Mathematics
Subject Lead: Mr B Coombs
Maths Curriculum Intent
When teaching mathematics at Leasowes, we intend to provide a curriculum which caters for the needs of all children, teaching them the necessary and relevant knowledge and skills to become successful in the future. Understanding of number is a fundamental life skill. The culture and ethos at Leasowes is about breaking the perception of ‘I can’t do maths’, converting reluctant mathematicians into resilient and confident learners. We incorporate sustained levels of challenge through varied and high-quality activities with a focus on fluency, reasoning and problem-solving to meet the goal of ‘True Fluency’. Children are required to explore Maths in depth, using mathematical vocabulary to reason and explain their workings, understanding that there are many ways to solve a problem and that some are more efficient than others. A wide range of mathematical resources are used and children are taught to show their workings in a concrete, pictorial and abstract form wherever suitable. They are taught to explain their choice of methods and develop their mathematical reasoning skills. We instil courage, and an acceptance that challenge is often a necessary step in learning. Our rigorous curriculum allows children to make better sense of the world around them, relating the connections between mathematics and everyday life.
Our Approach to the teaching of Maths
Our ambitious Maths curriculum embeds a Concrete, Pictorial and Abstract (CPA) approach through the teaching of number. We understand that children who thrive in maths, thrive because they are able to see the patterns and interconnections within the given concept. The concrete (using concrete objects to enable the children to ‘do’ the maths), pictorial (using representations of objects to enable the children to ‘see’ the maths) and abstract (the 'symbolic' stage, where children use abstract symbols) approach gives all children the opportunity to do this, ensuring that our teaching of Maths is equitable. We use effective resources and scaffolding; creating many concrete and pictorial opportunities before introducing the abstract. This enables the children to build a clearer understanding, connecting their knowledge and skills and therefore visualising the problem at hand when working in the abstract form.
Times Tables
In the Primary National Curriculum for Maths, times tables up to 12 x 12 are something which children are required to know and understand by the end of Year 4.
When it comes to times tables, speed and accuracy are important – the more facts your child remembers, the easier it is for them to do harder calculations. Our expectations for when to know and fully understand each times table are as follows:
- Year 2: 2, 5 and 10
- Year 3: 2, 3, 4, 5, 8 and 10
- Year 4: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12
- Year 5: all facts to 12 x 12
- Year 6: all facts to 12 x 12