Mathematics

Subject Leader: Mrs Hussey

Mathematics Governor Visit Reports

Latest news

1 May 2024 – We are delighted that our year 5 team won the first heat of the Maths Challenge Competition. We are now waiting for details of the next heat which is to take place in Peterborough. Well done for great team work and maths knowledge. See our Special Events Photo Gallery.

Aims

The national curriculum for mathematics aims to ensure that all Barnabas Oley pupils:

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
reason mathematically by following a line of enquiry, conjecturing relationships and generalisations, and developing an argument, justification or proof using mathematical language
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

Targets for 2023/24

Develop number sense in Key Stage 1 (KS1).
Train Key Stage 2 (KS2) staff in maths mastery teaching.
Change the way times tables are delivered to improve fluency.
Continue to deepen staff understanding of teaching mastery maths.

Curriculum statement for the teaching and learning of maths

At Barnabas Oley Primary School, we are committed to providing our children with a curriculum which has a clear intention, is implemented to the highest standards and impacts positively upon their learning outcomes.

Read our Curriculum Statement - March 2021.

Barnabas Oley Primary School's Maths Progression Plan

National Curriculum Requirements and Further School Information

At Barnabas Oley, we use White Rose Maths, which follows a cumulative curriculum, so that once a topic is covered it is met many times again in other contexts. We also use resources provided by NCETM and NRICH to supplement our teaching and assess and extend our children’s learning. We follow the mastery approach to maths, an approach that:

makes use of mathematical representations that expose the underlying structure of the mathematics;
helps children to make sense of concepts and achieve fluency through carefully structured questions, exercises and problems that use conceptual and procedural variation to provide ‘intelligent practice’, which develops conceptual understanding and procedural fluency in parallel;
blends whole class discussion and precise questioning with intelligent practice and, where necessary, individual support.

Calculation Policy Booklet for Parents - 2023

Please find below a link to our Calculations booklet that is given to parents at Maths Curriculum sessions. This is a very useful guide showing the methods that pupils are taught when calculating sums.

How do we teach maths at Barnabas Oley?

We teach mastery maths. Our ethos is that all children can achieve in this subject as long as we give them the opportunities through the way we teach. Some of the key elements of our teaching are:

Mixed ability seatings;
Ensuring children are fluent at their number bonds, up to and including 20 (by year 2) and ensuring children are fluent at their multiplication and division facts up to 12 x 12 (by year 4). If they are not, this is a priority for these children;
Children are given opportunities to reason about a concept and make connections;
Resources/manipulatives are used by all to expose the mathematical structure;
Everyone can achieve.

How do we teach Maths in Reception?

In Reception, the children have a daily input and do activities based on the classroom learning, indoors and outdoors, with a strong focus on:

Having a deep understanding of numbers to ten, including the composition of each number;
Subitising (recognising quantities without counting) up to 5;
Automatically recall (without reference to rhymes, counting or other aids) number bonds up to 5 (including subtraction facts) and some number bonds to 10, including double facts;
Verbally count beyond 20, recognising the pattern of the counting system;
Compare quantities up to 10 in different contexts, recognising when one quantity is greater than, less than or the same as the other quantity;
Explore and represent patterns within numbers up to 10, including evens and odds, double facts and how quantities can be distributed equally.

How do we teach maths in KS1 and KS2?

We use a range of strategies to teach maths. These include:

Direct teaching on number bonds to 20 and multiplication and division facts to 12 x 12;
Daily counting, estimating and subitising (KS1);
Resources are used;
Maths is contextualised to make it real;
Talk partners;
Teacher modelling strategies;

How do we assess maths?

In Reception, the children are assessed on entry. After this they will be constantly assessed against the Early Learning Goals, which can be seen in the ‘How do we teach Maths in Reception?’ section above.

In KS1 and KS2, the children undertake an assessment, based on their learning so far, at the end of every unit of teaching. Also, assessments based on children’s number bond strategies and times tables fluency, using multiplication and division fact knowledge, take place twice a term. Although this assessment is important, the most important assessment is formative assessment, which occurs every day in Maths lessons. Lessons are adapted and changed based on this to ensure all children have the opportunity to succeed.

Maths Curriculum Evening for Parents - Autumn 2018

Name
Calculation slides for calculation evening Nov 18.pdf	Download

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Year Group Teaching – 2023-24

This year we focussed on geometry for each year group. We started with looking at the ready to progress criteria for each year group ensuring the children had embedded their understanding from the previous year group and then taught elements of geometry relevant for that year group. KS1 focused on properties of shapes and position and direction and did a shape hunt around the school and KS2 properties of shapes and angles, area and perimeter.

Year Group Teaching – 2022-23

In our year group teaching this year the focus was on reasoning in Maths. All year groups had the same focus each week at the level for their year. The three weeks were split into place value (week 1), addition and subtraction (week 2) and multiplication and division (week 3). The children were given various problems to solve and were encouraged to discuss the strategies they used to solve the problems using mathematical language. The children shared their understanding of each area of the curriculum and developed their thinking by discussing these areas and problem solving together.

Year Group Teaching – previous years

Both staff and children have enjoyed three sessions of year group maths this spring term.

KS1 have been working on measure and KS2 on shape.

During these hands on practical learning sessions, children have had the opportunity to work with their Year group in small cohorts whilst getting to know different staff members. There has been much enthusiasm, excitement and great learning seen during these engaging lessons.