Mathematics
At Alderbrook Primary School, we aim for every pupil to have a positive and confident attitude towards mathematics and to develop a sense of curiosity around the subject. We want to ensure that we equip all our pupils with the ability to think mathematically, solve problems in a range of contexts, and reason around a concept.
As a school, we follow a Teaching for Mastery approach to our mathematics teaching, which aids our pupils to gain a deep, secure and long-term understanding of the subject. Mathematical concepts are taught in small steps, where the whole class works together on mastering the content. Procedural fluency and conceptual understanding are developed in tandem and children are encouraged to attend to the mathematical structures and make connections.
In Key Stages 1 and 2, we follow the NCETM Curriculum Prioritisation and use the NCETM Mastery Professional Development materials to support staff subject knowledge and lesson design. A typical maths lesson starts with a ‘Flashback’ on previously taught content, to further embed these skills, followed by whole-class interactive teaching of a new concept. Our pupils are then given an opportunity to independently apply these newly-acquired skills through written or practical tasks. The language of ‘Dive Deeper’ is used to encourage the children to demonstrate the depth of their understanding by going further than simply answering the questions on the task sheet. This provides further opportunities for pupils to reason, prove and show their learning.
Children in Reception and Key Stage 1 engage in four 'Mastering Number' sessions each week. These aim to secure firm foundations in the development of good number sense so that children leave KS1 with fluency in calculation and a confidence and flexibility with number. In Key Stage 2, once children have achieved additive fact fluency, we use a research-informed programme that provides the structure and depth to times tables teaching. Facts are learned to fluency through daily practice sessions of the essential multiplication and division facts and concepts.
Maths Curriculum Intent Statement
At Alderbrook, we want all our pupils to develop a love of mathematics and experience successes within the subject. We support all our pupils to become fluent mathematicians, who can use quick recall of key number facts to solve problems in a variety of contexts. Through a Teaching for Mastery approach, pupils develop reasoning skills and explore concepts in depth, enabling them to develop confidence, competence and independence with maths. Mistakes and misconceptions are an essential part of the learning process and prior learning is built upon in manageable steps, encouraging children to make connections and spot patterns.
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