Maths

We believe that students deserve an engaging and ambitious mathematics curriculum, rich in skills and knowledge, which ignites curiosity and readies them for everyday life and employment in a global and digital society.

Our mathematics curriculum will give students the opportunity to:

become fluent in the fundamentals of mathematics, through varied and frequent practice, so that pupils rehearse conceptual understanding and become confident in recalling and applying knowledge rapidly and accurately.
use age-appropriate mathematical vocabulary to reason effectively, and solve problems by applying their skills to a variety of problems with increasing challenge.
communicate, justify, argue and prove using mathematical vocabulary through discussion.
develop their character, including resilience, confidence and independence, so that they contribute positively to the life of the school, their local, national and international community.

At Reedings, we have structured our curriculum using Herts ESSENTIALMaths, which is a detailed and carefully sequenced programme based on the National Curriculum. We use White Rose resources to supplement the main teaching points in Herts Essentials, to ensure children get thorough practise and the opporunity to apply their learning to problem solving and reasoning. Children have daily mathematics lessons which cover a broad and balanced mathematical curriculum including elements of number, calculation, fractions, geometry, measurement and statistics. Our maths lessons follow a mastery approach structure we call 'Learn, Practise, Apply' which allows lessons to introduce a new step or skill, and allows the children to learn and practise the skill before application.

Additionally, pupils take part in regular maths fluency sessions, which we call 'Can I Still...?' sessions, to embed previous learning and enhance precision in a range of skill areas in a fun and engaging way. With maths being a core subject, at Reedings we aim to teach some elements of maths in a cross-curricular way to ensure children recognise the practical application of mathematical skills. For example, some aspects of statistics, such as graph drawing and analysis, is sometimes taught in science during an investigation. There is a strong focus on using mathematical vocabulary and discussion of efficient methods or approaches to problem solving, with an aim to broaden and deepen mathematical understanding.

We aspire for each child to be confident in each objective, and develop their ability to use this knowledge to develop understanding and solve varied fluency problems as well as problem solving and reasoning questions. We use a range of physical and online resources throughout the school to ensure a curriculum that is specific to each child’s learning needs. Every classroom has a wide range of physical resources designed to support cognition and reasoning and encourage independent learning. Children complete homework activities, which embed prior learning and consolidate their skills, using the online resource MyMaths. They also develop their times table and division fact knowledge using Times Table Rockstars, which is an engaging and competitive way to improve recall.

Teachers use verbal and written feedback to guide the children through their next steps, ensuring they are meeting each specific learning objective. Teachers also use assessment, in the form of regular informal assessment in class and termly diagnostic testing, to influence their planning and ensure they are providing a mathematics curriculum that will allow each child to achieve their full potential. The teaching of maths is also monitored by the maths co-ordinator who will look at the children’s books, visit lessons on learning walks and identify key areas for development across the school. In the summer term of Year 4, children take part in a multiplication times-table check (MTC) while at the end of KS2, Year 6 children sit their SATs.

It is expected that the majority of pupils will move through the programmes of study at broadly the same pace. However, decisions about when to progress should always be based on the security of pupils’ understanding and their readiness to progress to the next stage. Pupils who grasp concepts rapidly should be challenged by being offered rich and sophisticated problems rather than moving on to the next step too quickly. Those who are not sufficiently fluent with earlier material should consolidate their understanding, including through additional practice or support, before moving on.

All children make good or better progress across the mathematics curriculum, and leave Reedings ready for the challenges and opportunities that await them at secondary school and beyond.

Fluency:

Fluency sessions 3-5 times a week allow for rehearsal and further practice of learned skills, ensuring important mathematical concepts and skills become embedded in long-term memory over time. The areas below are the mathematical areas to focus fluency sessions on each half term. In most cases, teachers should include these areas after the main teaching has taken place, however sometimes fluency sessions revisit concepts from previous years. Teachers should adapt the content of fluency based on their ongoing assessment of children, and include areas that they believe would be beneficial to most of the class. Sessions should contain approximately 5 skills and may include content from a previous half term’s learning or fluency.

Planning and teaching:

At Reedings, teachers plan using the Herts for Learning ESSENTIAL Maths suite, which provides a comprehensive step-by-step maths curriculum including concrete, pictorial and abstract methods throughout. Within each learning sequence, lesson, or step, there is clear guidance for teaching and learning through the use of key prior learning, core concepts and destination questions: those abstract calculations which should be secure by the end of each learning sequence. Teachers have access to prior year group learning sequences should they find they need to review previous learning before approaching the current year group objectives. Teachers keep a record of the learning sequences covered throughout each term and year, and feedback to the next teacher the strengths and weaknesses of each class. Teachers mays also draw upon other high quality and enriching resources of their choosing, such as those available from White Rose Maths, always ensuring the core concepts of each learning sequence are met through rehearsal and practice.

Times Tables

Year 4 take part each year in the national Multiplication Tables Check (MTC). We have a rigorous plan in place to ensure children reach their full potential with times tables recall, which incorporates class teaching, mathematical games and regular Times Tables Rockstars practice. In 2022 and 2023 our school's MTC results were higher than the national and Hertfordshire average scores.

Learning Maps

Mastering Number Project

Year 4 and Year 5 are taking part in the Mastering Number at KS2 project with the Matrix Maths Hub this year. Your child will take part in four 10-minute sessions per week with the intention of improving fluency and mastering their numerical skills. Here is an overview of what the sessions will cover each term.

mastering number ks2 overview 2024 25.pdf