Belvedere Infant School

Introduction

This is a statement of the aims, principles and strategies for the teaching, learning and assessment of mathematics at Belvedere Infant School. We believe every child can do maths. Our aim is to facilitate highly effective teaching and learning that is practical, challenging and engaging, whilst supporting children on their journey towards mastery. Every adult has the highest expectations of the children, and as such, expects all children to attain high standards. Children are expected to develop a deep understanding of a concept through mathematical reasoning before progressing to the next level. 

We aim for all children to develop a love for mathematics and to become confident, competent mathematicians who have developed a solid foundation for understanding the world; who have the ability to reason mathematically; and who have a sense of curiosity about the subject.

We aim for all children to become fluent in the fundamentals of mathematics by developing a secure conceptual understanding of the key concepts studied at EYFS and KS1, as well as for children to recall and apply mathematical knowledge rapidly and accurately.

The National Curriculum identifies three main aims in the primary phase:

• 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

At Belvedere Infant School we aim to ensure that conceptual, pictorial, and abstract (CPA) understanding is integrated into lessons alongside procedural and factual fluency. We believe that maths does not rely on rote learning of facts and procedures without the underlying understanding required to use them effectively. There is a focus on number and calculation from the beginning.

We aim to promote positive attitudes towards maths as we believe there is a link between success, confidence and enjoyment.  We achieve this is by the use of maths across the curriculum and by making maths fun. ​ 

Scheme of Work 

We have adapted White Rose Maths to meet the needs of the children at Belvedere Infant School. We have a mastery approach to the teaching of Mathematics whereby topics are taught in depth over a longer period.  This allows for the mastering of concepts before moving on to the next sequence. This we believe paves the way for children to be secure in what they have learnt. 

Calculation Policy

We follow the White Rose Calculation Policy which introduces key concepts using a concrete-pictorial-abstract approach. 

Planning

Teachers in all year groups plan using the White Rose scheme as the basis for most of their work, adapting resources to support the children where needed. Teachers also use the NCETM mastery documents to provide children with reasoning and problem solving questions. We aim, wherever possible, for children to access the work from their own year group. Occasionally, there may be a small number of children for whom this is not appropriate. They will look at earlier year groups if this is the case. Children who have achieved mastery with greater depth will be challenged and have their learning extended through problem solving questions from the NCETM.

Planning a Lesson

When planning a lesson, teachers need to plan for a balance of conceptual understanding, language and communication and mathematical thinking to support children’s mathematical problem solving. If a pupil has meaningful understanding of the maths they are learning, they will be able to represent it in different ways, use mathematical language to communicate related ideas and think mathematically with the concept. This will enable them to apply their understanding to a new problem in an unfamiliar situation. Within every unit, each lesson will build upon the last which enables children to link their new learning to prior concepts.

Early Years

In the Early Years, maths concepts are explored using a multi-sensory and practical approach and, as much as possible, across the Early Years curriculum. By the end of Reception, children should be able to:

• use everyday language to talk about size, weight, capacity, position, distance, time and money to compare quantities and objects and to solve problems.
• recognise, create and describe patterns.
• explore characteristics of everyday objects and shapes and use mathematical language to describe them.
•  count and order reliably numbers from 1 to 20, place them in order and say which number is one more or one less than a given number.
• add and subtract two single-digit numbers and count on or back to find the answer.
• solve problems, including doubling, halving and sharing.

We aim daily for short adult-led focused inputs which can either be for the whole class or groups. This does not have to be formal and can include number rhymes, songs, and games as well as suggested prompts for learning from White Rose Maths. The children also have regular opportunities to practise their counting and subitising skills and revisit prior learning.

These inputs can be followed up with short adult-led activities 2/3 times each week. Opportunities to practise new skills through play are encouraged in different areas of the provision either independently or with adult support.