Mathematics at St. Mary’s 2022/2023
Intent Statement
Through the study of mathematics, St. Mary’s children will develop confidence and fluency in their understanding of concepts in order to reason and problem solve beyond the mathematics curriculum. They will become more prepared for the challenges presented in the world around them (for example in order to become financially literate).
Rationale and our learning sequence
The National Curriculum for England states the following:
“Mathematics is a creative and highly interconnected discipline that has been developed over centuries, providing the solution to some of history’s most intriguing problems. It is essential to everyday life, critical to science, technology and engineering, and necessary for financial literacy and most forms of employment. A high-quality mathematics education therefore provides a foundation for understanding the world, the ability to reason mathematically, an appreciation of the beauty and power of mathematics, and a sense of enjoyment and curiosity about the subject.”
At St Mary’s, the intent of our Mathematics Curriculum is to provide all of our children, regardless of ability, with the opportunity to develop transferrable life skills which allow them to innovatively develop their ability to think and reason logically and to engage efficiently and systematically. Our curriculum is designed to be accessible for all and is rooted in creativity, engagement and challenge. We believe that our children develop a real sense of curiosity about Maths, through the high-quality curriculum planned, which enables them to help drive their own learning journey throughout the school.
All children are introduced to new mathematical concepts in a way which moves through the Concrete, Pictorial, Abstract (CPA) approach; this enables new topics/concepts to be introduced, using a range of stimuli, in such a way that allows our children to begin with and learn through hands-on, experiential learning during every stage of their development at St. Mary’s. In our school, we have also designed a Mathematics curriculum, which helps and supports our children to enjoy their experience of the subject all-the-while seeking to build their confidence, with the aim of all of our children perceiving themselves as true Mathematicians. This positive attitude is actively fostered, at St. Mary’s, and we are proud to promote the fact: We can all do Maths! Teaching of Mathematics is planned in viable, incremental steps, which builds both knowledge and skills, with the aim that every single one of our children can achieve in their Maths learning, starting with their precise and targeted use of subject-specific vocabulary; we have outlined our Mathematics Curriculum to ensure that it is cyclical to allow for all key concepts to be regularly revisited (for example, every Year Group beginning the year with essential understanding of Place Value). Depth and security of understanding are given a high priority, regardless of the concepts/topics being taught, and we ensure that no opportunity for learning is missed – common misconceptions are addressed and utilised as a vitally essential part of Mathematics learning.
Through our knowledge-based curriculum, we strive to ensure that our children are prepared for the challenges presented in the world around them and that they are confident in their developing skillset and are increasingly secure in their application of these skills independently.
Our detailed Curriculum Map for Progression in Mathematics at St. Mary’s, alongside the specific Year Group Curriculum Overviews and Individual Skills Progression Maps, highlights when and how key concepts are taught and how these progress and evolve as our children journey through the school. Efficient and appropriate strategies for calculation, which progress in line with the content being taught, are outlined in our Calculation Policy and these, combined with their developed Mathematical language, allow our children to select appropriate strategies and clearly reason about their eventual answer.
The structure of our Mathematics Curriculum provides a model which does not deem children becoming wholly fluent in one area of the curriculum before moving onto the subsequent area as essential. Our strategy of distributing specific programmes of study throughout the year allows knowledge to be consolidated before revisiting and allows for knowledge gained in other areas of the curriculum to be utilised in support. Our curriculum journeys between the varied strands of Mathematics, allowing our children to gain an increased understanding of the complex links between them and to develop their knowledge and skills in areas that support one another.