"Inspiring the Mathematician in everyone by championing enquiring, investigative minds.”​​​​ - Our School vision. 
 

 Intent 

At Tewin Cowper Primary School, we believe that the teaching of mathematics should equip children with unique, powerful tools to help them understand and make sense of the world around them. Our school vision informs and underpins all of our maths planning, teaching and learning.

Curriculum aims:

The national curriculum for mathematics aims to ensure that all pupils:

• 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.

• reason mathematically by following a line of enquiry, conjecturing relationships and generalisations, and developing an argument, justification or proof using mathematical language. 

• can solve problems by applying their mathematics to a variety of routine and nonroutine problems with increasing sophistication, including breaking down problems into a series of simpler steps and persevering in seeking solutions

Our school aims:

Maths should be seen as a vehicle to enable and not disable our children. We aim:

• To promote a positive attitude towards the learning of mathematics.

• To develop an enjoyment of learning through practical activity, exploration and discussion;

• To develop confidence and competence with numbers and the number system through rapid recall;

• To develop a conceptual understanding in order to solve problems through decision-making and reasoning in a range of contexts;

• To develop a practical understanding of the ways in which information is gathered and presented;

• To help children understand the importance of mathematics in everyday life.

Implementation

How a child’s understanding of Maths concepts is developed:

• A ‘Growth Mindset’ classroom ethos where all children believe they can achieve.

• Mathematical experiences using concrete equipment; children need opportunities to ‘manipulate, experience and see.’

• Use of clear mathematical language, often modelled to the children within a structured framework.

• Use of strong images, diagrams and models (e.g. ITPs, Bar Modelling, counting sticks and representations of concrete equipment.)

• Investigative / open-ended approaches where children have time to think.

• Investigative, independent work that leads to deeper understanding

• The use of rich mathematical tasks.

• Questioning that encourages higher order thinking skills.

Our Mastery Readiness journey
At Tewin Cowper we are delighted to be developing excellent teaching practice in conjunction with Maths Hub. The Maths Hub Programme, coordinated by the NCETM (National Centre for Excellence in the Teaching of Mathematics), brings together mathematics education professionals in a collaborative network of local schools, to develop and spread excellent practice, for the benefit of all pupils and students. We are in our second Developing Year 2021-2022. 

Find out more about our journey and what Mastery means:
What is the NCETM Mastery Readiness Programme?
What does it mean to 'Teach for Mastery'?
The 5 'Big Ideas' of Mastery explained.

Resources we use:
At Tewin Cowper we currently (2021-2022) follow the White Rose scheme. White Rose Maths frameworks are designed to be enjoyable, engaging and varied, to help pupils develop a love of learning and work towards mastery with differentiated resources. You can find out more about White Rose below.

As we transition on our Mastery Readiness journey, we use NCETM Planning and Teacher Guidance. 
NCETM provide animated images and support teachers in developing their own subject knowledge as an ongoing process.

 

Impact

What a visitor might typically see in maths learning in our school:

• Whole class direct teaching with clear and progressive modelling of concepts and procedures with sequences of varied examples

• The consistent use of core manipulatives and representations to support ability to access learning and to deepen children’s understanding

• Rehearsal of core facts and strategies through the development of frequent ‘intelligent rehearsal’ 

• Rich mathematical talk given high status and supported by the learning environment and teachers’ questioning

• Emphasis placed on ‘learning’ through reasoning, developing multiple strategies and concepts towards understanding

• Pupils ‘grappling’ with learning mathematical concepts

• Challenge for pupils grasping concepts quickly is provided through depth and breadth of experience

• A few areas of learning covered more deeply in a half term

• Daily opportunities to reason and problem solve

• Differentiation achieved through:

  • adjustments to allow access to whole class learning

  • increase in challenge through adjustment for depth and breadth to whole class learning.

Times Table Expectations

• Early Years To begin early counting – forward and backwards

• Reception To count in groups of 1, 2 and 10

• Year 1 To count in groups of 2, 5 and 10

• Year 2 Times tables (2,3,4,5,10)

• Year 3 Times tables (2,3,4,5,8,10)

• Year 4 All of the times tables

• Year 5 All of the times tables - rapid recall and square numbers

• Year 6 All of the times tables - rapid recall and square numbers