Leader: Mr Coverdale

In maths, we ensure that children are at the heart of our teaching and learning. We aim to make maths an inspiring, creative, rigorous, and practical subject. We want to ensure that every child has a depth of understanding and that processes are embedded so they can draw on this in everyday contexts.  By breaking learning down into small steps, we aim to ensure that every child gains a good understanding of mathematical concepts which they can then apply to different situations. At Greenfields, we follow the ‘teaching for mastery’ approach through NCETM which allows for consistency across the school. It is important that each year group progresses from the previous one and that teachers have a clear understanding of what has been taught before. 

Twice a week, the children in KS1 and KS2, take part in a ‘number talk’ session. ‘Number talk’ is a strategy to build flexibility, accuracy and efficiency in mathematical thinking through the discussion and sharing of mental maths strategies. It is a short daily routine that allows pupils to contribute to meaningful dialogue concentrating on how to answer mathematical calculations. ‘Number Talk’ is a powerful tool for helping students develop fluency when adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing.

In maths, we revisit the same concepts each term, allowing children the opportunity to build on previous knowledge and begin to master the acquired skills in different contexts. Through continuous assessment for learning, teachers ensure that children progress quickly at pace, address misconceptions and are challenged to grapple with new contexts. Year on year, our children can build on their skills, develop resilience within their learning and have the confidence to start a new year with the knowledge they have already gained, ready for new challenges ahead.

The aim of our maths curriculum is to ensure that all pupils:

• Acquire the skills and knowledge to apply their mathematical skills in a number of different contexts
• Develop mastery of maths and apply skills to reasoning and problem solving
• Develop a number of mental strategies and apply them across the curriculum
• Regularly revisit areas of the maths curriculum in order to regularly recall previously learned knowledge 
• Understand the place of maths in everyday life