Newington Community Primary School

Mathematics Mastery

Our Maths Policy can be seen here.

Intent:

At Newington Community Primary School, we work closely with Mathematics Mastery and follow their programme of study which has three key principles: conceptual understanding, mathematical thinking and mathematical language, with problem-solving at the heart of the curriculum. Together, our mission is to enable all learners to enjoy and succeed in maths regardless of their starting points. We want learners to think of maths beyond what is tested in national examinations and to be equipped with an understanding of mathematics that will be relevant and useful in their future studies/ or world of work.

“At the centre of the mastery approach to the teaching of mathematics is the belief that all pupils have the potential to succeed. They should have access to the same curriculum content and, rather than being extended with new learning, they should deepen their conceptual understanding by tackling challenging and varied problems. Similarly, with calculation strategies, pupils must not simply rote learn procedures but demonstrate their understanding of these procedures through the use of concrete materials and pictorial representations.”

It is important that children are allowed to explore Maths and present their findings not only in a written form but also visually; to that end our school has adopted the CPA approach; concrete, pictorial, abstract. This will allow the children to experience the physical aspects of maths before finding a way to present their findings and understandings in a visual form before relying on the abstract numbers. Pupils have the opportunity to build on fluency and deepen knowledge throughout every lesson. All teaching staff at NCPS attend staff meetings that regularly have a maths focus, which provide information on current thinking and introduces them to new teaching methodologies and ideas.

Implementation:

The Mathematics Mastery curriculum is cumulative, coherent and sequenced. This means that mathematical concepts that are taught earlier in the curriculum are revisited in the context of a new area of mathematics. Each school year begins with a focus on the knowledge, concepts and skills that have the most connections; such as, place value, addition and subtraction. These concepts are then applied and connected throughout the school year to consolidate learning.

Every class from EYFS to Y6 follows the Mathematics Mastery programme which aligns with the National Curriculum. The programme focuses on curriculum design to ensure a coherent and sequentially planned learning built on solid foundations and challenging for all pupils.

Maths Curriculum Maps YR- Y6:

curriculum maps r y6.pdf

Six-part lesson

Every mastery lesson is split into six-parts. The six-part lesson gives a structure in which to implement the pedagogical principles of the curriculum. The different parts of the lesson allow teachers to bring the different dimensions of depth in the foreground. Having a consistent structure for each lesson ensures that learners are exposed to pedagogies associated with each dimension.

As Mathematical language is a key principle of our approach, at the start of each new topic, key vocabulary (star words) is introduced, revisited throughout lessons and embedded as the topic progresses

Impact

The Mathematics Mastery approach allows children to develop their mathematical fluency whilst being able to apply this knowledge through reasoning and problem-solving. Therefore, children are able to move between different contexts and representations of maths flexibly. Pupils need to be fluent, but that fluency must encompass understanding and be accompanied by reasoning and problem-solving.

Through discussion and feedback, children speak articulately using mathematical language and vocabulary about their maths lessons and speak with enthusiasm about how they love learning about maths. Children show confidence and believe they can learn about a new mathematical concept and apply their knowledge and skills they already have.

At the end of every year, we expect children to have achieved Age Related Expectations (ARE) for their year group. Some children will have progressed further and achieved Greater Depth (GDS). Pupils who have gaps in their knowledge receive appropriate support and intervention.

Programme of study

Year R Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5 Year 6