Maths

At Boughton-under-Blean & Dunkirk Methodist Primary School, we believe mathematics is an important and integral part of our everyday lives, therefore a key aspect of the children’s futures.

Our goal is for pupils to become independent learners with the ability to persevere through challenging tasks, using any mistakes they make to help drive them forward to succeed. Developing and establishing a learning environment in which all children feel comfortable to explore and thrive, is a fundamental part of this. 

 

In line with the National Curriculum for mathematics, at Boughton-under-Blean & Dunkirk Methodist Primary School, we aim to ensure that all 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.

 

We aim for children to be able to recognise that mathematics is an interconnected subject in which they need to be able to move fluently between representations of mathematical ideas. The programmes of study are, by necessity, organised into apparently distinct domains, but children need to make connections across mathematical ideas to develop fluency, mathematical reasoning and competence in solving increasingly sophisticated problems. We aim for children to also apply their mathematical knowledge to science and other subjects.

The expectation is that the majority of children will move through the programmes of study at broadly the same pace. However, decisions about when to progress is always based on the security of the children’s understanding and their readiness to progress to the next stage. Children who grasp concepts rapidly are always challenged at our school through being offered rich and sophisticated reasoning problems before any acceleration through new content. Those who are not sufficiently fluent with earlier material are given opportunities to consolidate their understanding, including through additional practice, before moving on.

With mathematics, the way children solve or ‘calculate’ a problem changes according to the number operation involved and its complexity. The methods/strategies used get progressively more complicated as they move through the year groups. This is what we call ‘Progression in Calculation’ (PiC) and is followed across the school to ensure consistency.

 

Rather than follow a specific scheme in order to deliver maths lessons, our highly skilled and experienced teaching staff use carefully sequenced long term plans to develop and enhance children’s maths skills. Using a wide variety of resources, this allows us to tailor each lesson to the needs of the individual pupils in the class, with the aim that all children, despite their confidence or ability, can be successful and reach their full potential.

As a school, we feel that developing children's ability to solve calculations mentally is incredibly important. We have placed an emphasis on arithmetic in order for children to build on and further develop their knowledge, understanding and recall speed of number, multiplication and division facts.

 

Assessment

Across the school, we use summative assessments at least three times a year (usually towards the end of each seasonal term). These are used to support teachers with future planning and understanding the gaps within a cohort. Being a one form entry school, every cohort is different and their needs can vary tremendously. As a school, we strive to be able to adapt to those needs and support any ‘gaps’ that present themselves as the year progresses. The summative assessments allow for progress to be monitored and although tests are not used in their entirety to identify progress, they support teacher assessment.

Along with summative assessments, we assess children on a day-to-day basis - each maths lesson is an opportunity to guide and develop the children’s knowledge and understanding with instant feedback and support where needed. Adults within each class will give feedback throughout the session (with ‘live marking’), both challenging and supporting children where required.

Regular times tables and arithmetic based tasks (e.g. times table grids, arithmetic tests) are used to monitor the children’s understanding and use of number and multiplication facts. Again, these are used to further support children’s knowledge and understanding of these kay aspects of maths.

 

Pupil Voice

At  Boughton-under-Blean & Dunkirk Methodist Primary School, the vast majority of children enjoy maths and, even during moments of individual challenge, they persevere to achieve the best they can.

Through discussions with children (in June 2024), they have said:

“I find maths tricky but I persevere using methods I know to get to the answers. I try to think what the answer could be.”

It doesn’t matter if I get something wrong because I’ll have a chance to look at it again. I always try to have a go.”

“When I find a task easier it’s because I know I have practised enough.”

“Maths is one of my favourite subjects. I really like doubling, halving and times tables.”

“I really like using MathShed at home!”

“I really like maths because I enjoy the puzzles it brings. I like testing my brain.”

“It’s my favourite subject because I like challenging myself and pushing myself to be the best of my ability.”

“Maths is really useful for so many things in life, like seeing how much money you have and understanding distances if you’re travelling somewhere.”

“I don’t like seeing people worry during maths but the teachers give lots of help and support if anyone is worried or needs help. It makes them feel more confident.”

 

Home Learning

In Years 1-6, we primarily use MathShed to supplement the learning in school through number related tasks to be completed at home. These tasks provide a fun, competitive environment for the children to push themselves to achieve their best, building a greater conceptual understanding of number related facts.

Any support you can give your child at home is both beneficial and always hugely appreciated. However, Maths is ever changing and you may well be unfamiliar with some of the strategies we use in school to teach calculations. Feel free to discuss any aspect of the curriculum with class teachers as we are always happy to help wherever we can.

 

Useful Links

MathShed - https://www.edshed.com/en-gb/login

(All pupils have their own login for MathShed which helps pupils with their arithmetic skills. If you are unsure of your child's login, please contact their class teacher).

BBC Bitesize - https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/subjects/z6vg9j6

(Lots of games and videos that pupils may enjoy at home)

Topmarks - https://www.topmarks.co.uk/maths-games

Maths Zone - https://mathszone.co.uk/

Primary Games - https://primarygames.co.uk/

Oak Academy (KS1) - https://classroom.thenational.academy/subjects-by-key-stage/key-stage-1/subjects/maths

(Lots of videos and quizzes to further develop learning within the KS1 curriculum)

Oak Academy (KS2) - https://classroom.thenational.academy/subjects-by-key-stage/key-stage-2/subjects/maths

(Lots of videos and quizzes to further develop learning within the KS2 curriculum)