Maths

Statement of Intent

It is the intention here at Lodge Farm, when teaching the Maths curriculum, it is planned to match the breadth of the National Curriculum. Maths is taught in all years groups every day, as children become fluent and confident mathematicians who can apply their knowledge to reasoning and problem solving. Our curriculum design has been planned to ensure sequential, layered knowledge acquisition so that children are continuously embedding the knowledge and learning the skills required to become fluent mathematicians who can apply their knowledge to problem solving.

Our intentions:

Our aim is to ensure that every child becomes fluent, confident mathematicians who can apply their knowledge to reasoning and problem solving.
Our curriculum design is planned to ensure a sequential, layered knowledge acquisition
To continuously embed the knowledge and skills within each year group.

Approach to Maths

At Lodge Farm, we believe that Maths is strengthened by showing its applications in daily life. We aim for the children to 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. We also aim to ensure the children can reason mathematically by following a line of enquiry, conjecturing relationships and generalisations, and developing an argument, justification or proof using mathematical language. Finally, we provide the children with opportunities where they 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.

To support and assess the embedding of essential prior knowledge, weekly arithmetic tests are set from Y1 upwards. All classes teach mental arithmetic each day to allow the continued retrieval of prior knowledge which helps develop a secure understanding.

Curriculum components

In all areas of mathematics, the progression of skills is mapped out, so staff and children know what the next step in their learning of that topic is. Our curriculum is designed so that relevant prior learning is taught at the start of a sequence of lessons. This allows for children’s prior knowledge to be retrieved and brough to the front of the children’s thinking. Our Maths curriculum considers not overloading working member of children so that the new learning develops prior learning, without overwhelming the children.

Fluency is understood as an essential component of Maths, and key knowledge such as times tables and division facts has a high priority throughout school. TTrockstars and times table awards are celebrated throughout school. Staff are aware of who the children are who do not know the times tables required for each year group and plans are actioned to help these children catch up.