Our Vision for Mathematics
At our school, we want every child to learn to love maths and love to learn. We believe maths is an important part of everyday life and want children to develop the knowledge, skills and confidence to solve problems, reason and explain their thinking. Our lessons are carefully planned so children can build on what they already know, revisit important learning and develop a secure understanding of new ideas. We encourage children to use mathematical language, talk about their ideas and learn from mistakes. We have high expectations for every child and want all pupils to become confident, resilient and curious mathematicians who enjoy and value mathematics.
Mathematics Through a Catholic Lens
Mathematics helps children to recognise the gifts and talents God has given them and to use these gifts for the good of others. Through mathematics, children develop perseverance, honesty, responsibility and respect, while learning to make fair and thoughtful decisions.
Our maths curriculum also provides opportunities to explore Catholic Social Teaching and care for God’s creation. For example, children might use data to explore how much water or energy is used in school, analyse the impact of waste or consider how resources can be shared fairly. Through these experiences, children see that mathematics is not just about numbers, but can help us understand our world, care for others and make positive choices.
What Children Learn
Our mathematics curriculum follows the National Curriculum and is carefully sequenced from EYFS to Year 6. We use the White Rose Maths scheme as a foundation, adapting it to meet the needs of our pupils and our school. Our curriculum focuses on the key areas of number, calculation, fractions, decimals, measurement, geometry, statistics and problem-solving, with number at its heart.
We have identified the essential knowledge and core objectives children need for future learning and carefully plan the small steps needed to secure these. Learning is regularly revisited through purposeful retrieval so children can remember and build on what they have learned.
In EYFS, children develop strong foundations in number, counting, pattern, shape, space and measure through practical experiences and play. These foundations are built upon throughout KS1 and KS2 as children develop increasingly confident and independent mathematical thinkers.
Learning, Teaching and Inclusion
How Learning Builds
Our mathematics curriculum is carefully sequenced so that knowledge, skills and mathematical vocabulary become increasingly challenging as children move through the school. New learning builds on secure foundations, with earlier learning regularly revisited through purposeful retrieval, questioning and problem-solving.
For example, children develop their understanding of place value and number before using this knowledge with increasingly larger numbers, decimals and calculations. Learning about place value in earlier year groups prepares children to work confidently with numbers up to 1,000,000 in Year 5 and supports their understanding of decimals and more complex calculations as they move towards Year 6.
Mathematical vocabulary develops alongside this learning. Key vocabulary is explicitly taught, displayed in classrooms and regularly revisited, helping children to use increasingly precise mathematical language when explaining and reasoning about their ideas.
How We Teach Maths
Language Vocabulary and Oracy
Mathematical language is an important part of learning mathematics. Children are explicitly taught the key vocabulary they need to understand new concepts and explain their mathematical thinking. Key vocabulary is displayed in classrooms, introduced using clear explanations and visual examples and regularly revisited so that children become confident using it.
Teachers model precise mathematical language and explain their own thinking aloud. Children then have supported opportunities to rehearse this language with their teacher and peers before using it independently. Sentence stems help children structure their responses, for example, “I know this because…”, “I agree/disagree because…” and “The pattern is… because…”.
Children regularly use partner talk, think-pair-share and structured questioning to explain, justify and discuss their ideas. Teachers use strategies such as revoicing, clarifying, probing, adding on and agree/disagree to develop mathematical discussion.
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For children with speech, language and communication needs, we use appropriate visual support, dual coding, vocabulary displays, sentence stems, repetition and structured opportunities to rehearse language. These approaches help all children access mathematical discussion and develop confidence in expressing their ideas.
Inclusion
We believe that every child can succeed in mathematics. We aim to remove barriers to learning while maintaining high expectations for all pupils.
We believe that if we get it right for our disadvantaged pupils, we get it right for everyone. Through high-quality teaching, clear modelling, purposeful retrieval, explicit vocabulary teaching and carefully chosen scaffolds, we support children to access the same ambitious curriculum.
Visual representations, practical resources, sentence stems, structured talk and additional opportunities to practise are used where they help children to understand and communicate their mathematical thinking. These approaches can support pupils with SEND, SLCN, SEMH needs, EAL learners and children who have gaps in learning.
We do not lower expectations or simply give children easier work. Instead, we provide the support they need to access the learning, develop independence and experience success. For children who grasp concepts quickly, we provide opportunities to deepen their understanding through reasoning, problem-solving and rich mathematical challenges.
How We Know Children Are Learning
Assessment is an important part of our mathematics teaching. Teachers continually check children’s understanding through questioning, discussion, observation and children’s responses during lessons. This helps teachers identify misconceptions and gaps in learning and respond to them quickly.
Hinge questions are used at the beginning and end of new learning to check what children already understand and what they have secured. Purposeful retrieval and flashback activities also help teachers see whether important knowledge has been remembered and can be applied.
Teachers use children’s explanations, reasoning and problem-solving to assess not only whether an answer is correct, but whether children understand why it is correct. Children are encouraged to explain their thinking, make connections and use precise mathematical vocabulary.
Assessment information is used to adapt teaching, provide additional support and identify learning that needs to be revisited. Where children have gaps in their knowledge, teachers use targeted questioning, modelling and further practice to help secure the essential learning before moving on.
Our aim is for assessment to be part of everyday teaching, helping teachers understand what their children know, what they need to learn next and how best to support them to make progress.
Enrichment and Wider Opportunities
Our Learning in Action
An example of Year 2 work
An example of Year 5 work
Supporting Learning at Home
There are many simple ways families can support children’s mathematical learning at home. Everyday activities provide valuable opportunities to talk about numbers, solve problems and use maths in real-life situations.
You could:
• Ask your child to help with shopping and work out totals, change or which item is better value.
• Talk about time when planning the day, including how long activities will take.
• Practise times tables and number facts little and often.
• Look for numbers, shapes and patterns when out and about.
• Cook together and talk about measuring, weighing and fractions.
• Ask your child to explain how they worked something out rather than focusing only on the answer.
• Play simple games involving counting, number facts, strategy and problem-solving.
Regular, short practice is often more helpful than completing lots of work at once. Most importantly, encourage children to talk about their mathematical thinking and praise their effort, persistence and willingness to have a go.
We will share useful guidance, activities and resources with families throughout the year, including information from our KIRFs and Fluency Bee. Where we offer mathematics workshops, these provide opportunities for families to see how we teach key mathematical ideas and learn simple ways to support children at home.
No special equipment is needed – everyday objects, conversations and games can provide rich opportunities for mathematical learning.
Curriculum Documents and Useful Links
We value working in partnership with families to support children’s mathematical learning. Parents can find out more about our mathematics curriculum through the information and resources shared on our school website.
If you have a question about your child’s mathematics learning, please speak to your child’s setting teacher in the first instance. For further information about our mathematics curriculum, please contact the school office, who will be happy to direct your enquiry to the Maths Lead.
