Maths

Intent

At Scout Road Academy we want our children to enjoy maths, be confident and fluent mathematicians and able to solve problems. We teach maths for mastery. This means that we are teaching children to have a deep conceptual understanding which allows them to build on their knowledge and apply it within a range of applications, not to just get a correct answer. Being able to explain how an answer is correct and what may happen if a variable was adjusted are the markers of a mathematician.

At Scout Road Academy we believe that all children can succeed in mathematics and we work hard to support and scaffold children to give them the best opportunity to succeed.

Scout Road Academy were lucky enough to have undergone significant training in 2017/18 which set the building blocks for the teaching of maths mastery within school. We understand the importance of continuous professional development and giving training to those staff new to school. We are also part of an active cluster group of schools in our area which allows us to share and keep up to date with current practice.

Implementation

At Scout Road Academy we teach maths in units, which can vary in length from two to six weeks. We try to develop children’s understanding from Concrete apparatus (such as bead strings, blocks and numicon) to the Pictorial (using pictures to represent a visual aid of a mathematical concept), to the Abstract (carrying out calculations without the support of a visual or concrete aid). We use this same principal through school, it is seen as good practice to use concrete apparatus within Y6 lessons, just as much as it is within a Reception class maths lesson. We do not feel it necessary to record the outcome of every maths lesson purely to ensure there is a record of every lesson in a child’s book. We know these lessons occur because we speak to our children about their maths.

Teachers plan maths using the White Rose Mixed Age Scheme of Learning. This ensures that, where possible, both year groups in a class are taught very similar themes at the same time and it allows a clear progression of maths skills to be taught across the academic year. We feel this is a positive approach to teaching maths; it frequently gives opportunity for revision before building on a concept.

The children carry out work which is suggested by White Rose maths alongside many other styles of questioning and problem solving to ensure that children are exposed to maths within a broad variety of formats, whilst still maintaining the mastery approach. We use resources from National Centre for Excellence in the Teaching of Mathematics (NCETM), NRICH and many other areas.

Children who find a specific area of maths difficult are often supported with a short pre-teach lesson (typically lasting 10-15 minutes) or they may be asked to take part in an intervention activity after their lesson (usually in the afternoon), to ensure their understanding is secure prior to taking part in the next lesson.

Homework supports a child’s understanding of maths and creates an opportunity for parents to be involved in their children’s learning. It is important for children to carry out their homework. Homework is usually based on the learning that has just taken place, therefore children should be capable of carrying out their work with minimal support.

Impact

Pupils within Scout Road Academy make excellent progress in their maths work and data shows that our children achieve well. We know that our children enjoy maths as we regularly speak to them about it.

In lessons we use formative assessment to help decide on what we should do next with pupils and the progress they are making. This allows us to understand how to support and extend our pupils appropriately.

Teachers recognise the difference between performance and learning and understand that pupil performance in the lesson today does not necessarily translate into the type of learning that will be evident tomorrow. As a result, the use of low stakes tests enable staff to regularly assess what learning has been retained by pupils over longer periods of time. This also provides pupils with the regular opportunity of retrieving information from memory, which consequently facilitates learning.

SEND

Scout Road Academy promotes inclusion, independence and challenge for pupils with SEND through adjustments based upon individual needs; these may be to the curriculum itself or to access arrangements. Details of these adjustments can be found in Individual Education Plans or devised by the school and sometimes with advice and guidance from external agencies. SEND have unique learning profiles and needs and teachers build expertise over time in teaching the children in their class. For this reason, teachers are responsible for the differentiation of learning in their classes.

Calculation Policy