Maths is embedded in our school through our Christian values of endurance, compassion, truth and koinonia.
 
INTENT
At St Mary’s, we share the belief that mathematics is a creative and highly interconnected discipline that is essential to everyday life and we want our children to understand that it is critical to science, technology and engineering and is necessary for financial literacy and most forms of employment.
 
We are determined to ensure that all of our children leave St Mary’s being fluent in the fundamentals of mathematics. We want them to reason and problem solve by applying mathematics to a variety of increasingly complex problems. This requires a need for them to be confident in using mathematical vocabulary in a range of contexts. We strive to ensure that our children develop resilience so that they view mistakes as an opportunity to learn and use independent strategies when finding something challenging.

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The intent of our mathematics curriculum has been derived from the aims of the National Curriculum for Mathematics:
 
Fluency: become fluent in the fundamentals of mathematics, including through varied and frequent practice with increasingly complex problems over time, so that pupils develop conceptual understanding and the ability to recall and apply knowledge rapidly and accurately
 
Reasoning: reason mathematically by following a line of enquiry, conjecturing relationships and generalisations, and developing an argument, justification or proof using mathematical language
 
Problem solving: can solve problems by applying their mathematics to a variety of routine and non-routine problems with increasing sophistication, including breaking down problems into a series of simpler steps and persevering in seeking solutions

IMPLEMENTATION
We follow the National Curriculum programmes of study for Mathematics and we use the Power Maths scheme to support our teaching. Power Maths is designed to spark curiosity and excitement as well as nurture confidence in mathematics.
 
We use the Power Maths small steps to guide our teaching and ensure that children are given the opportunity to master each step before moving on to the next one. 

The expectation is that the majority of pupils will move through these steps at broadly the same pace. However, decision about when to progress will always be based on the security of pupils’ understanding and their readiness to progress to the next stage. Pupils who grasp concepts rapidly will be challenged through being offered rich and sophisticated opportunities to deepen understanding. Those who are not sufficiently fluent with earlier material will consolidate their understanding, including additional practice, before moving on.
 
Throughout the school, we use the concrete, pictorial and abstract approach. We ensure that the models, images and vocabulary used within mathematics are consistent across the school so that children are able to build on prior learning and making connections effectively. We also provide rich opportunities for discussion within our mathematics learning where children are supported to use mathematical vocabulary to explain their thinking and understanding.
 
Furthermore, we assess using the National Curriculum objectives. Staff use ongoing formative assessment to ensure that gaps within the children’s understanding are quickly identified and actions are put in place. Summative assessment, again against the National Curriculum objectives, is used three times per year and gives staff a clearer
 
Number Knowledge sessions
In addition to their daily maths lesson, the children from reception to year 2 will be participating in the NCETM Mastering Number programme to help them develop good number sense. The aim of this programmes is that the children will leave key stage 1 with fluency in calculation and a confidence and flexibility with number.
The children in years 3 to 6 participate in our daily Number Knowledge sessions, also in addition to the daily maths lesson, which aim to provide children with opportunities to develop greater fluency when using numbers. It is linked directly to objectives from the National Curriculum. Our progression document is used to design appropriate tasks specific to the needs of the learners which include exploring counting strategies and developing fluency with known number and multiplication and division facts.
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IMPACT
Our maths curriculum will ensure that children grow into adults who are mathematically confident and who are resilient in the face of challenges. They are happy learners who talk enthusiastically about their mathematics and they are proud to share it with other people. They want to learn and progress further in their maths. They have become mathematically literate people who know and can confidently apply basic mathematics in their everyday lives to help them to flourish as global citizens.
 
At the end of Key Stage 2, it is our aim that our children reach or exceed age related expectations in mathematics, in line with national outcome

Links

Overview and Progression Documents

Number Knowledge Progression

Calculation Policy

Progression Document

Maths in action