Maths
Mrs Agius is the Maths Leader at Milton Park Primary School.
MATHS Toolkit_.pptxMaths at Milton Park Primary School
At Milton Park Primary School, we use the maths mastery approach, developed by NCETM, as the foundations of our maths teaching. Our aim is for all children to be able to access mathematics appropriate to their age group, using adaptation and challenge to ensure the learning is accessible to a range of learning abilities and styles.
We promote whole class teaching, rather than setting to ability, as this exposes all children to higher level thinking and vocabulary rather than capping any child’s learning or ability. This approach is unpinned by several educational researchers as well as the NCETM. The maths curriculum is carefully sequenced to ensure small steps and children have both conceptual and procedural understanding of the mathematics they are learning. The essential idea behind mastery is that all children need a deep understanding of the mathematics they are learning: describing in their own words, representing in a variety of ways, explaining to others, making explicit links and connections, recognising and applying in a range of contexts/problems and away from the point of teaching.
How we teach Maths
Maths is taught through fluency, reasoning and problem solving with a wide range of contexts and representations relating to real life. Teaching focuses on ensuring children have procedural and conceptual understanding of the areas of mathematics taught at primary level. At the planning stage, we use a range of resources to support with the planning of maths. These include:
The use of the White Rose long term plan and mapping to effectively sequence lessons across the year for each year group, ensuring coverage and progression within and across years. White Rose and NCETM is also predominantly used to plan the small steps, on an S-plan using their ‘Ready to Progress’ documentation, mapping, resources and schemes of learning, alongside the DFE guidance as well as supporting materials.
Mathematical units are planned in year group teams using an S-plan to show the journey of the learning. This should include: key learning objectives, concrete, pictorial, abstract (CPA), misconceptions, variation and depth. The S-plan will cover a journey of learning not necessarily a week, this should be updated weekly during PPA or as needed. S-plans and slides are used consistently across year group classes to ensure parity in learning and outcomes.
Resources and worksheets for maths lessons are not prescribed to teachers but should be taken from a range of research-based materials. These include but are not limited to: White Rose, Power Maths, Testbase and NRICH.
Formal written methods are planned and taught using the calculation policy, following the progress through the year groups to ensure clear and accurate procedural understanding.
Maths is taught, where appropriate, through the wider curriculum to engage, ensure coverage and establish the real-life purpose of maths. E.g. data collection and presenting in Science.
What will you see in a Maths lesson?
In lessons, we promote whole class teaching of both conceptual and procedural understanding and the use of the CPA approach. In lessons you will see:
All children will be taught the same objective/learning as a whole class – a key component of maths mastery; with necessary scaffolding, adaptation or challenge provided as per the needs of all children. Any children working at a pre-key stage are discussed with SENDCo and maths lead to plan a personalised provision but should be included in whole class teaching where appropriate and should always be working on the same unit of maths.
STEM sentences are planned and modelled to support children’s learning and promote retrieval of information. STEM sentences are repeated as a class and away from the point of teaching.
Problems are posed in a real-life context wherever possible to show the necessity of maths in the wider community.
Learning progresses from concrete to pictorial to abstract within and over a series of lessons, empahsising the teaching of how to transfer learning from each style. As part of this, children are provided with and have access to concrete and visual resources to support their learning.
In classrooms and across the school, teachers consistently use maths rich vocabulary and promote this in all lessons across the curriculum. Vocabulary should be used regularly away from the point of teaching to promote retrieval, including in Big Maths.
In Yr 3 -6, children are taught a daily Big Maths mental maths session, which promotes retrieval of learning completed in previous year groups or earlier in the year and arithmetic learning. Each class completes a weekly basic facts assessment with years 3 and 4 also completing a weekly times table test.
In EYFS/Yr1/2 Mastering Number sessions are taught in addition to the maths lessons to support understanding of number sense.
In EYFS, maths is taught daily including new learning as well as revisiting previous learning in short concise lessons. Episodes of number blocks are used weekly to support and build foundations based on the maths lesson taught. EYFS also use White Rose resources and materials as well materials from the NCETM Mastering Number programme. Each week, children complete maths learning activities in continuous provision with at least 1 adult-led activity or 1 chosen independent activity involving maths in discover and do sessions.
Relevant strategies, flip chart recording and toolkits are displayed for children to refer to on a maths working walls. These are changed regularly to reflect the current maths learning.
Calculation Policy 2022 -2023.pdfInformation for Parents
2024 Multiplication Check for Parents.pdfChildren in Year 4 are required to take the statuatory Muliplication Tables Check.
Click on the image of the workbooks to download your FREE copies of the Years 1 - 6 resources.
We use Times Table Rockstar and Numbots to support children to develop their fluency and recall of key number facts - it's fun too!