Intent

Maths is an integral part of our curriculum at Sythwood. We know that by providing our children with a high quality mathematics education they can go on to become interested and interesting adults who will fully succeed. Attainment in the subject is also the key to opening new doors to further study and employment.

We aim to provide a high-quality mathematics education so that all children:

• become fluent in the fundamentals of mathematics;
• reason mathematically;
• can solve problems by applying their mathematics.

Using the National Curriculum and the Early Years Framework, we carefully sequence the mathematical content so that it builds year on year. With each topic, we want children to understand and remember the maths they have previously learned. Our mastery approach means that once a topic is covered it is met many times again in other contexts.

Our maths curriculum is ambitious for all children. Our aim is that all children are ready to progress by ensuring children truly master the fundamentals of mathematics with a focus on declarative, procedural knowledge and conditional knowledge.

Implementation:

We have adopted a formal mastery approach throughout the school using White Rose Maths as our main resource for maths lessons. White Rose Maths guarantees that the curriculum we offer is being delivered effectively in lessons to allow for long-term learning. Having a high quality resource provides teachers with time to bring mathematics to life, to effectively resource their lessons and ensure they are tailored to meet the needs of the children in their class.

As White Rose maths mainly focuses on reasoning, teachers also deliver Early Bird Maths (morning arithmetic practice)  and a 10-15 minute Maths Meeting where children practice their key insant recall facts to develop automaticity, fluency and overall proficiency in number. When children can perform arithmetic and know key mathsematical facts quickly it reduces their cognitive overload and gives our children the ability to progress through the mathematics curriculum.

SInce 2021 Sythwood has been participating in the NCETM (National Centre for Excellence in Teaching Mathematics) Mastering Number Programme. Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 deliver 10 minute daily sessions on number and are part of Maths Hub work groups. This year, we have begun the Mastering Number Programme for KS2 with Year 4 and 5 to focus on times tables proficiency. Teachers receive regular training and work in partnership with other schools to develop their maths subject and pedagogical knowledge.

Teacher’s subject knowledge in maths is supported by engaging with our local maths hub, accessing CPD webinars and material from WRM, accessing CPD material such as books, blogs, podcasts and by drawing on our internal maths expertise in school. As well as this, we recognise the value of pedagogical knowledge when teaching maths. With this in mind, maths is taught using the following strategies:

• direct instruction
• retrieval of prior knowledge
• a focus on vocabulary
• improved fluency
• concrete-pictorial-abstract approach
• frequent low-stakes testing
• linking facts and methods with problem solving strategies
• effective feedback

Helping your child at home

To consolidate the learning children have been completing in class and to help them to practise their maths, we recommend the following resources to use at home. Please click on the pictures for direct links to the pages. 

White Rose Maths:

White Rose Maths has fantastic videos recorded by teachers to explain and teach every lesson in the WRM curriculum. If you would like any of the printed reosurces to accompany these videos, please speak to ypur child's class teacher. 

Reception, Year 1 and Year 2:

You can download this app onto a phone or tablet. It helps your children to build greater number confidence and fluency. It’s all about targeted practice in engaging, one-minute chunks!

Times tables practice:

Children in Year 3-6 have login details for this app. They can practice quickly recalling their times tables in a fun and engaging way. 

This book is fantastic for reading at home to help children master their times tables. 

General practice:

If you are looking to practise maths skills with your child at home, you can purchase CGP books using the link above.