Intent

We aim to develop in all our pupils the ability to be fluent, reason and problem solve in mathematics.  We want them to be motivated and confident mathematicians who have a secure understanding across concrete, pictorial and abstract aspects of maths. 

We aim to provide pupils with opportunities to connect, consolidate and reinforce their maths skills within a broad and balanced yet purposeful curriculum. Whilst doing this, we also understand the importance of fluency in both arithmetic and times tables to ensure that children are able to access all areas of learning within mathematics.

Implementation

Maths lessons take place every day for approximately 1 hour. From Nursery to Year 6, pupils are provided with opportunities to develop and improve their skills in maths through experience and a variety of representations include concrete, pictorial and abstract.  The National Curriculum states that mathematics is an interconnected subject in which pupils need to be able to move fluently between representations of mathematical ideas. There is an understanding that programmes of study are, by necessity, organised into apparently distinct domains, but pupils should make rich connections across mathematical ideas to develop fluency, mathematical reasoning and competence in solving increasingly sophisticated problems. They should also apply their mathematical knowledge to science and other subjects.

In Years 1 to 6, the school’s medium term plans are based on the National Curriculum, Teaching for Mastery and White Rose Scheme of Learning.  The expectation is that the majority of pupils will move through the programmes of study at broadly the same pace. However, decisions about when to progress should always be based on the security of pupils’ understanding and their readiness to progress to the next stage. Pupils who grasp concepts rapidly should be challenged through being offered rich and sophisticated problems before any acceleration through new content. Those who are not sufficiently fluent with earlier material should consolidate their understanding, including through additional practice, before moving on.

Each half term pupils are tested on their arithmetic and instant recall of times table facts.  In addition, they are tested on their reasoning skills each term.  

• Resources

Each classroom has dedicated mixed resource trays for up to 6 groups, each containing a variety of concrete resources, pictorial representations and reference grids. Trays are consistent throughout the school and are encouraged to be used by all learners for fluency, reasoning and problem solving questions.

• Arithmetic

Arithmetic strategies are taught in explicit lessons and these are revisited throughout the term to ensure that they are embedded.

Children are assessed every half term on their year appropriate arithmetic through a short test.  All children sit this test unless they are working significantly below their year group expectations. 

• Times Tables

Children are assessed every half term on their year appropriate times tables through a short test that mirrors the expectation of the National Test at the end of Year 4.  All children sit this test unless they are working significantly below their year group expectations.  Times tables are re-visited throughout the term to ensure that they are embedded.

• Reasoning and Problem Solving

Every child will be exposed to reasoning and problem solving questions at their level to ensure that they are applying their knowledge and able to use it in 'real-world' scenarios.

• Teaching for Mastery

Mastering maths means pupils acquiring a deep, long-term, secure and adaptable understanding of the subject.. The phrase ‘teaching for mastery’ describes the elements of classroom practice and school organisation that combine to give pupils the best chances of mastering maths.

Achieving mastery means acquiring a solid enough understanding of the maths that’s been taught to enable pupils to move on to more advanced material.

At West Acton we have adopted a ‘Teaching for Mastery’ approach across the school.  The expectation is that the majority of pupils will move through the programmes of study at broadly the same pace. However, decisions about when to progress should always be based on the security of pupils’ understanding and their readiness to progress to the next stage. Pupils who grasp concepts rapidly should be challenged through being offered rich and sophisticated problems before any acceleration through new content. Those who are not sufficiently fluent with earlier material should consolidate their understanding, including through additional practice, before moving on.

• Vocabulary

We introduce children to new words in order to develop their mathematical understanding further. In the teaching of maths, children are encouraged and supported to identify synonyms for known mathematical terms and use correct terminology when describing mathematical concepts.  This is re-enforced through the use and repetition of stem sentences – a sentence structure including key vocabulary to explain a concept but missing variables that will change by question.  Key maths vocabulary is displayed on the working wall and accessible to all learners through use of pictorial representations when possible. 

• Calculation Policy

The school Calculation Policy can be found on the school website.  This is followed throughout the school to ensure continuity in the progression of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division throughout all year groups.  Stages are not defined by year group as it is understood that children may be at different stages within their learning.  On the school website there is a video detailing the policy, as delivered at our Parent and Carer Maths Workshop.

Events and Activities to promote Maths

• Parents in to discuss findings with on Number Day


• Visitors from ‘Real World’ professions where maths is applied


• London Maths Week contest


• Parent workshops about the Calculation Policy

Impact

" In mathematics, teachers are clear about what they need to teach and when."  Ofsted January 2020

In January 2020 during their inspection, Ofsted conducted a 'deep dive' into mathematics amongst other subjects which included "scrutinising subject plans, speaking with leaders, visiting lessons and holding discussions with staff and pupils." Their findings showing that "West Acton Primary School continues to be a GOOD school."

Our solid and continually improving results across the school – in both statutory and non-statutory assessed year groups – teamed with Ofsted's comments, validate the successful transition to the White Rose scheme of learning that is now used consistently throughout the school in years 1-6.  The school now has strong foundations to develop 'Teaching for Mastery' within the Ealing Maths Hub's Teacher Research Group.  It also provides a strong platform to build on targets identified in the School Development Plan including reasoning and procedural fluency.  Partnering with a successful, national framework meant that the school were supported during Covid-19 closure with free online resources, providing some consistency of learning for students when learning at home.

West Acton Primary School continues to be an aspirational destination for mathematics with the following continuing to be celebrated across the school:
- Host school for Royal Institution Maths Masterclasses delivered to year 5 children from schools in the surrounding area, with sessions lead by our school Maths lead.
- Winners of 2 Sumdog competitions for the Borough of Ealing
- Explore Learning workshops delivered across all National Curriculum year groups, with Upper Key Stage 2 also taking part in the National Young Mathematicians Award.

We take pride in our engagement of Parents and Carers within the schools.  Our NSPCC Number Day gained positive feedback form parents and carers, it involved whole year group arithmetic lessons where parents and carers were invited to come in and explore how their children were taught maths at school.  Calculation Workshops also took place, with sessions now being run later and also recorded to go online to be more inclusive of our working parents and carers along with our new arrivals throughout the year.

Through 'Pupil Voice' sessions, we now know that our students feel more confident in maths.  Through 'Teaching for Mastery' our children are now exploring deeper and spending more time on key concepts to really secure their understanding.  The negative stigma of using concrete materials in maths is declining with our new resource trays meaning that all children cannot only access resources but are encouraged to use them for a variety of different representations and problems. As a school we have noticed improved performance across the year, with data collected effectively being used to plan effectively for future learning. 

Engagement of children in maths outside of their stand alone lessons has been increased through the inclusion of bespoke videos to communicate key maths content, such as Sumdog competitions and Number Day – which was also launched in a special maths assembly.  Cross-curricular initiatives have made the importance of maths more apparent to children in their everyday life, with maths being highlighted through: planning using our new class calendars, maths in books during our month of reading, careers in our ‘High Aspirations Day’ and use in board games.

Cultural Capital

At West Acton, we aim to provide our children with the courage, skills and aptitude to enable them to make a difference in the world. By becoming confident mathematicians, our children will have access to the exciting opportunities available to the young people of the future.

We believe it is important to enable children to access maths across a broad spectrum, which includes applying their learning to other subjects taught in school and to ‘real life’ situations.  This will provide them with the essential knowledge needed to be educated citizens, helping to stimulate an appreciation of human creativity and achievement.  Throughout their learning in maths, our pupils have the opportunities to connect, consolidate and reinforce their maths skills within a broad and balanced yet purposeful curriculum. A striking feature of West Acton is our diverse community not only in ethnicity but economically and emotionally. 

We are very proud of the way our curriculum, especially our maths curriculum, reinforces this unique feature of our school whilst developing pupils' understanding and consideration of their own lives and those of others.

Home Learning

The home-school partnership is sustained through homework, workshops for parents/carers and half termly letters going home in advance informing what the following half term’s maths focus will be. Pupils are expected to practise and consolidate their core arithmetic skills. Resources are sent home at key points during the year to support this and recommended online resources are detailed on the school website. Monitoring of the completion of these tasks is done through assessing the progress children are marking in their learning. In addition, we have provided a set of CGP books and times table practise books for each child. We have also subscribed to Espresso, on-line learning resources full of maths-related activities, film-clips and other useful on-line tools as described earlier.