At Kingsway Community Primary School, we take a mastery approach to the teaching and learning of mathematics. Fundamentally, this rests on the belief that all children can – and indeed must, be successful in the study of mathematics. At Kingsway Community Primary School we do not accept that ‘some people cannot do maths’ or that prior attainment should limit what a child is capable of learning. Mathematics is for everyone at Kingsway. We believe that by embedding our core values and mastery skills for life and learning through our mathematics teaching, we will ensure our children are active, resilient learners who become life-long mathematicians.
Planning
We plan our learning with a mastery approach to the curriculum which means children spend far longer on fewer key mathematical concepts whilst working at greater depth. Problem solving is central and opportunities are given to calculate with confidence. It is important that children understand what they are doing rather than repeating routines. The mastery curriculum for primary schools places problem solving at the heart of mathematics with the main aim that every child can learn to solve sophisticated problems in an unfamiliar context. To enable them to achieve this, children must develop their conceptual understanding, mathematical thinking and use of mathematical language. This is where fluency and reasoning join together. We currently use Mathematics Mastery planning from Reception to Year 2, and Inspire Maths for Years 3-6. However, we do adapt these plans to suit the needs of our children. Children in EYFS are exposed to a wide range of mathematical experiences which form the basis of our approach to mastery teaching and learning.
Meeting Children’s Needs
At Kingsway, we aim to ensure that all children move together through the learning in order to avoid gaps in understanding from forming. Long term gaps in learning are prevented through speedy teacher intervention and those children who grasp concepts more quickly are given opportunities to deepen their knowledge and improve their reasoning skills rather than accelerating on to new curriculum content. The National Curriculum states that children should become fluent in the fundamentals of mathematics through varied and frequent practice. Fluency in maths works through intelligent practice. Fluency gives children the ability to delve deeper into maths; to develop number sense and choose the most appropriate method for the task at hand; to be able to apply a skill to multiple contexts. Maths Meetings support this and are a vital part of our maths curriculum, used to consolidate key learning for 10-15 minutes every day outside of the maths lesson.
Planning
We plan our learning with a mastery approach to the curriculum which means children spend far longer on fewer key mathematical concepts whilst working at greater depth. Problem solving is central and opportunities are given to calculate with confidence. It is important that children understand what they are doing rather than repeating routines. The mastery curriculum for primary schools places problem solving at the heart of mathematics with the main aim that every child can learn to solve sophisticated problems in an unfamiliar context. To enable them to achieve this, children must develop their conceptual understanding, mathematical thinking and use of mathematical language. This is where fluency and reasoning join together. We currently use Mathematics Mastery planning from Reception to Year 2, and Inspire Maths for Years 3-6. However, we do adapt these plans to suit the needs of our children. Children in EYFS are exposed to a wide range of mathematical experiences which form the basis of our approach to mastery teaching and learning.
Meeting Children’s Needs
At Kingsway, we aim to ensure that all children move together through the learning in order to avoid gaps in understanding from forming. Long term gaps in learning are prevented through speedy teacher intervention and those children who grasp concepts more quickly are given opportunities to deepen their knowledge and improve their reasoning skills rather than accelerating on to new curriculum content. The National Curriculum states that children should become fluent in the fundamentals of mathematics through varied and frequent practice. Fluency in maths works through intelligent practice. Fluency gives children the ability to delve deeper into maths; to develop number sense and choose the most appropriate method for the task at hand; to be able to apply a skill to multiple contexts. Maths Meetings support this and are a vital part of our maths curriculum, used to consolidate key learning for 10-15 minutes every day outside of the maths lesson.
If you require further information about our Maths curriculum, please speak to our Maths Lead, Mrs Finch.