Mathematics Curriculum

What is our vision for maths?

At WHPS, we provide a broad and balanced curriculum across all subjects, which develops the individual child according to their age and ability. We want all of our children to leave WHPS as:

Fluent readers with a love of books and excellent comprehension.
Fluent mathematicians, with a confidence in problem-solving and reasoning.
Clear and engaging writers who can communicate their thoughts and feelings.
Happy, healthy, interested children with a range of experiences, memories and knowledge of a broad and deep-rooted curriculum.

Mathematics is a creative and highly inter-connected 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 WHPS, we believe that Mathematics equips pupils with a powerful set of skills to understand the world around them. These skills include logical reasoning, problem solving and the ability to think in abstract ways.

Mathematical teaching and learning at WHPS is underpinned by a mastery approach. We follow a curriculum where Mathematics is purposeful and motivational. Every day, children participate in maths activities that promote fluency, reasoning, investigation and problem solving.

Intent

What are our aims in the teaching of maths?

We believe that children learn best through a curriculum that has rigour, challenge, depth and breadth, and which connects all areas of learning. At WHPS, we intend our students to:

develop knowledge of the Mathematics contained within the programmes of study of the National Curriculum;
develop pupils’ enjoyment and interest in Mathematics and an appreciation of its contribution to all aspects of everyday life by providing a range of meaningful experiences;
ensure pupils acquire the language and vocabulary of Mathematics;
ensure pupils use discussion in order to learn; they should be able to elaborate and reason clearly their understanding and ideas;
provide high quality Mathematics experiences outside the designated Maths lessons through a connected curriculum approach.

This links to the National Curriculum for maths, which aims 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.

How have you designed the curriculum for maths to ensure that it covers the National Curriculum?

The curriculum for maths has been carefully planned to ensure coverage of the National Curriculum aims and objectives. Content has been carefully sequenced to ensure continuity and progression over time in order to meet the required outcomes for each key stage of study. The WHPS Calculation Policy (developed from a Mathematics Mastery document) supports teachers to design and deliver mathematics teaching in a consistent way that also provides depth and variation.

At WHPS, we strive for all children to not only have the knowledge, skills and confidence to succeed in maths at school, in their future jobs and in their daily lives, but also to recognise and engage in the enjoyment of numbers and mathematical thinking. We believe that children’s chances of success are maximised if they develop a deep and lasting understanding of mathematical procedures and concepts. This belief underpins our mastery curriculum which has been developed over time using a variety of documents, resources and CPD.

Implementation

What is the content of maths at WHPS?

Our curriculum is designed to:

Be clear about what knowledge children will learn, and in which order, throughout their time at our school.
Provide regular opportunities for children to review and apply prior learning to interrupt forgetting.
Be delivered in accordance with the mastery approach (see Figure 1), supporting children to develop deep and lasting understanding of mathematical procedures and concepts.
Provide enrichment opportunities that enhance and develop children’s learning.

The curriculum map provides further details on the objectives covered in maths and the progression of knowledge and skills in each year group.

How is maths taught at WHPS?

Maths lessons are taught daily by class teachers, using planning carefully developed in line with the Mastery approach and adapted to meet the needs of all pupils.

The majority of maths lessons will follow a 6-part structure, which will include opportunities to:

Revisit prior learning
Review and introduce key vocabulary
Encounter new learning
Explore new learning
Develop their depth of understanding
Practise independently

We recognise that this structure may not be appropriate for all lessons, and some lessons may follow a similar pattern over multiple lessons. The key focus of all lessons, or a sequence of lessons, is to build depth in children’s understanding.

At WHPS, we believe that high-quality teaching and learning in maths will include the five elements of the Mastery approach:

Coherence: Lessons are broken down into small connected steps that gradually unfold the concept, providing access for all children and leading to a generalisation of the concept and the ability to apply the concept to a range of contexts. Pupils are taught through whole class interactive teaching, where the focus is on all pupils working together on the same lesson content at the same time, as happens in Shanghai and several other regions that teach maths successfully. This ensures that all can master concepts before moving to the next part of the curriculum sequence, allowing no pupil to be left behind. If a pupil fails to grasp a concept or procedure, this is identified quickly and early intervention ensures the pupil is ready to move forward. This could happen during the lesson or in between lessons. It may be a quick 5 minute activity, a more sustained amount of intervention over time or anything in between.
Representation & Structure: Representations used in lessons expose the mathematical structure being taught, the aim being that students can do the maths without recourse to the representation. Significant time is spent developing deep knowledge of the key ideas that are needed to underpin future learning. The structure and connections within the mathematics are emphasised, so that pupils develop deep learning that can be sustained. The school’s calculation policy and the NCETM PD materials can support teachers with these choices.
Mathematical Thinking: If taught ideas are to be understood deeply, they must not merely be passively received but must be worked on by the student: thought about, reasoned with and discussed with others. The focus on language and communication in our lessons (sentence stems, talk partner activities, verbalisation, emphasis on whole sentence answers) contributes to this depth of mathematical thinking.
Fluency: Quick and efficient recall of facts and procedures and the flexibility to move between different contexts and representations of mathematics. Key facts such as multiplication tables and addition facts within 10 are learnt to automaticity to avoid cognitive overload in the working memory and enable pupils to focus on new concepts.
Variation: Variation is twofold. It is firstly about how the teacher represents the concept being taught, often in more than one way, to draw attention to critical aspects, and to develop deep and holistic understanding. It is also about the sequencing of the episodes, activities and exercises used within a lesson and follow up practice, paying attention to what is kept the same and what changes, to connect the mathematics and draw attention to mathematical relationships and structure. It is recognised that practice is a vital part of learning and teachers carefully design tasks that help children’s learning develop in a way specific to the learning objective.

We also recognise that there are many elements of excellent practice that are consistent across all subjects, which are included in our WHPS Teaching Standards for teachers to refer to and implement.

How are planning and resources for maths organised?

The Mastery Approach for the teaching of maths was adopted by WHPS in 2013. Over time, planning and resources have been developed by teachers, with support from the subject leader and CPD to address and target the specific needs of pupils at WHPS. Maths teaching does not follow a specific national scheme but draws influence, ideas and resources from a number of sources, including NCETM, Mathematics Mastery (Ark Curriculum Plus) and White Rose.

How do we ensure that all children have access to the maths curriculum?

At WHPS, we aim to provide equal access to the curriculum for all children. We believe that all children can achieve and we value and promote each child’s achievements across every subject. We give our children every opportunity to achieve their best by taking account of our children’s range of life experiences when planning for their learning. We regularly review our curriculum and the resources we use to ensure that our teaching reflects equality and respects diversity. All teachers will adapt lessons and resources to provide support for individuals with SEND or other needs.

In maths this support may include:

Worked examples
Step by-step instructions
Use of concrete manipulatives or pictorials
Use of colour coding
Small group or one-to-one support or interventions

How do we assess learning in maths?

Assessment for learning is an important part of every lesson at WHPS in order to check children’s knowledge and understanding. Lessons are carefully planned to provide opportunities for teachers to assess children’s knowledge in a range of ways, which can then support them to adapt future lessons appropriately. Any written work is record in maths books and is clearly marked with the learning objective. However, we also recognise that a more active or practical approach may be relevant for some objectives, which is detailed in the unit plans developed by teachers and the subject lead.

In maths, assessment opportunities include:

Do now tasks that review past learning
Whiteboard work
Let’s Explore tasks
My turn – Your turn practise questions
Independent tasks
Homework
End of unit assessments
Termly assessments

What opportunities are there for enrichment in maths?

Our aim at West Hampstead Primary School is to ensure that every child is able to take part in a range of inspiring and exciting opportunities during their time at school. Enrichment opportunities are carefully planned as part of the curriculum in order to:

Bring children's learning to life in a new or different context
Cover or revisit key knowledge and skills from across the National Curriculum
Providing an inspiring or aspirational experience for children
Develop children's confidence and self-esteem in a new environment

In maths, we provide the following enrichment opportunities throughout children’s time at school.

Year Group	Enrichment Opportunities
Nursery	Winter Fair Maths Decorations, Number Day
Reception	Winter Fair Maths Decorations, Number Day
Year 1	Winter Fair Maths Decorations, Number Day
Year 2	Winter Fair Maths Decorations, Number Day
Year 3	Winter Fair Maths Decorations, Number Day, Spring Slam (within WHPS)
Year 4	Winter Fair Maths Decorations, Number Day, Spring Slam (across Camden)
Year 5	Winter Fair Maths Decorations, Number Day, Spring Slam (within WHPS), Ri Maths Masterclasses (4 pupils)
Year 6	Winter Fair Maths Decorations, Number Day, Spring Slam (within WHPS), Maths Challenge (4 pupils)

Impact

How do we monitor the impact of our teaching in maths?

Leaders regularly monitor teaching and learning across the subject throughout the year. Monitoring takes place through:

Planning scrutiny to ensure that planned lessons match the learning objectives and outcomes provided in unit plans
Book looks to ensure that outcomes reflect those provided in unit plans and check that children are making good progress within the subject
Pupil voice to understand children’s perspectives on their learning in the subject and explore whether they have remembered the knowledge identified in the curriculum maps
Learning walks to see teaching and learning in action across the school and ensure high quality teaching is taking place
Teacher surveys or informal conversations to ensure that teachers are confident in their subject knowledge and identify any support needed

Strengths and next steps identified during monitoring are recorded on our monitoring overview document and discussed with SLT.