Maths
MATHEMATICS
At Richard Atkins Primary School we see Maths as a multi-discipline, cross curricular, interconnected subject which should encourage creativity.
We want our children to see Mathematics as being relevant to their world and applicable to everyday life as well as something that they will need as they move on through their school life.
We follow the White Rose Maths scheme; this ensures that all children:
Become FLUENT
REASON and EXPLAIN mathematically
Can SOLVE PROBLEMS
During Maths Lessons at Richard Atkins, children are regularly exposed to opportunities involving increasingly complex problem solving which allows them to apply their Maths knowledge. In doing so they are encouraged to develop an argument and line of enquiry which they can prove and justify using mathematical vocabulary. This includes the ability to break down problems, both routine and non-routine, into a series of steps.
You can see the progression of learning below.
Approach
At Richard Atkins we believe that it is important that children are allowed to explore Maths and present their findings not only in a written form but also visually; to that end the school is adopting the CPA approach:
Concrete representation: where the pupil is introduced to an idea or skill using real objects to develop the foundation for conceptual understanding. This is a 'hands-on' experience.
Pictorial representation: where the pupil has sufficiently understood the hands-on experiences and can now relate them to representations such as a diagram or picture of the problem.
Abstract representation: where the pupil can now represent problems using mathematical notation.
Resources and Displays
Each classroom is stocked with concrete resources to support the delivery of Maths. Resources are expected to be used in every lesson and pupils are encouraged to self-select whichever resources they feel would be beneficial to help them when completing Maths work.
Each classroom has a display dedicated to Maths; this is in the form of a working wall.
Inclusion
In line with the School’s Inclusion Policy each child has an equal entitlement to all aspects of the Maths curriculum and to experience the full range of Maths activities. Therefore, in delivering Maths, care is taken to ensure that a variety of learning styles are accessed and teaching methods adopted. Intervention groups take place both within the Maths lesson, same day intervention, and outside the classroom through additional support; these sessions are delivered by the teacher or teaching assistant and may involve individual or small group work, accessing both ends of the learning spectrum.
Parents and Carers
We encourage Parents and carers to be actively involved in their children’s education. In order to help keep them informed of what is happening within school, we run parent information sessions which look at current developments within the school, new methodologies for delivering the teaching of Maths and also any new statutory changes such as curriculum or assessment/testing arrangements.