School News:
Maths at HRPS
Mathematics is essential to every day life. It has been key to scientific discovery, vital in technology and crucial in engineering. Furthermore it is of paramount importance to achieving financial literacy and important in most forms of employment.
The National Curriculum for Mathematics aims to ensure that all pupils:
- Become FLUENT in Maths, meaning they are able to calculate quickly and effectively using both mental and written methods,
- Are able to REASON and EXPLAIN mathematically, meaning they can think logically about Maths, link different pieces of learning, and demonstrate their understanding of a concept through explanation,
- Are able to SOLVE PROBLEMS, demonstrating that they can use their mathematical understanding to evaluate, understand and solve a variety of mathematical problems. For more information on our problem solving strategies, please refer to the Hutton Rudby Primary School Problem Solving Policy, which can be found at here.
The new National Curriculum states that:
“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.”
At Hutton Rudby we see Maths in the same way, acknowledging that it is a multi-discipline, cross-curricular, interconnected subject which should encourage creativity. We aim for the children to be able to see how Mathematics is relevant to their world, and applicable to everyday life. We also aim to instil an understanding of how Mathematics is something that the children will need as they move through their school life and into the world of employment. We believe that a high quality, inter-related and creative Maths experience should be one that develops the children’s ability to think mathematically and one which allows them to apply the tools to which they have been exposed in a variety of ways.
Spiral Curriculum
We follow a spiral curriculum which ensures that after a topic has been taught it is continuously revisited as the year progresses, allowing the knowledge to become embedded, developed and giving the children the chance to deepen their understanding. There are opportunities for the children to demonstrate mastery at all points in the year.
All year groups start with place value, as this underpins our number system, before moving on to calculation techniques. Reasoning is also taught alongside calculation methods at all times.
Concepts & Procedures
Teaching maths in the 21st Century has moved its focus to helping children understand “why” rather than simply telling them “how”. This may be different from how many adults were taught. We try to embed the deeper understanding of “why” in the children, so that over time, they will be much better placed to apply their understanding to solve problems in real life situations.
Practical Maths
While children may have previously ben moved to abstract methods before they had a strong understanding of a mathematical method, we ensure that our children have time to make and model their understanding so that they develop strong visualisation skills. The children have access to a number of concrete stimuli in the classroom that can be used to aid this. This is particularly prevalent in Lower KS2 and KS1, however Upper KS2 children still have access to concrete and pictorial resources when necessary. We encourage children to talk through their understanding and work together to solve challenges.
End of Year Expectations
Please click the links for end of year expectations, and what has been taught so far. Additional support regarding calculation methods can be found in our Calculations Policy:
Useful Websites
www.mathletics.co.uk
www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize
www.mathsisfun.com
nrich.maths.org
http://www.mathszone.co.uk
www.crickweb.co.uk
http://www.activityvillage.co.uk/sudoku_for_kids.htmm
http://www.maths-games.org/times-tables-games.html
