Developing Mathematics
Cliffe Hill Community Primary School
Mathematics Vision and Aims
At Cliffe Hill Community Primary School, we work together to promote an enjoyment of and thirst for mathematics. Our school motto is ‘Everyone an adventurer, everyone a success.’ We will support all pupils to know that if they are open to exploring the world of mathematics and being adaptable in their own thinking, they will be successful. We will provide a curriculum which will encourage the children to fully develop their understanding and knowledge of mathematics, allowing them to achieve, have fun and become confident mathematicians. We aim for every child to leave us with key life skills so that they can flourish and be successful in their ambitions.
We aim that all pupils:
- Become fluent in the fundamentals of mathematics that underpin conceptual understanding; that they can confidently recall and apply facts rapidly and accurately.
- Can solve problems by applying their knowledge and understanding of mathematics, with increasing degrees of sophistication, in a variety of contexts including real life situations, demonstrating the resilience to find a solution.
- Can make reasoned responses by following lines of enquiry to show their understanding with justification, argument, generalisation and evidence using mathematical knowledge.
- Enjoy, succeed and develop resilience, enthusiasm and confidence for maths.
Our Beliefs:
We believe that ability in mathematics is not fixed. Our school vision encourages adults and children alike to develop a Growth Mindset and approach maths with a ‘can do’ attitude. We believe that through high quality teaching, taking children on their learning journey together, and with timely intervention addressing misconceptions, all children have the potential to ‘go deeper’ and broaden their understanding of mathematical concepts.
Mastery Teaching and Learning:
In Mathematics lessons at Cliffe Hill, we are aiming to ensure:
- ‘Quality first’ teaching; tailored to meet the needs of the learners in each class, and timely intervention to address gaps in learning where necessary.
- Lessons follow a carefully planned sequence of learning.
- Pupils are learning together.
- We are developing resilient learners with Growth Mindsets and a ‘can do’ attitude to mathematics, whatever their previous level of attainment.
- Teachers use high quality questioning to explore children’s understanding and develop it further.
- Teachers make use of misconceptions to further understanding of key concepts.
- Children are given the opportunity to use a range of representations and methods to explore key mathematical concepts.
- We employ concrete/pictorial/abstract models to support learning.
- Lessons include opportunities for children to collaborate and cooperate in their learning.
- Lessons include opportunities for children to discuss, reason and explain their learning, using precise mathematical language.
- Children are given the opportunity to grapple and ‘go deeper’ in their understanding and application of mathematical concepts.
- Children are given time to explore, think and reflect and are encouraged to persevere to find solutions.
- Lessons are enjoyable, interactive, interesting and promote engagement.
- For those learners with high levels of special educational needs and/or disabilities – a curriculum is designed to be ambitious and to meet their needs.
Structured interventions to provide additional support:
We are working towards a position where our lessons are pitched so that all children are expected and enabled to achieve regardless of their starting point. Less confident children may receive addition support and intervention within the lesson. Pupils who are experiencing difficulties and/or have misconceptions are identified through ongoing teacher assessment and addressed with timely intervention. In this way we aim to enable pupils to ‘keep up’ rather than ‘catch up’.
Challenging Learners:
Challenge for all children must be an intrinsic part of maths lessons. It is expected that most of the class will be taught the same content at the same time. Challenge will be incorporated into lessons through skilful questioning; pupils who grasp concepts quickly will be challenged through rich and sophisticated problems. They will ‘go deeper’ – rather than accelerating into new content. All pupils should encounter such problems; different pupils will engage with problems at their own depth.
Our Definition of Mastery:
At Cliffe Hill we strive to ensure that our children will achieve mastery in Mathematics. This means that the children will acquire a “deep, long-term, secure and adaptable” understanding of mathematics. Mastery is not just about being able to memorise key facts and procedures and to answer test questions accurately and quickly. Mastery involves knowing why and how, being adaptable and creative with their skills and unafraid to try new things. It means being able to apply one’s knowledge appropriately in new and unfamiliar situations. Depth is more important than speed.
Our Journey to Mastery:
At Cliffe Hill, we embarked upon the West Yorkshire Maths Hub ‘Mastery Readiness Programme’ (2018-2019) and then continued to the ‘NCETM Primary Teaching for Mastery’ work group (2019-2021). We have embedded the Mastering Number within Key Stage 1 and Early Years and are currently working with the Maths Hub to implement the new Mastering Number programme into Year 4 and 5. We follow the Rising Stars teaching sequence for Mathematics which lends itself very well to whole class teaching, the CPA approach and mastery. We then tailor our lessons to meet the needs of our learners using a wide range of resources. Our aim is to enhance our teaching of mathematics to consistently reflect all of the aims and principles mentioned above.
Outcomes for our children
At Cliffe Hill, we want our children to leave school as knowledgeable, positive and confident mathematicians. We want each child to have the skills to be resilient when presented with the unfamiliar and the ability and confidence to question why. Therefore, our aspiration is for almost all our pupils to achieve the end of KS2 expected standard for maths.