Lessons are busy and interactive with children working independently, in pairs, in groups and as a class.

The lesson begins with a Power Up fluency task to sustain prior learning, consolidate number facts and establish the lesson’s confident, can-do tone.

Next, children share, explore and learn from a Discover problem, presented with some focused questions to guide their thinking. Children have to grapple with this task and consider how to show their understanding in different ways. 

After the Discover stage, children discuss their learning in a Share activity. During this whole-class, interactive learning phase, children share their thinking and look for the best ways to solve the problem. The Share section has the added benefit of allowing children to read the Maths. All too often they focus on the abstract, numerical form, such as”3 x 5 = 15”, but a written problem makes very different demands on the children. We teach children to use the right language, read the Maths and see it in different forms at the same time.

The lesson then moves into a Think Together section. It begins with a teacher-guided question followed by a problem for children to solve in collaboration with a partner, and finally an independent question. It develops the concrete problem through the pictorial and abstract stages and there is clear progression within each lesson. 

In the Practice section, children use the cleverly devised Practice Books to apply and rehearse what they’ve learned. The carefully varied questions help children to understand the essential features of each concept and build their fluency. They push children that bit further… The questions are not what they’re expecting and they have to think a bit more! There’s always an ‘Even Deeper’ challenge question that links to other Maths areas, too.

Finally, a Reflect section brings each lesson to a conclusion. It involves everyone looking back on what they feel they’ve each learned, and it’s a great way of helping each child to understand and consolidate their learning.

 

Progression in calculation 

Our aim is to develop confident mathematicians who are fluid and flexible in their calculation skills to be able to solve complex problems in a range of contexts,

The attached document will show you how calculation progresses throughout our school.

It can also be used to help you improve your child’s calculation ability at home. The policy has some great examples of images and resources you can use with your child.

Click on the link on the Maths page to see the calculation policy. 

 

Times Tables

Children will be explicitly taught their times tables during Maths lessons but it is important that they supplement their learning at home to ensure they have fast recall of these number facts to help them with the most difficult concepts of Maths in Upper Key Stage 2.

The children should know the followings times tables by the end of the following years:

Year 2 - 2s, 5s, 10s

Year 3 - 3s, 4s, 8s

Year 4 - 6s, 7s, 9s, 11s, 12s