Intent
Mathematics 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 and mathematical literacy is therefore essential for all children to understand the world. At Redwell, our Mathematics curriculum teaches children how to make sense of the world through developing their ability to calculate, reason and solve complex problems in a range of contexts. We provide opportunities to develop depth and rigour needed to make secure and sustained progress over time.
We aim to develop positive attitudes and enjoyment towards Mathematics. We do this through a belief that every child can be a mathematician and that their ability to succeed is not fixed. Children are encouraged to make ‘fantastic’ mistakes in a safe and supportive learning environment, and misconceptions are discussed and supported by teaching staff.
At Redwell Primary School, we teach Mathematics through a Teaching for Mastery approach and the Five Big Ideas. ‘Mastering’ Mathematics means acquiring a deep, long term, secure and adaptable understanding of the subject. We embrace a mastery approach, where we provide an ambitious, connected curriculum accessible to all pupils. We ensure our Maths curriculum follows the ‘Five Big Ideas’ of coherence, representation and structure, mathematical thinking, fluency and variation (NCETM, 2017). We want pupils to become fluent in the fundamentals of mathematics, to be able to see relationships, to reason, problem solve, think independently and to persevere when faced with challenges, showing a confidence of success. This approach is engaging and accessible for all children and relies heavily on the use of the CPA (concrete – pictorial – abstract) approach. Children are encouraged to physically represent mathematical concepts. Pictures and representations are used to demonstrate and help children to visualise concepts before abstract number and symbols are introduced and used.
We ensure that the majority of pupils will move through the curriculum at broadly the same pace. However, based on AfL, our teachers make decisions about the progression of the children based on their level of understanding. Therefore, this allows pupils to be challenged by ‘going deeper’ and having the opportunity to access a variety of sophisticated problems before any new concepts are introduced. Those learners who are not sufficiently fluent, can consolidate their learning through additional practise before moving on.
At Redwell, we use White Rose Education, Number Sense and NCTEM resources to support our curriculum. Our Mathematical journey begins in EYFS, where children are provided with opportunities to develop a strong understanding of number, as well as develop their spatial reasoning skills across all areas of Mathematics including shape, space and measures.
Please see the RPS Handbook - Maths At Redwell 2024 - 25 (attached below) for the Implementation and Impact information for maths at Redwell Primary.
How are the British Values developed in Maths?
Democracy
In maths, we often work with learning partners to discuss and solve mathematical concepts and problems. We share resources with our partner. We take turns to listen to everybody speaking and explaining their reasoning. These learning behaviours are linked with our Redwell value of ‘Respect’ and ‘Responsibility’.
Furthermore, in maths, we learn about democracy through our statistics units in years 2 – 6. We use whole class voting to create and present information / data in different ways.
Rule of Law
During maths lessons, we understand and follow the school rules and values. We recognise their importance in keeping ourselves and our peers safe.
We follow and apply rules in the four calculations: addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. Furthermore, we follow and apply rules when solving mathematical puzzles or maths games.
Individual Liberty
During maths lessons, we are allowed to make mistakes and understand the importance of them to help us learn and grow. We call them fantastic mistakes, and love to use them to help the whole class understand a misconception. Furthermore, we take risks during maths lessons but discussing and attempting to solve problems even if we find them challenging. These learning behaviours are linked with our Redwell value of ‘Resilience’ and ‘Ambition’
We listen and respect other children’s or adult’s ways of working out a problem but are allowed to choose our own way to solve a calculation or problem. This includes choosing the right manipulatives for us, such as counters or base ten.
Mutual Respect and Tolerance
In maths, as above, we often work with learning partners and share resources. We always show respect to whoever we are working with by being polite, taking turns, giving constructive and kind feedback and helping if needed. When solving problems in maths, we ensure that real life examples are used, and include examples of different faiths, ethnicities and cultures. These learning behaviours are linked with the Redwell Value of ‘Respect’ and ‘Compassion’.
Progression Maps