Maths

Mathematics

At Park Primary, we want to nurture a love and enjoyment of mathematics in all of our children so that they are keen to explore different concepts and discover the wonder of mathematics and how it links to their every-day world.

We were early adopters of the mastery approach to the delivery of mathematics back in 2018 and now follow the Red Rose Mastery scheme from EYFS right through to Year 6. This approach to learning allows our children to fully immerse themselves in the learning and have a firm grasp of the key skills needed within that year group before progressing onto the next stage of their development.

To supplement our lessons, children are regularly exposed to ‘Flashback’ starters to revisit and consolidate prior learning and LbQ activities are regularly set as a way of providing challenge by presenting mathematical concepts to the children in different contexts; this is a great way of extending the thinking of our higher ability children!

We place great emphasis upon solving problems with mental arithmetic and always consider which method ( mental, jotting or formal written) is the most efficient, as well as effective.

We provide lots of opportunities for children to explain , how they know and explain their mathematical thinking.

With the mastery approach, although their is an emphasis on working collaboratively within the classroom and tackling challenge as a team, at Park, we believe in building resilient learners that apply their own skills- and use manipulatives and other resources independently- first before asking for support from peers and adults within the classroom. 

To promote mathematics as a subject, we have maths ambassadors in school that run dinner time TTRS clubs and regularly update our Maths Challenge board (dojos are on offer for those that can answer the tricky questions!). We also award TTRS and NumBots certificates every Friday in our Celebration Assemblies, as well as have whole school TTRS challenges where we compete amongst classes internally but also against other schools from across the country! As well as this, we have worked with our local schools, and Burnley Football Club, to set up annual maths competitions against schools within our borough, where the top mathematicians from all the local schools compete against each other for a chance to make it through to the finals that are held at Turf Moor for a chance to win a huge trophy- and have a complementary tour of the stadium as a bonus!

 

In addition to our daily maths lessons, each class from Y1 – Y6 has three 20 minute “mini maths” sessions a week. These sessions focus on arithmetic skills with an emphasis on times tables. Children are expected to know their times tables to 12 x12 by the end of Year 4 and will sit a statutory online test at the end of that year. National expectations for the end of each year group are as follows:

Y1 – Count in multiples of 2, 5 and 10

Y2 – Recall and use multiplication and division facts for the 2, 5 and 10 multiplication tables

Y3 – Recall and use multiplication and division facts for the 3, 4 and 8 multiplication tables

Y4 – Recall multiplication and division facts for all multiplication tables up to 12 × 12

Y5 & Y6 – Use their knowledge of multiplication and division facts to multiply and divide decimals and multiples of 10 (e.g.0.7 x ? = 4.2; ? ÷ 6 = 0.9, ? x 80 = 7200)

Children are asked to practise their times tables every week so that they attain and then maintain fluency. This means they have speedy recall both multiplication and division facts (out of order)!

In September 2018, Park Primary School began its journey towards a “Mastery Approach” in the teaching and learning of mathematics. This has been a gradual process and taken several years to fully embed. We decided to embrace this method of teaching following research and input from the NCETM (National Centre for Excellence in the Teaching of Mathematics) and advice from our local Maths Adviser. As a staff, we have been excited by this initiative and have seen a big impact on the attainment, competence and confidence of our children.

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