To enable all children to develop fluency, problem solving and reasoning skills so that they enjoy Maths and can confidently apply their mathematical skills in real life and across the curriculum.
At Dagnall School, we ensure that our children are given all the tools and resources required to become confident mathematicians through a resource based and engaging Maths curriculum. We understand that Maths is a vital tool that everyone needs to use throughout their lives and we aim to give children the confidence, knowledge, fluency and understanding for each step of their learning journey as they move through primary and onto secondary school as well as giving them tools for life.

Children are given the opportunity to develop their mathematical understanding, improve fluency and build on their problem solving abilities and to develop their mathematical reasoning skills. We provide opportunities to solve problems in multiple ways to understand the how and why behind a mathematical concept giving them the ability to use the skills they have learnt and to then transfer them to any section of the Maths curriculum.

Throughout each mathematical concept, children are guided towards becoming more independent in understanding themselves what they will need to use in order to achieve the learning intention.

Implementation 

The school works with the Maths hubs to support the teaching and learning of maths.

We use the National Centre for Excellence in the Teaching of Mathematics (NCTEM) curriculum prioritisation curriculum (supported by the Oak Academy teaching  materials) where the emphasis is on allowing children to expand their mathematical thinking and make links in their mathematical knowledge though using a clear sequence of teaching and learning that have step-by-step guidance to support teachers in covering the entire Maths curriculum.

Teachers use specific mathematical language to enable the children to articulate their thinking and understanding. They are supported, through speaking frames, to develop their ability to discuss their mathematical reasoning.

Learning sequences provided by NCTEM vary in length depending on the concept, with some units only needing a couple of lessons but more complex areas taking longer.  The sequences are broken down into steps to aid teacher planning. Each sequence is planned with building upon prior knowledge, progression and consistency in mind and this is evident as children move up the school.

Children are taught Maths lessons every day.

Teachers use assessment for learning throughout lessons to identify children who need a scaffold or another type of further support.

Children are taught in a way that allows them to understand the reasoning behind how an answer is found through the use of manipulatives to expose the structure of the maths. At first, this is highly scaffolded with teachers choosing appropriate resources giving children the best possible chance of succeeding in the lessons. Children from all year groups are actively encouraged to use manipulatives and resources around the room. As children become confident with using a variety of manipulatives, they will become more independent in understanding exactly what they need in order to help them. 

All classes have an additional session daily of maths fluency. These short, targeted lessons support children in becoming confident and fluent with numbers so that they can undertake calculations more efficiently and accurately. 

We have introduced a 2 year rolling programme for the teaching of maths in KS2 to ensure high quality teaching and learning for mixed year classes.

Impact

Children will strive to achieve age related expectations across the school in Maths and make good progress each year. Teaching and planning is adapted for children not yet accessing the full curriculum by giving them scaffolds and tools that they need to achieve success in the subject.

Through pupil voices, children will be able to show a variety of strategies they can use in Maths and their focus will be on the thinking behind how they will find the answer.

Children will understand that Maths will continue to be part of lives as they navigate the outside world and should feel confident that they can rely on the skills that they have acquired to help them through this.