Curriculum Intent

At St Thomas’s, we recognise that maths is both a key skill within school, and a life skill to be utilised through everyday experiences. A high-quality maths education provides a firm foundation for understanding how maths is used in everyday life and develops a pupils’ ability to reason mathematically and solve problems. Through the teaching of maths, we aim to develop:

• A positive attitude towards maths and an awareness of the relevance of maths in the real world.

• An ability to solve problems and think logically in order to work systematically and accurately.

• An ability to work both independently and in cooperation with others

• Competence and confidence in pupils’ maths knowledge, concepts and skills.

Wherever possible, the maths curriculum will provide opportunities to establish links with other curriculum areas. Spelling tests in English should include spellings of key mathematical terminology and mathematical vocabulary should be used when applicable. Pupils’ data collection and analysis skills can be further developed through the conduction of physical experiments in Science, using units of measurement, calculating averages and interpreting results. Pupils should record their finding using charts, tables and graphs. Data analysis, pattern seeking and problem-solving skills should also be developed through the teaching of Geography while pupils’ understanding of time and measurements of time can be developed through discussions of historical events in History. ICT will be used to enhance pupils’ maths skills through the use of online resources.

Throughout St Thomas’s, maths is taught as a discrete lesson and as part of cross-curricular themes when appropriate. Long Term and Medium-Term Plans have been taken from the White Rose Maths schemes of learning. The LTPs give an overview of the coverage at each stage and have been designed to support the aims and objectives of the new National Curriculum through a mastery approach to teaching and learning. They have number at their heart and a large proportion of time is spent reinforcing number to build competency. In line with White Rose Maths training, teaching staff at St Thomas’s use a concrete, pictorial, abstract approach to teaching number and lessons regularly include an element of reasoning and problem solving.

Key Stage 1 overview

The principal focus of mathematics teaching in Key Stage 1 is to ensure that pupils develop confidence and mental fluency with whole numbers, counting and place value. This should involve working with numerals, words and the four operations, including with practical resources [for example, concrete objects and measuring tools].

At this stage, pupils should develop their ability to recognise, describe, draw, compare and sort different shapes and use the related vocabulary. Teaching should also involve using a range of measures to describe and compare different quantities such as length, mass, capacity/volume, time and money.

By the end of Year 2, pupils should know the number bonds to 20 and be precise in using and understanding place value. An emphasis on practice at this early stage will aid fluency.

Key Stage 2 overview

Teaching of maths in lower key stage 2 is to ensure that pupils become increasingly fluent with whole numbers and the 4 operations, including number facts and the concept of place value. This should ensure that pupils develop efficient written and mental methods and perform calculations accurately with increasingly large whole numbers.

At this stage, pupils should develop their ability to solve a range of problems, including with simple fractions and decimal place value. Teaching should also ensure that pupils draw with increasing accuracy and develop mathematical reasoning so they can analyse shapes and their properties, and confidently describe the relationships between them. It should ensure that they can use measuring instruments with accuracy and make connections between measure and number.

By the end of Year 4, pupils should have memorised their multiplication tables up to and including the 12 multiplication table and show precision and fluency in their work.

The principal focus of mathematics teaching in upper key stage 2 is to ensure that pupils extend their understanding of the number system and place value to include larger integers. This should develop the connections that pupils make between multiplication and division with fractions, decimals, percentages and ratio.

At this stage, pupils should develop their ability to solve a wider range of problems, including increasingly complex properties of numbers and arithmetic, and problems demanding efficient written and mental methods of calculation. With this foundation in arithmetic, pupils are introduced to the language of algebra as a means for solving a variety of problems. Teaching in geometry and measures should consolidate and extend knowledge developed in number. Teaching should also ensure that pupils classify shapes with increasingly complex geometric properties and that they learn the vocabulary they need to describe them.

By the end of year 6, pupils should be fluent in written methods for all 4 operations, including long multiplication and division, and in working with fractions, decimals and percentages.