Our Maths Curriculum: Inspiring a Love for Learning

“Mathematics is a creative and highly inter-connected discipline that has been developed over centuries, providing the solution to some of history’s most intriguing problems. It 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 therefore provides a foundation for understanding the world, the ability to reason mathematically, an appreciation of the beauty and power of mathematics, and a sense of enjoyment and curiosity about the subject.”  National Curriculum 2014 

At Croxton Kerrial we work in close partnership with the RISE trust Maths Network to develop fluency and mastery. We follow the White Rose Maths schemes of work but adapt materials to best suit our pupils. The White Rose mastery approach involves knowing how and why the mathematics works. It means being able to use mathematics knowledge in new and unfamiliar situations. To support children in achieving this, we use White Rose resources and adapt them as required to suit the needs of our pupils. These are used to both support and challenge children’s understanding, in line with the higher expectations of the National Curriculum. We expect most children to move through this programme of study at broadly the same pace.

Teachers will make decisions about when to progress based on the security of children’s understanding and their readiness to progress to the next stage. Children who grasp concepts rapidly will be challenged through being offered rich and sophisticated problems before any acceleration through new content. Those who are not sufficiently fluent with earlier concepts will consolidate their understanding through additional practice and support.

At Croxton Kerrial we want children to become fluent mathematicians who can problem solve and reason confidently. We aim:

• To provide interesting and well-planned lessons, where children continually build on the knowledge they have already mastered.
• To promote children’s enjoyment of mathematics and provide a foundation for enthusiastic lifelong learning.
• To develop children’s mathematical thinking and conceptual understanding e.g. using concrete manipulatives (objects) and pictorial representations (pictures), before moving to abstract symbols (numbers and signs); giving children opportunities to explain or justify their mathematical reasoning using correct mathematical vocabulary; and providing children with plenty of opportunities to solve a variety of problems with differing representations and make rich connections across mathematical ideas.
• To secure children’s knowledge and accuracy when recalling number facts.
• To deepen the understanding of all children by covering fewer topics in greater depth not 'climbing' the curriculum as quickly as possible.
• To help children acquire and apply the mathematical skills necessary for solving problems, not only in the maths lesson, but also in other subjects, in everyday life situations and in their future learning.
• To develop children’s confidence and resilience in Mathematics by improving their growth mindset so they can reach their full potential.

In EYFS, children’s mathematics learning is on-going and is assessed against the Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum. At Croxton Kerrial we give children a range of real and purposeful opportunities to develop their understanding of mathematics.  Children are encouraged to use, talk about and explore mathematics in a positive environment. We use practical resources as well as pictures and models to master key concepts.