Maths
Vision:
- To cultivate positive attitudes, curiosity, and excitement about learning mathematical concepts.
- To nurture a ‘can do’ mindset, particularly in problem-solving and identifying patterns.
- To broaden children’s understanding of how mathematics applies to the real world by making meaningful, real-life connections.
- To empower pupils to reason confidently about mathematics, using appropriate mathematical language to communicate effectively and think critically.
- To utilise a variety of visual models, tools, and practical resources to build deep conceptual understanding alongside procedural fluency.
- To implement the statutory requirements of the Foundation Stage (EYFS) and the New National Curriculum effectively.
Intent:
Through mathematics, children acquire vital skills for daily life. Our intent is for pupils to become fluent in maths by building a strong understanding of numbers, exploring their composition, and participating in meaningful mathematical discussions. They will enhance their ability to recall number facts quickly and accurately while adopting efficient calculation methods. We strive to help our children make connections, recognise patterns, and tackle problem-solving with confidence and resilience. Pupils are supported to develop mathematical thinking, ask questions, and explore a variety of methods to deepen their reasoning and independence. Our curriculum ensures equal access to challenging and engaging learning experiences that stretch each child’s understanding and potential. With access to high-quality resources, timely interventions when needed, children will grow confident in their mathematical abilities and revisit prior learning regularly to solidify understanding.. Our children will build the skills to apply their knowledge to everyday situations and enjoy their learning in maths. All pupils will be able to demonstrate that they know more, can do more and remember more in maths.
Implementation:
At Edleston Primary School, we teach maths through a mastery approach. Teachers use the White Rose Maths small steps and progression documents to inform planning and ensure curriculum coverage.
White Rose Maths provides a structured ‘Schemes of Learning’ framework, featuring sequential ‘Blocks’ that cover all areas of learning throughout the year. This spiral curriculum ensures children revisit and build on key concepts annually, reinforcing their understanding over time.
Each ‘Block’ is broken down into sequential ‘Small Steps’ designed to guide pupils towards achieving curriculum outcomes. Teachers use their professional judgment to determine how long to focus on each small step and whether specific steps are necessary to meet the needs of their cohort. They can use other materials to supplement and extend the small steps learning eg Active Maths, NCETM, DfE Problem Solving packs, Maths Hubs from Oxford Owl (Mastery document), NRICH website, Challenging more able learner and Classroom Secrets.
Every ‘Small Step’ includes valuable resources to support teaching:
- Notes and Guidance: Contextual information about how each step connects to prior and future learning, ensuring appropriate pitch and expectations.
- Mathematical Talk: Prompts to encourage children to articulate their thinking and reasoning.
- Varied Fluency: Activities that present concepts in diverse ways to deepen understanding.
- Reasoning & Problem Solving: Opportunities for pupils to apply their learning to new and challenging contexts.
We use White Rose Maths as our teaching framework because of its Mastery Approach and focus on a Concrete-Pictorial-Abstract (CPA). This method is instrumental in helping children develop mental images, fully grasp concepts, and identify patterns with ease. The mastery approach incorporates all of these to help children explore and demonstrate mathematical ideas, enrich their learning experience and deepen understanding. Together, these elements help cement knowledge so pupils truly understand what they’ve learnt.
All classrooms have a maths working walls and manipulatives to support the learning in maths. These may include double-sided counters, Numicon, base ten equipment or place value counters. The same resources are available for use throughout the school to ensure consistency and reduce cognitive load. Maths talk is encouraged and children are challenged to justify their methods and answers.
When introduced to a key new concept, pupils should have the opportunity to build competency in this topic by taking this approach. Pupils are encouraged to physically represent mathematical concepts. Objects and pictures are used to demonstrate and visualise abstract ideas, alongside numbers and symbols.
We recognise the importance of pupils achieving independently and as part of this we commit the use of teaching assistants to mathematic sessions to support pupils as needed. School’s expectations are that all children will be involved and challenged in maths whether they are working below, at or exceeding expectations for the year group.
At Edleston Primary School, we target individuals/groups who need further intervention for maths misconceptions or further consolidation and where possible these are carried out the same day/next day by either the class teacher or teaching assistant.
Through responsive teaching, we identify and address areas to develop. We use the small steps from White Rose Maths and apply a flexible approach so that sufficient time is allowed to secure key concepts.
Impact:
At the beginning of the academic year, each teacher meets with the previous teacher to discuss common strengths and weaknesses and analysis of summer assessments is shared.
Assessment is to be informative, useful and manageable. Progress and attainment is monitored formally in termly summative assessments. Year 1-6 are assessed using NFER Maths tests [or past end of key stage SATs papers in Y2 and Y6] to review attainment, progress and inform planning. Following these data drops, there are termly Pupil Progress meetings where SLT, SENCo and class teachers meet to discuss data and target individuals/groups and identify next steps. The impact of the actions are monitored and discussed at the next meeting.
All children from Year 1 upwards will also have progressive termly times tables test data which is tracked and progress monitored.
Informal and on-going assessment happens daily in the lessons
Teachers use the WRM small steps statements to continuously monitor progress and assess maths. . Teachers use questions and monitoring/marking of work to discover who is working and achieving the objective or who isn’t and needs more support either during the lesson. We use responsive teaching to address areas identified in assessments. We use the White Rose progression documents and may refer to the NCETM Progression Map to identify prior learning where necessary.
Where possible, marking takes place in the lesson and immediate verbal feedback is given. Self and peer marking is also used. There is no next step marking as the next lesson or follow-up activity provides the next step.
How do we support children who are at risk of falling below their age-related expectations?
All children are supported to achieve through our mastery approach based on small steps. We believe in 'mastery for all and reasoning throughout' in our approach to lesson planning. Manipulatives are used effectively to scaffold and support children’s understanding. Adults and other children model methods and approaches. Our lessons include partner work and promote the use of manipulatives to explain and reveal the maths in order to achieve depth in understanding. We use responsive teaching strategies and adaptive teaching to provide immediate intervention. Where needed, we put ‘keep up’ sessions in place before the next session. Pupils have opportunities to correct mistakes and misconceptions eg number formation, corrections.