Shelley Maths Curriculum Statement
Mathematics Statement
INTENT
The Mathematics Curriculum at Shelley School and the pedagogy associated with it, aims to develop pupils who are knowledgeable and have a sound understanding of, the key mathematical skills and concepts needed for them to successfully progress into the next stage in their education and beyond. It is our aim that pupils’ knowledge, skills and understanding will lead them be fluent in numeracy procedures and be able to confidently apply these procedures to a range of reasoning, problem solving and real –life settings. We believe that if given the right amount of time and the correct ‘tools,’ the overwhelming majority of pupils are capable of mathematical competence in line with their age.
IMPLEMENTATION The defining features of the implementation of our curriculum are that:
• Pupils are taught the age-related objectives outlined in the mathematics section of the National Curriculum.
• Pupils are taught broadly the same mathematical material and progress through the objectives together. Adjustments are made for those whose progress is slower or swifter.
• Mathematical knowledge, skills and understandings are taught through using a range of manipulatives, pictorial representations and abstract concepts. Teachers are left to judge which particular representation/abstraction to use and when it is most appropriate to use it.
• A range of varied tasks and challenges are presented to pupils over the course of a lesson (or short series of lessons) and these challenges will include varied fluency/procedural tasks and problem solving/reasoning style challenges. All pupils of all ages and abilities should have access to this range of challenges.
• Aside from the Shelley Calculation Policy (see below), there is no prescribed way of teaching mathematics. However, as a starting point of reference when planning, teachers should consult the ‘White Rose’ medium term plan and the relevant ‘Small Steps’ documents and consider using these to suggest possible teaching points and tasks. In this way, a degree of consistency will be maintained across the school with useful tools such as ‘part-whole models’ and ‘bar-models’ etc. becoming increasingly familiar to pupils as they progress through the school.
• Calculations, including those requiring a formal written method should be taught in line with the school’s Calculation Policy.
• Teachers should decide the pace through which pupils travel through objectives bearing in mind that some pupils may need to spend more time with some concepts than others whilst some will need challenge at a ‘greater depth.’ It is desirable that the overwhelming majority of pupils will have ‘mastered’ all of the objectives associated with their stage of the mathematics curriculum. In most areas, pupils will need periods of consolidation, practice and revision.
• By the end of Year 4, the overwhelming majority of pupils will know their multiplication tables fluently to 12 x 12.
• Assessments are made of pupils’ progress during and following teaching and these assessments are used to inform subsequent teaching.
• Teacher assessments are supplemented with formal summative testing at key points across any series of lessons and these assessments tie in with the school’s wider assessment policy.
IMPACT
At key transition points, pupils’ will demonstrate the mathematical knowledge, skills and understandings to ensure competence in their engagement with the next stage of their mathematical education. They will show an increasing ability to successfully apply their mathematics to real-life situations. It is hoped that pupils will find mathematics enjoyable and that through collaboration, they will reach their mathematical potential.
