Maths at Woodsetts Primary
At Woodsetts Primary school, we want to foster a confidence in the accessibility and interconnectivity of maths. Children will be secure with the substantive knowledge required and have the ability to recall and apply this fluently with increasing complexity. To develop a deep and sustainable understanding the children will build a repertoire of precise vocabulary.
Our school vision, CARE, fosters learners who are communicative, collaborative, creative, ambitious and enthusiastic in their approach to learning.
Woodsetts Primary follows a mastery approach to the teaching of mathematics across all school phases. This is an inclusive way of teaching that is grounded in the belief that all pupils can achieve in maths by working hard. Our intention is that all children have full access to the curriculum, enabling them to achieve confidence and competence. Our approach will ensure that children are resilient, confident and flexible mathematicians that can demonstrate their conceptual understanding and their ability to explore, investigate and reason. This will allow them to problem solve beyond the mathematics of the classroom, enhancing their learning journey, and see themselves as ‘mathematicians’.
Please explore the information below to find out more about our approach to maths at Woodsetts.
Maths in EYFS
For the teaching and learning of Early Maths, we follow the objectives as outlined in Development Matters. We still follow a mastery approach and children have a daily maths lesson. These are planned following the agreed long term planners.
Children also have a daily Maths Meeting to help them practise and consolidate key skills each day.
Through careful planning and observations, we develop the continuous provision in our classrooms to provide playful learning areas where children can show their current understanding of learning and show how they may need a challenge to further develop and deepen their learning. We also promote independence in our F2 Classroom through the use of "Rainbow Challenge" which provides mathematical challenges for the children to complete.
Maths is promoted across the environment including the use of the outdoors.
Key Stage 1
As children move into Key Stage 1, they continue to follow a mastery approach. This includes a daily maths lesson supported by a maths meeting. The principal focus of mathematics teaching in key stage 1 is to ensure that children develop confidence and mental fluency with whole numbers, counting and place value. This should involve working with numerals, words and the four operations.
At this stage, children should develop their ability to recognise, describe, draw, compare and sort different shapes and use the related vocabulary. Teaching should also involve using a range of measures to describe and compare different quantities such as length, mass, capacity/volume, time and money.
By the end of Y2, children should know the number bonds to 20 and be precise in using and understanding place value. An emphasis on practice at this early stage will aid fluency.
Children should also be able to read and spell mathematical vocabulary, at a level consistent with their increasing word reading and spelling knowledge at Key Stage 1.
By the end of Key Stage 1, children will work towards meeting the skills outlined in the National Curriculum and our Curriculum Skills Overview.
Key Stage 2
As children move into Key Stage 2 (Year 3), the principal focus of mathematics teaching is to ensure that children become increasingly fluent with whole numbers and the four operations, including number facts and the concept of place value. This should ensure that pupils develop efficient written and mental methods and perform calculations accurately with increasingly large whole numbers.
By the end of Year 4, children should have learnt their multiplication tables up to and including the 12 multiplication table and show precision and fluency in their work. This will help prepare them for the National Multiplication Check which takes place in the summer term.
The focus of mathematics teaching in Upper Key Stage 2 (Y5 and Y6) is to ensure that children extend understanding of the number system and place value to include larger integers. This should develop connections that children make between multiplication and division with fractions, decimals, percentages and ratio.
By the end of Year 6, children should be fluent in written methods for all four operations, including long multiplication and division, and in working with fractions, decimals and percentages.
Children in Upper Key Stage 2 are also taught to read, spell and pronounce mathematical vocabulary correctly.
By the end of Key Stage 2, children will work towards the skills outlined in the National Curriculum and our Curriculum Skills Overview. These will be tested in the National Y6 SATs and through teacher assessment.
Useful documents
Please see the documents below which help to explain our approach to maths in more detail.
