Maths

Intent

When teaching mathematics at Earlham, we intend to provide a curriculum which caters for the needs of all individuals and sets them up with the necessary skills and knowledge for them to become successful in their future adventures. Mathematics is a creative and highly inter-connected discipline that is essential to everyday life, critical to science, technology and engineering, and necessary for financial literacy and most forms of employment. A high-quality mathematics education provides a foundation for understanding the world, the ability to reason mathematically, an appreciation of the beauty and power of mathematics, and a sense of enjoyment and curiosity about the subject.

This intent is underpinned by:

The teaching of fluency

We intend for all pupils 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.

The teaching of problem solving

We intend for all pupils to 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

The teaching of reasoning

We intend for all pupils to reason mathematically by following a line of enquiry, conjecturing relationships and generalisations, and developing an argument, justification or proof using mathematical language

A vocabulary rich environment

We intend to create a vocabulary rich environment, where mathematical talk is a key learning tool for all pupils. Where necessary, pre teaching key vocabulary is a driver for pupil understanding and develops the confidence of pupils to explain mathematically and thus consolidate and embed their conceptual understanding.

Implementation

At Earlham, we aim to prepare all pupils for a successful working life. We incorporate sustained levels of challenge through varied and high quality activities with a focus on fluency, reasoning and problem solving. Pupils are required to explore maths in depth, using embedded mathematical vocabulary to reason and explain their workings. A wide range of concrete and manipulative mathematical resources are used and pupils 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 encourage resilience and acceptance that struggle is often a necessary step in learning. Our curriculum, based around the principles and planning of White Rose Hub,  allows children to better make sense of the world around them relating the pattern between mathematics and everyday life. Although our programmes of study are organised into distinct domains, pupils are taught to make rich connections across mathematical ideas to develop fluency, mathematical reasoning and competence in solving increasingly sophisticated problems. Our whole school curriculum also enables pupils’ to apply their mathematical knowledge to science and other subjects.