National Curriculum Purpose of Study:

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.

We follow the National Curriculum programmes of study.

INTENT:

Our ethos is that all children can be successful in the study of mathematics.  We do not accept that 'some children cannot do Maths' or that children should be limited by prior attainment.  Maths is for everyone!

At Hagbourne CE Primary, the aims of the National Curriculum (fluency, reasoning and problem solving) are at the core of our Maths teaching.  Children are given regular opportunities to solve problems, therefore fluently applying their knowledge and conceptual understanding, then reasoning about what, how and why. We use the mastery approach to support children in their ability to think clearly and logically so as to develop an understanding of mathematics that is formed on secure concepts.  We believe mathematics is an interconnected subject in which pupils need to be able to move fluently between representations of mathematical ideas and encouraged to make connections between ideas.  This enables them to develop fluency, mathematical reasoning and competence in solving increasingly sophisticated problems. We also provide opportunities to apply their mathematical knowledge to science and other subjects.

Through our curriculum design, we ensure that all children can develop the mathematical skills and knowledge needed to become successful citizens of the world.  Our ‘Teaching for Mastery’ approach enables children to be numerate, creative, independent, inquisitive, enquiring and confident. Children are taught not be afraid to make mistakes and fully embrace the fact that mistakes are part of learning!  A mastery curriculum promotes a long-term, secure and adaptable understanding of the subject, so that children become fluent in the fundamentals of mathematics, develop conceptual understanding, the acquisition of reasoning skills and the ability to recall and apply knowledge rapidly and accurately. This ensures that those pupils beginning their education at school can access age-appropriate ideas as detailed in the DfE ‘Mathematics guidance: key stages 1 and 2’ (2020) publication, and do not see gaps open in their learning over time.  The intention of the Maths curriculum at Hagbourne is for children to be excited about Maths!  Developing a positive attitude to this subject is essential.  Teachers promote children’s enjoyment of maths and provide opportunities for children to build a conceptual understanding before applying their knowledge to everyday problems and challenges. We ensure that challenge is provided for all children, whatever their understanding.  Children are encouraged to be brave and push the boundaries, deepening their understanding further. The only way to learn mathematics is by doing mathematics!

Mastery
We plan our Maths teaching using the ‘Teaching for Mastery’ approach in accordance with the requirements of the National Curriculum and using the White Rose Guidance (and supported by the NCETM and DfE).  We believe that the mastery approach is for ALL children and can be applied to ALL objectives across the maths curriculum.  The mastery approach involves: deep and sustainable learning; the ability to build on something that has already been learnt, the ability to reason about a concept and make connections and having conceptual and procedural fluency. It provides a rich mathematical experience through which children can view and make sense of the world, analyse and communicate information and ideas whilst tackling a range of practical tasks and real life problems.  In line with this, an objective of our teaching is to create a deeper understanding of mathematical knowledge that is appropriate to age (and to support children in achieving the expectation of recalling it rapidly and applying it fluently and accurately) rather than to accelerate pupils into new content.