At Christ Church School, our maths curriculum inspires children to develop positive attitudes towards Mathematics. They are equipped with the skills to be confident to tackle a range of problems even if they seem out of reach initially. They become curious learners, fascinated in the world around them and enjoy striving to find solutions to problems. Children learn that the journey of calculation and problem-solving is valued as much as, if not more so, than the final solution. They develop our learning value of reasoning as they apply their understanding to new and unfamiliar problems, drawing on what they already know to make sense of what they do not yet know.
Children are taught to communicate their Maths ideas clearly; to be able to explain their thinking, convince others and justify the choices they make.
To enable this, our Maths curriculum aims to be:
- Purposeful providing children with skills for life, skills which they themselves can identify
- Embedded within our creative curriculum enhancing the learning in other subjects and making links wherever possible
- Broken down into small steps to ensure children develop strong maths foundations before moving on
- Promoting their role as ‘active’ learners – not merely being ‘taught’ how but encouraged to find out for themselves, look for links and take pleasure in finding possible solutions
- Developing fluency throughout all age groups
- Focused on efficiency rather than formality
- Celebrate mistakes as part of the learning journey
- Underpinned by Maths talk, reasoning and explanation
Most importantly children should enjoy Maths and develop self-belief and self-worth, becoming the person that God intends them to be.
Maths Mastery at Christ Church School
Key ideas from the Maths Mastery Approach form the basis of lessons as they support and enhance children’s learning. These include:
- Teaching concepts through a series of slides which include a range of different representations and examples, each building on the previous one
- Returning to concrete apparatus before pictorial and abstract whenever a new concept is being learned regardless of age
- Using a combination of review activities, new learning and then application
- Progressing through concepts in very small steps. Teachers consider what the outcome is they want and then teach all the different steps children need to take before fully understanding the concept
- Children are not taught quick fixes or routines. They are shown how and why
- Reasoning and investigative skills are fully embedded. Children are encouraged to make links and articulate ideas in every session
Impact
By the end of Year 6, our pupils are fluent, confident mathematicians.
- Fluency. Pupils recall number facts and use efficient methods without hesitation, freeing their thinking for the problem in front of them.
- Reasoning. Pupils explain why a method works, justify the choices they make, and spot when an answer cannot be right.
- Problem-solving. Pupils approach unfamiliar problems with persistence rather than anxiety, and understand that struggle is part of learning.
- Talk. Pupils use mathematical language precisely to convince others and to challenge respectfully.
- Attitude. Pupils believe they can do mathematics. They treat mistakes as useful and are willing to try.
Click the links below to read our written calculation policy, White Rose ready to progress document and the White Rose vocabulary progression.
