Maths
Here at James Brindley, Mathematics is at the heart of our curriculum and our aim is to make confident and competent Mathematicians who are fully equipped with the necessary knowledge and skills to further their studies as they progress to high school and into their future life. The intent of our mathematics curriculum is to provide children with a foundation for understanding number, reasoning, thinking logically and problem solving with resilience so that they are fully prepared for the future.
We use the The White Rose Hub resources to support medium and short term planning, alongside the National Curriculum. All lessons are carefully and creatively planned, catering for all pupils’ needs and abilities, to ensure that every child has the opportunity to succeed in this area of the curriculum.
Maths lessons are designed with a concrete, pictorial and abstract (CPA) approach in mind, providing our pupils with the scaffolding required to access learning at all levels. Using the CPA approach simultaneously within lessons, allows our pupils to deepen their understanding making our children more confident and competent Mathematicians. At James Brindley, we ensure that children not only have the fluency in Mathematical skills but also the opportunity to reason and problem solve through a mastery approach. Our engagement with the Maths Hub has allowed us to deepen our knowledge and understanding of the mastery approach to teaching and learning underpinned by the 5 big ideas: representation and structure, mathematical thinking, variation, fluency and coherence. 5 principles that all teachers have at the forefront of their mind when planning their Maths lessons. Teachers ensure that pupils are provided with the necessary skills to talk and explain their Mathematical theories articulately. The use of Mathematical vocabulary reinforces our Mathematics teaching and is consistently modelled to children in lessons, the meanings discussed and pupils are encouraged to use this language to support their Mathematical thinking and reasoning. Understanding the importance of regularly revisiting Maths topics is high on our agenda and children take part in a ‘5 a day’ session before the start of every lesson. This enables pupils to regularly practice taught Mathematical skills and concepts allowing for long-term retention.
Our calculation policies are the drivers to the teaching of calculations and provides our children with consistency as they progress through the school.