Lainesmead Primary School and Nursery
Strive, Achieve, Excel; Believe in a Limitless Future.
Maths
Maths Covid Statement
As a school we have evaluated the gaps in learning for Maths due to lockdowns and Covid.
For the learning that was missed or not fully covered please see the relevant termly overview.
Current Year 6 – Elements of Autumn Term, Spring Term
(Click on the term and it is linked to take you to that terms overview of maths teaching.
These gaps have been identified and for Maths, teachers consult the White Rose Maths 20-21 recap scheme of learning match to Power Maths lessons. Additional lessons are added. In addition, Early Morning Tasks and Extras on Doodle maths are planned for to plug gaps and revisit learning.
How we teach Maths at Lainesmead
The mastery learning model forms the basis for our approach in teaching maths. As a primary school, we have a duty to ensure that children have an absolutely solid, concrete understanding of the subject knowledge and skills involved. We are teaching for depth and secure understanding. This means spending greater time going in depth on concepts to ensure secure, sustainable knowledge and understanding.
Our key aims are:-
- to develop fluency in the mathematical foundations and number operations
- to develop mathematical reasoning through following lines of enquiry, justifying and explaining using accurate mathematical vocabulary
- to develop the ability to solve problems through applying maths in a range contexts with increasing sophistication
We use the DfE approved Power Maths scheme to support the planning process. The Power Maths scheme identifies the objectives (or themes) from the National Curriculum to be taught.
Based on the mastery approach, the key elements of a maths lesson are:
1) Key learning point – this is presented to the children as a learning question. It should be small manageable on clear.
2) Discover and share – this is a hands-on problem solving activity and provides opportunities to go deeper. It allows the children to share, reason and learn from misconceptions through whole-class discussions. Children can discover patterns and concepts for themselves.
3) Think together – this part of the lesson follows the structure of “I do, we do, you do.” It involves the teacher modelling the concept, the children working in pairs and then more independent with class discussions.
4) Practice – designed to be completed independently, children work from the practice book. This practice uses conceptual and procedural variation to build fluency and deeper understanding. A challenge question and links to other areas of maths takes their understanding to a greater level of depth.
5) Extension – for those that complete the practice work successfully, an extension task is set. They are designed to provide reasoning opportunities and to develop deep mathematical thinking.
6) Reflect – this is an opportunity for children to review, reason and reflect on their learning and to help the teacher gauge depth of understanding.
Challenges are planned for at each stage of the lesson. Questions and resources are used to support all learners. Resource packs consistent across school are used by all children and are an integral part of lessons.
If necessary, based on the needs of the learners, planning is adapted and additional lessons are planned for.
Planning for different needs A mastery approach rejects the idea that some children ‘can’t do maths’. Through careful lesson planning and the identification of a key learning point, which is small, clear and manageable, all children are on a learning journey together from a shared starting point and work through achievable steps. It is expected that all children who are not SEN should be able to access part or all of the learning in the practice workbook.
Children who need more support will receive this through adult support, use of resources or targeted support. In addition to this, a targeted support session may be held to pre-teach or reinforce the concept outside the maths lesson. If a child is significantly behind their peers, they would still have access to whole class teaching but then a differentiated curriculum would be planned for to suit the needs of the learner.
Pupil Voice
“It’s good. I like doing the challenges and working things out.” Year 1 pupil.
“We do lots of different things and use lots of different things. The PowerMaths books are good. Some of the challenges are really tricky.” Year 1 pupil.
“I like discovering new things.” Year 2 girl. “We solve problems. I really like that.” Year 2 boys.
“It’s fun. There are extra challenges so you are always busy. The books help you learn better.” Year 6 boy.
“It’s better than what we used to do. We do more. It’s not boring as we get to solve problems and that really makes our brains think.” Year 6 girl.
Times Table Badges
The teaching of times tables is integral part of our curriculum. Children are encouraged to embed their recall and knowledge through the use of Doodle Tables, Times Table Rock Stars and achieving coloured Maths Badges.
New: Find out about Growth Mindset and how we are using it to encourage mathematical learning. Please check out the video clips on 'How we learn' and 'Praise'.
How to help your child at home:
Useful Websites
