At Bricknell Primary School, the teaching of maths has been carefully considered to enable our pupils to become fluent in the fundamentals of mathematics, through varied and frequent practice and with the challenge of increasingly complex problems over time. Developing mathematical reasoning skills, children follow lines of enquiry, conjecturing relationships and generalisations and develop arguments and justification based on their mathematical knowledge.

At Bricknell Primary School, our maths curriculum is built alongside White Rose. This sequence has been refined by our highly skilled subject leaders in order to meet the needs of every child at the school. Objectives for each year group are progressively mapped out to ensure our pupils are given the acquired skills and knowledge to further enhance their education journey into mathematics at KS3. Maths in EYFS is taught daily using Power Maths. This curriculum mastery program was designed by White Rose to spark curiosity and excitement. It is built around a child centred lesson design that models and embeds a growth mindset to allow for a deeper understanding of maths.

Our aim is to provide inclusive and aspirational environments and learning experiences where pupils thrive and build the cultural capital they need to make aspirational choices about their own futures, overcoming any barriers. In order to achieve this, our curriculum is underpinned by the principles highlighted in our Aspiration Curriculum.

Within the maths Progressive Skills Document, our progressive objectives identify what pupils should know by the end of each year group and link to their prior learning. These enable teachers to identify and plug gaps in pupils’ knowledge and skills. Within maths, pupils will develop a deep understanding of Key Concepts and Second Order Concepts. These key concepts have been carefully considered and identified as the core knowledge and skills required to successfully achieve in maths. The key concepts are revisited and developed as the pupils move through the school to ensure their knowledge and skills are firmly embedded within their long term memory. These key concepts compliment work carried out across the school in line with the Aspiration Curriculum. The expectation is that, by the end of primary school, children will know and understand these key concepts which will give them a solid foundation to enter the maths curriculum at KS3.

In addition to first order key concepts, the subject leaders have identified subject specific second order concepts. These can be used across all aspects of a subject to organise the substantive knowledge and skills taught.

Key Concepts :

• Number and Place Value
• Addition and Subtraction
• Multiplication and Division
• Fractions, Decimals and Percentages
• Geometry
• Statistics
• Shape
• Measures
• Ratio

Second Order Concepts : These can be used across all aspects of a subject to organise the substantiative knowledge taught.

• Arithmetic Skills
• Fluency
• Application
• Reasoning and Problem Solving

By the end of Nursery, children will :

Have a deep understanding of numbers up to 5 being able to develop their skill of subitising up to 5 as well as matching numerals, accurately touch counting, verbally using the part whole model, reciting numbers and being introduced to the correct terminology of the numerical system. Children will be confident in recognising 2D and 3D shapes as well as briefly describing their properties. Children will be able to identify and describe patterns, continue to make and copy patterns then spotting errors whilst using the concept of repetition. Furthermore, children can learn how to sort objects and numbers into groups as well as comparing against size, height, length and colour. Finally, children will describe a sequence of events using their day as a prompt.

By the end of EYFS, children will:

Have a secure understanding of Number and Numerical Patterns across the new EYFS Framework. Children will have a deep understanding of numbers to 10, being able to develop their skill of subitising up to 5 as well as automatically recalling number bonds up to 5 and even 10. Furthermore, children will be able to verbally count beyond 20, recognising the counting system, comparing quantities up to 10 in various contexts and exploring and representing numbers within 10, including odds, evens and doubles. The EYFS children will use every day language to talk about size, weight, capacity, position, distance, time and money to compare quantities and objects in order to help them solve problems. They will recognise, create and describe patterns, exploring characteristics of everyday objects and shapes, using their mathematical language to describe them.

By the end of Key Stage 1, children will :

Develop confidence and mental fluency with whole numbers, counting and place value. This should involve working with numerals, words and the four operations, including with practical resources, e.g. concrete objects and measuring tools. Pupils should develop their ability to recognise, describe, draw, compare and sort different shapes and use the related vocabulary. They should also use a range of measures to describe and compare different quantities such as length, mass, capacity, volume, time and money. By the end of year 2, pupils should know their number bonds to 20 and be precise in using and understanding place value. An emphasis on practice at this early stage will aid fluency. Pupils should 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 Lower Key Stage 2, children will :

Become increasingly fluent with whole numbers and the four operations, including number facts and the concept of place value. They will develop efficient written and mental methods and perform calculations accurately with increasingly large whole numbers. Pupils should develop their ability to solve a range of problems, including with simple fractions and decimal place value. Pupils will have the opportunity to draw with increasing accuracy and develop mathematical reasoning so they can analyse shapes and their properties and confidently describe the relationships between them. It should ensure that they can use measuring instruments with accuracy and make connections between measure and number. By the end of year 4, pupils should have instant recall of their multiplication tables up to and including the 12 multiplication table and show precision and fluency in their work. Pupils should read and spell mathematical vocabulary correctly and confidently using their growing word reading knowledge and their knowledge of spelling.

By the end of Upper Key Stage 2, children will :

Extend their understanding of the number system and place value to include larger integers. This should develop the connections that pupils make between multiplication and division with fractions, decimals, percentages and ratio. Pupils should develop their ability to solve a wider range of problems, including increasingly complex properties of numbers and arithmetic, and problems demanding efficient written and mental methods of calculation. With this foundation in arithmetic, pupils are introduced to the language of algebra as a means for solving a variety of problems. Teaching in geometry and measures should consolidate and extend knowledge developed in number. Pupils will classify shapes with increasingly complex geometric properties and that they learn the required vocabulary they need to describe them. By the end of year 6, pupils should be fluent in written methods for all four operations, including long multiplication and division, and in working with fractions, decimals and percentages. Pupils should read, spell and pronounce mathematical vocabulary correctly.

Any child working below their age related expectation will receive a tailored curriculum with personalised objectives taken from the Curriculum Assessment Toolkit, (CATs). This will enable all children to build upon the skills and knowledge needed to bridge the gap between themselves and their peers enabling them to reach their full potential.

At Bricknell Primary School, our curriculum is carefully mapped out into a Long Term Plan. This enables links between subjects to be identified and carefully planned for to support pupils’ retention of knowledge and skills.

The academic year is broken down into strands of work which form the key concepts. Each strand and unit builds upon prior learning, within the current year group and from previous year groups.

At Bricknell, all maths lessons will follow the same teaching sequence outlined below.

In light of Covid-19 and Bricknell’s Recovery Curriculum, subject leaders have identified key concepts across the curriculum which need to be prioritised in each year group to ensure that pupils have the knowledge required to access their next progressive steps in their education and enable them to access the National Curriculum.

All pupils take part in a daily maths lesson following the teaching sequence outlined above. All children will be exposed to a fluency based activity, set at age related expectations. If children are unable to access this task, they will complete a pre fluency activity first ensuring the knowledge, skills and understanding needed to achieve the fluency task is worked towards. Children are then exposed to a wide range of fluency style questions. From here, pupils then progress on to applying their acquired skills within reasoning and problem solving style questions which increase in complexity. Tackling progressively difficult problems, which draw upon learning and skills from many mathematical areas, children display confidence and efficiency in their work. In line with the marking policy, at the end of each lesson, teachers will assess each child’s next steps: further challenge could be provided while high quality interventions can be planned and delivered where needed in the next lesson to address misconceptions and progress children’s learning. Questions are carefully chosen based on what the children have been exposed to over the course of their topic. Not all pupils will complete all of the activities during a sequence of learning but it is important that all pupils are given the opportunity to access the fluency and application stages at an age related expectation, unless there is a significant SEND issue that prevents them from doing so. Children working below age related expectations have a personalised curriculum following the Curriculum Progression Toolkit (CPT). These objectives are tailored to meet their individual needs but ensure they follow the same sequence of learning and topics as their year group.

To further enhance the children’s rapid recall of number facts, KS2 children access Times Table Rock Stars (TTRS) which give the pupils unlimited opportunities online to apply their knowledge of all tables up to 12 – this forms a part of the school’s ‘Bricknell Standard’. To meet this standard, Year 3 and 4 pupils complete 25 minutes of TTRS a week; Year 5 and 6 pupils complete 30 minutes per week. Children can practice their times table facts, enjoy playing games and battling against their peers and teachers. In KS1, the children focus on their rapid recall of number facts and times tables. When staff believe the children are ready, they are then able to access the Times Table Rock Stars programme to embed their times tables further.

Finally, teachers will seek to take advantage of opportunities to make cross curricular links. Staff will plan for pupils to practice and apply their skills, knowledge and understanding acquired through maths lessons in other areas of the curriculum.

As a result of Covid-19 and its impact upon the curriculum, the subject leads have adapted the maths provision across each year group. Once the children returned to school during Spring Term 2021, the maths curriculum was tailored to meet the needs of each child in preparation for their upcoming change of year group. While a long term plan is in place for the subject, teachers, with knowledge of their own class’ learning, have the flexibility to cover each objective and topic at the pace which is required of their children. As the maths curriculum at Bricknell Primary School is based upon progressive skills, it is vital that objectives are embedded before children move on. Allowing teachers the flexibility on the length of time dedicated to each objective will result in some classes being unable to fulfil all areas of the long term plan. Therefore, the subject leads have identified closely linked objectives between year groups which can be delivered together in the child’s next year group. Furthermore, other objectives have been identified which can be taught in a cross curricular manner.

Maths transition from Nursery to EYFS to KS1

In order to help pupils receive a smooth transition from EYFS to KS1 in maths, we implement a number of plans.

In order for smooth transition from Nursery to EYFS, we have devised a long term plan for Nursery which flows into the EYFS maths long term plan. At the same time, on the same week, Nursery will be teaching the same Power Maths teaching concept as EYFS with guidance from the 3/4 Development Matters document. For example, while sharing is being taught in EYFS, Nursery will hold a teddy bears picnic with a mathematical emphasis on sharing.

As EYFS follow Power maths and NCTEM, and KS1 follow the national curriculum alongside White Rose, a transition meeting is held with parents to discuss the change of scheme and how this looks for their child.

Upon transition, KS1 staff identify the children who have not reached their Early Learning Goals and provide extra support for their transition with maths. This is evident with a ‘4th class’ which contains a lower pupil to staff ratio. As Year 1 work practically with regularity, the children in the 4th class integrate back to their usual class in these lessons and worked in mixed ability groups to ensure they receive both peer and staff support to aid their development.

Impact.

A wide range of strategies are used to measure the impact of the maths curriculum.

Assessment forms an integral part of the teaching and learning of this subject. The formative assessment of maths is essential when identifying the strengths of individual children and their next steps. If pupils have misconceptions or gaps in their subject knowledge, additional teaching and support is provided in lesson or the following day. Summative judgements of maths are made each term with these being moderated to quality assure decisions. The progress of individual pupils are carefully monitored on a termly basis and those identified as not making progress are given high quality intervention. All children from Years 2 – 6 complete termly assessments. The data generated from these assessments are then analysed and actions put in place to move children forwards, ready for the next term. Fortnightly, Year 3 – 6 complete a small arithmetic paper. Teachers complete a QLA based on these papers to inform their ‘Fast Maths’ sessions which begin maths lessons. On the alternate week, times tables tests are completed with the same process.

Our subject leader will also monitor the effectiveness of the maths curriculum through carrying out regular subject 360 evaluations. These evaluations are quality assured by the Senior Leadership Team and Governors.

The effectiveness of maths is also monitored through pupil and parental voice throughout the course of the year.