Mereside Academy
Learn to Love, Love to Learn
Maths
Intent
At Mereside Church of England Primary Academy, we aim to provide a high-quality mathematics education that will help our pupils to acquire a deep, long-term, and adaptable understanding of mathematics. Maths lessons are taught through a chosen scheme of learning (White Rose Maths), that are carefully ordered to build upon prior learning in small, manageable steps. Our teaching is also supported by concrete and pictorial resources before children move onto abstract concepts. We strive to develop curious mathematicians who are excited about challenge and so our curriculum is designed to support the development of reasoning and problem solving alongside fluency to ensure challenge and ambition for all pupils.Our mathematics curriculum promotes discussion, perseverance and questioning with the aim to motivate our children to continue to thrive as passionate mathematicians beyond primary education.
At Mereside Church of England Primary Academy, we aim for each child to:
- Have a positive attitude towards mathematics
- Have a growth mindset – we want our children to believe that they can learn anything and that their intelligence can grow
- Recognise that mistakes are important and that they provide opportunities to learn
- Be able to work systematically, co-operatively and with perseverance
- Be able to think logically and independently
- Be able to reason and justify their thinking
- Be able to think creatively and flexibly when problem solving
- Experience a sense of achievement regardless of age or attainment
- Be able to apply previously acquired concepts, skills, knowledge and understanding to new situations and problems - both in and out of school
- Be able to communicate ideas, experiences and questions, clearly and fluently, using the appropriate mathematical language
- Be aware of the uses of mathematics beyond the classroom
- Understand the importance of using efficient strategies in mathematics.
Implementation
At Mereside CE Primary Academy, we use the White Rose Maths overview to ensure mathematical concepts are embedded into children’s working memory so that children know more and remember more. Our mathematic lessons have the following fundamental characteristics:
- Use of key mathematical vocabulary and stem sentences to develop pupils’ confidence in reasoning and problem-solving
- Recaps to draw on prior knowledge
- Rehearsal of written and mental calculations to retain proficiency
- Explicit teacher instruction
- Varied and frequent practise with increasingly complex problems to develop children’s conditional knowledge
- Opportunities to reason and problem-solve so that children can apply and hone these skills in other subjects and real-life
- Encouragement of resilience, adaptability and acceptance of learning from mistakes
Impact
At Mereside CE Primary Academy, pupils talk enthusiastically about their maths learning and this is evident in the conversations they have with teachers and with each other. We measure the impact of our curriculum using the following methods:
- A reflection on standards achieved against the planned outcomes
- White Rose termly arithmetic and reasoning summative assessments
- Weekly TestBase arithmetic tests to assess fluency and to allow teachers to identify gaps in the children’s learning.
- Pupils’ discussions about their learning
- Book looks
- White Rose Flashback 4 to revisit previous learning at the start of each lessons
Policies
Times Table Rockstars and NumBots Launch Days!
On Wednesday 27th and Thursday 28th of February 2024, we took part in two spectacular re-launch days for the Times Table Rockstars and NumBots platforms. Children were invited to come into school dressed as a rock star (Year 2-6) or a robot (EYFS-Year 1) and explore the appropriate platform as well as take part in different activities linked to developing maths fluency. We were lucky enough to have some musicians from Shrewsbury College perform for to launch the two days!
Experiences of Maths in the Wider World
At Mereside Church of England Primary Academy, we believe that it is incredibly important for children to have opportunities to apply their mathematical understanding to real life experiences. These opportunities allow them to understand how maths is all around us and the importance of these skills in the outside world.
In November 2023, children from Year 1 - Year 4 had the opportunity to participate in a Maths Money Workshop run by Principality Building Society. The workshop used engaging and interactive activities to teach children about money including coin recognition, the value of money (bag of sweets vs a trip to the cinema etc), how to earn money (chores around the house) and spending versus saving.
Useful Websites to Support Your Child’s Learning
NumBots | Motivational maths practice for schools and families
Play Prodigy (prodigygame.com)
If you require a copy of your child's login details for Times Tables Rock Stars or NumBots, please contact your child's class teacher.