Maths Skills and Knowledge Document
Intent
Mathematics provides a vital tool that helps us to understand and change the world. We want all pupils at Elmlea to develop a love for maths, to be resilient and resourceful and encourage a curiosity for number which they can take with them into the wider world.
Our whole curriculum is shaped by our school vision which aims to enable all children to be ‘forever learners’ and mastery mathematicians. We foster positive attitudes and a growth mindset, promoting the fact that ‘We are all mathematicians!’ At Elmlea, we aim for all children to be confident, successful and independent maths learners who want to challenge themselves.
By the end of KS2 we aim for children to be fluent in the fundamentals of mathematics with a conceptual understanding and the ability to recall and apply knowledge rapidly and accurately. They should have the skills to solve problems by applying their mathematics to a variety of situations with increasing sophistication, including in unfamiliar contexts and to model real-life scenarios. Children will be able to reason mathematically by following a line of enquiry and develop and present a justification, argument or proof using mathematical language.
At Elmlea, we are constantly evolving our curriculum, reflecting on the current needs of the children. We believe in a mix of blocking key concepts whilst covering the full breadth of maths objectives.
Implementation/Learning Journey
We teach the National Curriculum, supported by a clear skills and knowledge progression. We believe all children can achieve in mathematics and teach for secure and deep understanding of mathematical concepts through manageable steps. We use mistakes and misconceptions as an essential part of learning and provide challenge through rich and sophisticated problems. They will spend time becoming true masters of content, applying and being creative with new knowledge in multiple ways.
At Elmlea, we use an approach which builds on children’s existing knowledge by introducing abstract concepts in a concrete and practical way using manipulatives to support children along the way . It involves moving from concrete materials, to pictorial representations, to abstract symbols. To start with, concepts are brought to life by allowing children to experience and handle physical (concrete) objects. At Elmlea, we use a wealth of resources which the children become increasing confident in using independently. Pictorial is the “seeing” stage. Here, visual representations of concrete objects are used to model problems. This stage encourages children to make a mental connection between the physical object they just handled and the abstract pictures, diagrams or models that represent the objects. Abstract is the “symbolic” stage, where children use numbers, notation, and mathematical symbols (for example, +, –, <, >). More details of the methods that we use can be found in our calculation policy. Throughout the maths curriculum, key vocabulary is explicitly taught and referred to, to enable the children to embed concepts and be able to articulate their mathematical thinking.
To be secure in curriculum expectations, the children should demonstrate their understanding and be able to articulately explain their thinking whilst engaging in dialogic discussion. For this to be achieved, lessons are tailored to ensure opportunities for children to question, explore, reason and justify conceptual understanding. Children are encouraged to work co-operatively, communicate ideas about maths and extend and deepen their learning through the application of conceptual learning to a range of problems.
In EYFS discrete maths teaching is supported by high quality continuous provision and targeted objectives, building on the children’s knowledge. The children are introduced to the concepts and resources they will use further up the school and have lots of opportunities to make real world links. Across the trust, mathematics is taught daily by the class teacher. Units of maths are taught in blocks, but pupils continuously make links across these areas of learning. These daily sessions will often include a re-cap of previous learning and tackle misconceptions. New skills and vocabulary are introduced and reinforced using working walls and children have the time to consolidate and apply their knowledge.
We, as a school, recognise that fluency, problem solving and reasoning skills are fundamental necessities for children to be able to fulfil their potential in their academic lives and in society as a whole. At Elmlea, we understand our role as primary educators is the supply the foundations for everything that follows and nurture children’s mathematical enquiry and enjoyment for the subject.
Enrichment
At Elmlea, we provide various maths enrichment opportunities to give children real-life experiences, help them make links and compete at the highest levels. These include city-wide interschool challenges, money week and we celebrate significant figures in the STEM world.
Our curriculum is also enriched by the use of the following online learning platforms: Times tables Rock Stars and DoodleMaths.
