Mathematics Subject Leaders:  Jen Middleton & Andrea Jackson

Policy Last Reviewed: January 2025

We firmly believe that mathematics is a tool for everyday life. It is a whole network of concepts and relationships which provide a way of viewing and making sense of the world. The 2014 National Curriculum sets out the following aims:

‘Mathematics is a creative and highly inter-connected discipline that has been developed over centuries, providing the solution to some of history’s most intriguing problems. It is essential to everyday life, critical to science, technology and engineering, and necessary for financial literacy and most forms of employment. A high-quality mathematics education therefore provides a foundation for understanding the world, the ability to reason mathematically, an appreciation of the beauty and power of mathematics, and a sense of enjoyment and curiosity about the subject.

Our aim is for all children to enjoy Mathematics and to experience success in the subject. We have high expectations of all pupils and share a belief that all pupils are capable of achieving high standards and we aim to ‘keep up, not catch up’. Throughout school we follow the White Rose Scheme to teach the Maths Curriculum, using a range of flexible and innovative teaching approaches, it is our aim to develop pupils who have:

  • a positive attitude towards mathematics
  • good number sense leading to fluency in both mental and written calculations
  • a love of and fascination with the power of mathematics
  • competence and confidence in mathematical knowledge, concepts and skills
  • an ability to solve problems, to reason, to think logically and to work systematically      and accurately
  • initiative and an ability to work both independently and in co-operation with others
  • an ability to communicate mathematically
  • an ability to use and apply mathematics across the curriculum and in real life
  • an understanding of mathematics through a process of enquiry and experiment

Mathematics is an interconnected subject in which pupils need to be able to move fluently between representations of mathematical ideas. Pupils should make rich connections across mathematical ideas to develop fluency, mathematical reasoning and competence in solving increasingly sophisticated problems.’

(2014 National Curriuculum Programme of Study for Mathematics in KS1 & KS2, DfE, 2013)

Mastery Approach
We have adopted a ‘Mastery’ approach to teaching and learning and through this, ensure that all parts of the National Curriculum Programmes of Study are taught to a high standard.

Through careful planning and preparation, we aim to ensure that throughout the school children are given opportunities for:
practical activities and mathematical games

  • problem solving
  • reasoning
  • individual, group and whole class discussions and activities
  • open and closed tasks
  • a range of methods of calculating e.g. mental, pencil and paper, use of algebra
  • working with computers as a mathematical tool

We encourage children to make clear and explicit links between different disciplines in mathematics, for example, when teaching multiplication, we use real life scenarios which allow us to revisit other areas of maths such as measure or geometry.

Curriculum Coverage

We follow the White Rose Maths Scheme of Work from Reception to Year 6. Sometimes, the long term planning of units are moved and are adapted, this is to suit the needs of each class.

The number based areas of maths are as follows:

  • Place Value
  • Addition
  • Subtraction
  • Multiplication
  • Division
  • Fractions, Decimals & Percentages
  • General properties of number (sequences, algebra, primes, square, factors, multiples etc)

The other areas of maths are as follows:

  • Geometry
  • Measure
  • Statistics

We predominately use White Rose Maths materials, however, to enrich our teaching and challenge our pupils, we may also use materials from other sources including, but not limited to:

Each class teacher is responsible for the mathematics in their class, in consultation with and guidance from the mathematics subject leader. Teaching and learning will be monitored by the subject leader in line with a whole school monitoring timetable

In the Early Years Foundation Stage mathematics is a specific area of learning, with two strands of mathematics ‘number’ and ‘shape, space and measure’. To ensure a ‘good level of development’ at the end of the Foundation Stage, children should be achieving the expected level of development in these areas.

From Y1 upwards, pupils will have a daily maths lesson of 45-60 minutes

Olympic Maths
Olympic Maths is a times tables activity which helps pupils to learn their times tables whilst developing fluency through the use of missing number problems and inverse operation.

  • Olympic Maths is done in every class from Y2 upwards
  • It is a 3 minute times tables challenge and is to be carried out once or twice per week.
  • Teachers should keep a running record of pupil scores to show progression through the different levels, and provide intervention where necessary.
  • Levels are organised as follows:
    -Y2 Qualifying Levels (2s and 10s)
    -Finalist (2s, 5s & 10s – 24 Qs)
    -Bronze (2s, 3s, 4s, 5s & 10s – 30 Qs)
    -Silver (3s, 4s, 5s, 6s & 11s – 30 Qs)
    -Gold (7s, 8s, 9s & 12s – 36 Qs)
    -European (All tables – 60 Qs)
    -Olympic (All tables – 100 Qs)
    -Guinness World Record (Beat your time on Olympic Level)
  • Pupils need to score 100% in order to move to the next level

In terms of age related expectations, once Olympic maths is embedded, pupils working on the following levels at the end of the academic year would represent ‘Working at Age Related’:

  • Y2 – Bronze
  • Y3 – Gold
  • Y4 – European
  • Y5/6 – Olympic & above

Cross Curricular Maths
Throughout the whole curriculum opportunities exist to extend and promote mathematics. These opportunities should be drawn to the children’s attention to help them understand that mathematics exists across the entire curriculum. For example, in a Science lesson you may have a maths based objective ‘As mathematicians we are getting better at using tables and graphs to present and analyse data’, in a Topic lesson you may discuss how we use our mathematical knowledge of positive and negative numbers when making a timeline including BC and AD and in Computing you should make the mathematics involved in coding, robotics & data handling explicit to the pupils.

In addition to cross curricular links in topic, science, PE and DT, teachers should seek to take advantage of all opportunities within the maths lesson to make the learning ‘real-life’ by working outdoors or with hands-on activities.

Adaptive Teaching
We aim to provide for all children so that they achieve as highly as they can in mathematics according to their individual abilities in order to enable their future life opportunities. We will identify which pupils or groups of pupils are under-achieving and take steps to improve their attainment.  Pupils working within greater depth will be identified and suitable learning challenges provided. Pupils identified with SEN have work adapted and will be given targeted interventions as appropriate.

Teachers have participated in CPD on adaptive teaching, enabling them to find suitable and effective ways to adapt their teaching to suit all learners, in every lesson. This includes training on adapting White Rose Maths problem solving and reasoning to suit children’s specific needs.

 

These are some of the ways we adapt teaching and learning in Maths;

  • Make connections
  • Break down the question
  • Stem Sentences
  • Pattern spotting
  • Use a model
  • Adapted questioning
  • Reduce cognitive load
  • Pre-teach vocabulary
  • Use manipulatives
  • Goal free problems

Marking

Principles

Our main principles are based on recommendations from the EEF Guidance Report ‘Teacher Feedback to Improve Pupil Learning’. At Ingleton Primary school:

· Teachers lay the foundations of effective feedback by providing high quality initial instruction.

· Teachers deliver appropriately timed feedback that focusses on moving learning forward.

· We know our children well and teachers implement strategies that encourage all learners to welcome feedback and motivate progress.

· Teachers provide opportunities for pupils to act on feedback as soon as possible after receiving it; teachers monitor its effectiveness.

Our feedback consistently follows the above principles with the primary purpose to further children’s learning.

In Maths, marking is mostly done by pupils within the lesson. This method of ‘live marking’ enables pupils to immediately see how they have done. Teachers can then address misconceptions, move learning forward within the lesson and identify any pupils who need further support. This will then be provided either within the lesson, or sometime during the day.

Assessment
Teachers are expected to make regular assessment of each child’s progress and feed this into their planning. The following is the school policy for assessment in mathematics:

Formative assessments
These are done through discussion or observation of the child as and when the class teacher feels it is appropriate. This information may be recorded in weekly planning or through annotation of the child’s work.

Summative assessment

At the end of each term, teachers make formal assessments of children’s attainment. In Year 1 this is done using an in-house assessment. In Year 2 – 5, this is done using NFER Maths tests, and in Year 6 this is done using SATs tests. Scores are recorded and inputted into our pupil progress assessment tracker. Teachers then identify pupils who need support and create an action plan for these, shared with SLT in termly pupil progress meetings. Scores, feedback and targets are shared with pupils in class and parents in parents’ meetings and on reports.

Reporting to parents & parental involvement
A report is sent to parents in the Summer Term & parents are given opportunity to discuss their child’s progress both formally (parents’ evening) and informally (as appropriate). Year 6 pupils receive regular updates on their progress towards SATs.

Monitoring
The mathematics subject leader is released as required from the classroom in order to work alongside other teachers.  This time is used to monitor and evaluate the quality and standards of mathematics throughout the school and enables the subject leader to support teachers in their own classrooms. The subject leader is to be sent termly data from each class in order to analyse progress made and any significant gaps in learning.

Opportunities for teachers to review the scheme, policy and published materials are given on a regular basis during staff meetings.

Resources
All teachers should organise an area within the classroom dedicated to mathematics.  This area is to be easily accessible to all children and will allow them to become familiar with all resources.

Staff are able to request new, replacement or additional resources each year.

Governors
Governors are invited to visit the school to talk with the subject leaders & teachers and when possible, take part in some daily mathematics lessons.  Visiting governors would then report back to the school improvement committee following a visit.

Homework
It is our school policy to provide parents and carers with opportunities to work with their children at home.  These activities may only be brief, but are valuable in promoting children’s learning in mathematics. Pupils in Year 1 are provided with access to Numbots to practise their fluency in number. From Year 2 onwards, pupils are asked to use Times Table Rockstars to practise their times tables at home.