Maths
Curriculum Intent: Maths
At Kingsnorth School, our intent is that our learning in Maths will provide a deep, long-term, secure and adaptable understanding of the subject of Maths. Our curriculum aims to help all pupils, over time, achieve mastery of the subject. We believe that students deserve a creative and ambitious mathematics curriculum, rich in skills and knowledge, which ignites curiosity and prepares them well for everyday life and their future working life. At the heart of the mastery approach is the firm belief that all children can succeed in Maths and the belief that you are either ‘good’ at Maths or ‘not good’ is debunked.
Our mathematics curriculum will give students the opportunity to:
- become fluent in the fundamentals of mathematics, through varied and frequent practice with increasingly complex problems over time, so that pupils develop conceptual understanding and the ability to recall and apply knowledge rapidly and accurately.
- reason mathematically by following a line of enquiry, inferring relationships and generalisations, and developing an argument, justification or proof using mathematical language.
- can solve problems by applying their mathematics to a variety of problems with increasing sophistication, including breaking down problems into a series of simpler steps and persevering in seeking solutions. Mathematics is an interconnected subject in which pupils need to be able to move fluently between representations of mathematical ideas.
- Use mathematical vocabulary to reason and explain their understanding.
The programmes of study are, by necessity, organised into apparently distinct domains, but pupils should make rich connections across mathematical ideas to develop fluency, mathematical reasoning and competence in solving increasingly sophisticated problems. We follow the White Rose maths scheme, with Deepening Understanding used to extend fluency, reasoning and problem solving. They should also apply their mathematical knowledge to science and other subjects.
Pupils are encouraged to ‘move’ within the concrete-pictorial-abstract approach to ensure competence and confidence.
They also use pictorial representations like these.
Our aim is that pupils are confident using abstract methods too.
It is important that children can memorise times tables, number bonds and addition/subtraction facts. Whilst pupils practise these in school daily, they are expected to do regular practice at home. At Kingsnorth, we subscribe to Times Tables Rock Stars which is a fun, interactive way of developing fluency and children are also encouraged to go on www.timestable.com, Hit The Button and One Minute Maths. Children should show:
- Awareness of the commutative law – that I might not know my 7s for 7x5 but realise I know the answer to 5x7 as I know my 5s and I appreciate the answer will be the same.
- Use of nearby known facts – for example I know that 7x7=49 therefore 7x8 must be 56 as it will be an extra 7. This could involve going up or down to get to the required multiple.
- The ability to scale answers up by doubling – for example that the 4s are double the 2s, and the 8s double the 4s. To contemplate doing this I have to appreciate that there’s a relationship.
- The ability to scale answers down by halving – in particular that if I know x10 of something then I can calculate x5 by halving.
- The ability to partition where appropriate – particularly useful for multiplication involving numbers above 10.
- Developing awareness of the odd or even nature of an answer – in part because this can help us to spot an unexpected answer and allow us to check it.
There are also many other websites and apps that help children improve the speed of their recall:
https://www.topmarks.co.uk/maths-games/hit-the-button
http://www.primarygamesarena.com/
https://www.mathplayground.com/
https://www.splashmath.com/math-games
Should you have any questions about the teaching and learning of Maths at Kingsnorth Primary School, please contact Mrs Nock and Mrs Hunt – Maths Subject Leaders, by emailing lhoward@kingsnorth.kent.sch.uk or jhunt@kingsnorth.kent.sch.uk