Mathematics
Mathematics at St. Anne’s Catholic Primary School
At St Anne's we try to make maths interesting and relevant to real life. We try to make maths as cross curricular as possible, using our maths skills in science and topic as much as we can.
Having delivered a Singapore based curriculum over recent years, skills of using the Concrete-Pictorial-Abstract model of teaching has been embedded throughout the school . Following continuous review and evaluation of teaching and learning standards, we have, as a school, adopted White Rose Maths as a scheme of work from Reception to Year 6.
What is White Rose maths?
At the heart of White Rose Maths lies the belief that 'Everyone can do maths: everyone can!' A mastery curriculum built on a conrete-pictorial-abstract approach leads the learners through a spiral curriculum which promotes a growth mindset towards learning and maths.
Teachers use White Rose Maths scheme of learning to plan lessons, choose suitable resources and help children take small steps to progression. The Schemes of Learning make sure topics are introduced to children in a logical order and revisited throughout the year to encourage deep learning and ensure children have the foundation of knowledge they need, before moving on to more advanced maths concepts and tackling more challenging number problems.
Maths is taught on a daily basis for at least 1 hour a day. All children have access to a wide range of which can be used to help them in their maths. A range of teaching strategies are used to deliver each concept and children are given time to practise skills, develop knowledge and work towards mastery.
For those who need extra support, the teacher (or TA) will take those children and go over the concept again and again until those children understand (at least to the concrete level). The children who need challenging further will be given extra activities/ challenges and investigations to improve their reasoning and mathematical thinking.
Concrete – Pictorial – Abstract (What is this?)
Concrete:
Things you can pick up and move, for example dice, counters, shells, pebbles, straws.
Pictorial:
A picture to represent mathematics, such as a calculation (printed in books or drawn).
Abstract:
Numbers (1, 2, 3, 4) and symbols (+, -, x, ÷, <, >, =).
Please watch this brief for a coherent explanation of the C-P-A approach.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PfPcn3SohrI
Children at St. Anne’s are not grouped in ability sets anymore. All the children are taught the same maths, in the same way. However, children can access the main mathematical concepts in very different ways. This is the differentiation. Whether they are using the concrete manipulatives to help them, whether they are drawing pictures to support their maths, or whether they are approaching the maths using the abstract approach (eg. formal methods) Some children may not ever move onto the abstract approach for certain concepts whilst other will pick up the abstract more quickly and move onto more challenging reasoning problems and investigations which have been planned by the teacher.
At St. Anne’s, we believe that there should be no ‘ceiling’ put on the children’s mathematical learning and understanding. All children can be mathematicians and will achieve. We do not make assumptions and restrict children in their mathematical learning. Every child is able to explore, manipulate and investigate a range of mathematical concepts and problems to the best of their ability. Children at St. Anne’s are given the opportunity to reason about their maths, develop their thinking around mathematical concepts and challenge themselves to think outside the box.
Maths isn’t always about giving the correct answer. It is the explanation and understanding behind the process of getting to that answer that is the most important part.
Information for parents
Please see link to the PowerPoint presentation which explains some key concepts and methodologies. There is also a handout to explain how you can help at home.
Please watch these useful videos which will explain the main concepts of Singapore maths; the part-whole model and the bar model.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6Ipio8JntU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1hwopQLeCU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BIygi-IR6To
How does White Rose maths link to the National Curriculum?
The new National Curriculum (2014) for Mathematics aims to ensure that all pupils:
- become fluent in the fundamentals of mathematics, including through varied and frequent practice with increasingly complex problems over time, so that pupils develop conceptual understanding and the ability to recall and apply knowledge rapidly and accurately.
- reason mathematically by following a line of enquiry, conjecturing relationships and generalisations, and developing an argument, justification or proof using mathematical language.
- can solve problems by applying their mathematics to a variety of routine and non-routine problems with increasing sophistication, including breaking down problems into a series of simpler steps and persevering in seeking solutions.
White Rose Maths is closely aligned with the National curriculum objectives.
Teachers also use high quality resources from NRICH, STEM, White rose hub resources and oxford owl online resources to help plan and deliver challenging yet hands on and engaging activities.
Please use the following link to familiarise yourself with the national curriculum objectives from Y1- Y6.
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/national-curriculum
How do we teach maths in the Early Years?
In the Foundation Stage we aim to develop the children’s understanding of number, shape, space and measures in a broad range of contexts in which they can explore, learn, practise and talk about their developing understanding.
Mathematics (maths) is an important part of learning for all children in the early years and receiving a good grounding in maths is an essential life skill. As well as numeracy, it helps skills such as problem solving, understanding and using shapes and measure and developing their own spatial awareness.
White Rose Maths is followed throughout Reception, the scheme of learning aligns brilliantly to the revised the 2021 Early Years Framework objectives for maths. The concrete, pictoral and abstract approach is used in Reception (particularly the concrete) and the children are given the opportunity to work with a wide range of supporting resources.
Please use the following links for some useful games and websites to look at at home.
https://nrich.maths.org/early-years
https://www.topmarks.co.uk/Search.aspx?Subject=37
https://www.bbc.co.uk/education/subjects/zpdj6sg
Mental Maths Skills
It is important that the children’s mental maths skills are practised on a regular basis in and out o school. All classes regularly rehearse, sharpen and develop mental skills by:
•Counting
•Practicing mental calculations and rapid recall
•Figuring out new facts from known facts and explaining the strategies use
•Rehearsing ‘pre-requisite skills’
From 2020, Year 4 children will be tested on their times tables knowledge. It is important that all children know all their times tables (up to 12 x 12) by the time they reach Year 4. Here are some lins to websites that you may find useful to help with times tables practice.
https://www.topmarks.co.uk/maths-games/7-11-years/times-tables
http://www.bbc.co.uk/skillswise/game/ma13tabl-game-tables-grid-find
http://primaryhomeworkhelp.co.uk/maths/timestable/interactive.htm
https://www.timestables.co.uk/
Mathematical vocabulary and language
Please feel free to have a look at the ‘Maths language jargon buster’ document to familiarise yourself with all the different mathematical words and phrases your children may be using on a daily basis.
The language of maths and talking maths is so important at all stages in their education, so the more you understand and are familiar with, the better it will be for your child’s mathematical development. Teachers are now spending more and more time in lessons ensuring that the children ‘talk’ mathematically. Using questions such as ‘tell me why’ and ‘prove it to me’ ge the children discussing their mathematics. It makes them think to a much deeper level and they are forced to use these mathematical terms.
I have also included a link to a list of sentence starters that we use in school. These sentence starters structure the children’s thinking. For example, ‘I know this……because…..’ or ‘I know this is true because……’ Please feel free to print these off and use as often as you’d like.
