At Emmbrook Infant School, we believe mathematics is essential for everyday life and understanding the world. It enables the development of pupils’ natural ability to think logically and solve puzzles and real-life problems. We deliver our Mathematics curriculum to ensure it follows the key aims of the National Curriculum at KS1. In Foundation Stage, planning centres around the Early Years Framework and the non-statutory guidance Development Matters.
We aim to ensure that all pupils become fluent in the fundamentals of mathematics and in number so that pupils develop solid conceptual understanding and the ability to recall and apply knowledge rapidly and accurately in their lives.
Children at Emmbrook Infant School are taught to reason mathematically by finding connections and establishing relationships whilst using increasingly complex mathematical language. Our mathematics curriculum carefully sequences knowledge, concepts and procedures to build on mathematical knowledge and skills systematically over time. Children are taught to use maths to 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.
All children are expected to achieve at least age-related expectation unless they have a special educational need that would prevent this. However, all children are expected to make at least good progress from their starting points. Our Core Values will thread through our teaching of maths as key skills to develop and in particular; resilience, independence, patience, teamwork, confidence and curiosity.
Children at Emmbrook Infant School develop the skills, knowledge and efficient methods of calculation necessary to support their economic future and problem solving in life.
Implementation
How is Maths enabled in the Early Years?
Maths is mostly taught through the Prime Area of Mathematics, and is also interwoven throughout the EYFS curriculum, including through exploratory play. The component of Number is enabled through: Encouraging children to count the things they see and talk about and use numbers beyond ten; providing a wide range of number resources and encouraging children to be creative in identifying and devising problems and solutions in all areas of learning.
Additionally the component of Numerical Patterns is enabled through: Encouraging children to record what they have done, e.g. by drawing or tallying; providing collections of interesting things for children to sort, order, count and label in their play; displaying numerals in purposeful contexts; creating opportunities for children to separate objects into unequal groups as well as equal groups; having areas where children can explore the properties of objects and where they can weigh and measure, such as in our cookery sessions and building areas; planning opportunities for children to describe and compare shapes, measures and distance.
Throughout the year children are assessed against the Development Matters outcomes and the Early Learning Goals.
Implementation in KS1:
Teachers create a positive attitude to maths learning within their classrooms and reinforce an expectation that all children are capable of achieving high standards in Maths. Children at Emmbrook Infant School are able to move through the curriculum at a pace that ensures they make at least expected progress from their starting points through clear differentiation. As a result of a strong focus on number and place value, the children can establish firm foundations on which to build their understanding. Because of our concrete-pictorial-abstract approach, children learn to see the connections in maths and understand that mathematics can be represented in different ways.
- The maths curriculum, provides sufficient opportunities for planned revisits of previously learned knowledge, concepts and procedures; this is to ensure that, once learned, mathematical knowledge becomes deeply embedded in pupils’ memories; freeing pupils’ attention to work with independence, apply their mathematical knowledge to more complex mathematics.
- Medium Term plans do not follow a set scheme but instead are planned according to the needs of the children in the cohort ensuring coverage of the national curriculum.
- Teachers plan units of work to cover the National Curriculum. Teachers plan lessons using their own professional judgement, daily formative assessment and feedback from pupils. Teachers use their professional judgement to determine how long to spend on a particular objective.
- Year 1 focus on number and place value in the autumn term to ensure children are confident in these key areas before applying them to the concepts of data, time, money and shape and space.
- Concepts that are covered one week, are linked into learning the following week to enable the knowledge and skills to be built on. Retrieval quizzes are used regularly alongside the retrieval starter at the beginning of each lesson.
- Feedback is provided to pupils verbally, through teacher marking, and in KS1 children move to self-reflection of their learning in the lesson. This informs teaching for the next lesson. Groupings are fluid to enable pupils to access the appropriate work and support where required.
- Those pupils behind age-related expectations are supported with pre-teaching, afternoon Keep-up interventions, targeted questioning and targeted support in lessons from adults. Work is scaffolded or differentiated to allow pupils to be successful.
- Children who grasp concepts rapidly are exposed to wider differentiation enabling strong progress and a deeper understanding with increasingly abstract thinking opportunities. They are challenged with greater depth problems within lessons. Lessons typically begin with reflect and review opportunities of previous learning, a core teaching focus followed by independent or collaborative work before consolidation of their understanding and application in books. Units start with practical, concrete hands- on learning and progress to pictorial and abstract tasks. In Year 2 the children are ability grouped in Maths sets which are fluid in nature.
- All children are exposed to deeper learning opportunities in their learning, to deepen their knowledge and understanding of the concepts taught and to better enable them to apply their mathematical knowledge and skills to problem solving.
- Maths is included in other subject areas where appropriate and relevant, exposing children to mathematical thinking and concepts across the curriculum. Maths is also often applied to real life contexts to make it relevant, practical and purposeful to the children.
- TAs receive high quality training in school relating to mathematical pedagogy, age -related expectation and feedback and marking, to enable them to support and challenge pupils of all abilities.
- As a school, we strive to encourage girls and boys to achieve in maths and enjoy the subject, and see themselves as capable mathematicians. For example, diverse significant mathematicians in history will be highlighted.
Impact
How is mathematics assessed?
In the early years foundation stage, children are assessed everyday by their key adult and this will include identifying areas where children may be at risk of falling behind, so that staff can provide rapid, effective support. Weekly team meetings are used to discuss pupil progress against planned outcomes where groupings are reviewed and adapted as necessary. The early learning goals (ELGs) are what is assessed at the end of the reception year.
In key stage 1, each unit of work begins by ascertaining the children’s prior knowledge and any connected knowledge held in their long-term memory through cold tasks. Any misconceptions that arise throughout the unit are identified and addressed appropriately. Children continue to recall their knowledge throughout a unit in order to ensure an alteration in long term memory. Hot tasks are also used to assess the learning at the end of a unit of work.
The curriculum provides sufficient opportunities for planned revisits of previously learned knowledge, concepts and procedures; this is to ensure that, once learned, knowledge becomes deeply embedded in pupils’ memories.
To further support ongoing formative assessment, teachers review pupils’ contributions in lessons, work in their books and attainment in end of unit assessments. These are supported by end of term formative assessments and end of year tests. Progress & attainment is recorded and reported termly to SLT through pupil progress meetings. All staff attend these meetings, including TAs, to ensure the expectations are clear and shared by the whole team.
Maths is monitored by the SLT through termly book looks and HT observations, The Maths Subject Leader also carries out an annual Maths Core Review. This includes lesson observations, book looks, pupil conferencing and data analysis. Feedback is given to all staff and objectives set for the next SIP if required. CPD is then planned accordingly. The Subject Leader meets with the Link maths governor three times a year to share and review the Maths Action Plan and to discuss the end of year Position Statement, which is also is shared with the SLT.
Children at Emmbrook Infant School develop a love of maths, enabling them to have a wide range of mathematical skills they can use in their chosen approaches to learning, linked to their everyday lives.