At St John’s CE Primary School, we understand that Maths is important for every child. We firmly believe that pupils should receive a full and rich curriculum which gives them the best early education possible. Our aim is for all children to have a sense of enjoyment and curiosity about Maths. Children will be supported and provided with resources, and challenged sufficiently to ensure they progress and leave with the required skills in fluency, reasoning and problem solving to succeed in life.

Intent

• The children and staff to be enthused, engaged and excited by Maths and have the appropriate skills to enhance their lives.
• To deliver a curriculum which ensures the teaching of Maths is ambitious and all learners progress and leave with the required skills, in fluency, reasoning and problem-solving to succeed in life.
• Procedures are in place to identify pupils with gaps in learning and support them with intervention programmes: children with SEN needs and the most disadvantaged are examples of target groups.
• Adaptations and appropriate resources are provided to support children with SEND to progress in Maths, with support from agencies when necessary.
• Opportunities are given to all pupils to develop their Maths skills across the curriculum.
• Our aim is for all children to have a sense of enjoyment and curiosity about Maths.

Implementation

• Staff plan and deliver Maths to the highest standard in specific Maths sessions and give opportunities to develop further across the curriculum.
• White Rose Maths is used to ensure there is the correct curriculum coverage.
• Leaders give clear direction about teaching of Maths based on observation and assessment, providing resourcing and support when necessary.
• SEND support team provide specific guidance with regards to individuals responding to the needs of the pupils.
• Rigorous assessment monitors standards, both short term and long term with clear targets. The use of PUMA assessments, including gaps-analysis allows teachers to determine specific gaps in learning and support learners in achieving success.
• Celebration of Maths achievement through competitions and assemblies promotes Maths in and out of school.
• The learning environment promotes Maths and supports independent learning.
• Opportunities are provided for children to express their Maths knowledge at different events.

Impact

• Learners develop, and master, a range of Maths skills which they use to support their learning in Maths and across the curriculum.
• Engagement and enthusiasm with Maths is improved.
• Pupils make expected progress or above in Maths and any children who have fallen behind in attainment, due to the pandemic, are given structured support to accelerate their learning.
• Reasoning and problem-solving seen as a challenge to progress and not a barrier to learning.

Mathematics in the Early Years

In the Early Years, developing a strong grounding in number is essential so that all children develop the necessary building blocks to excel mathematically. Children should be able to count confidently, develop a deep understanding of the numbers to 10, the relationships between them and the patterns within those numbers. By providing frequent and varied opportunities to build and apply this understanding, children will develop a secure base of knowledge and vocabulary from which mastery of mathematics is built. There will be opportunities for children to develop their spatial reasoning skills across all areas of mathematics including shape, space and measures. It is important that children develop positive attitudes and interests in mathematics, look for patterns and relationships, spot connections, ‘have a go’, talk to adults and peers about what they notice and not be afraid to make mistakes.