At St Anne’s, we aim to deliver a rich maths curriculum based on the ‘Teaching for Mastery approach’. Through Teaching for mastery, our goal is for every child to feel confident and engaged in all maths lessons. By progressing through each strand of mathematics in small steps, children are able to develop and secure a deep and rich understanding of each mathematical concept.
How we teach maths
We deliver our mastery curriculum using White Rose Maths resources, where every maths concept is broken down into small, connected steps, building on children’s prior knowledge. Across the school, children will explore mathematical concepts in a variety of ways:
Concrete: using hands on manipulatives (counters, cubes etc.) to introduce a concept
Pictorial: using pictures and drawings to represent the concept in a variety of ways
Abstract: understanding problems written in the form of calculations e.g. 4 x 4 = 12
Tackling a concept in this way throughout the school, from Acorns right up to Elms, ensures that all children are supported in deepening their understanding of every maths concept. Through skilled questioning and support, all children will be exploring the concept together and at the same pace.
In every lesson, children will be given the opportunity to practise their fluency skills (practise tasks), develop their ability to reason (explain it tasks) and to solve problems in a variety of real-life contexts (solve it tasks). To extend learning, children are provided with a ‘St Anne’s challenge’, which deepen their knowledge whilst often making links to other areas of the curriculum.
For more information on how we teach math’s at St Anne’s, please see our calculation policy.
Arithmetic
We place high importance on factual fluency and automaticity of number facts throughout the school. Our reception and KS1 classes use the NCETM Mastering Number Programme to ensure all children develop a deep understanding of number, with a daily mastering number session, in addition to the main maths learning.
In KS2, children also take part in daily arithmetic session, which focus on recalling, rehearsing and securing key number facts and calculation skills.
Number bonds and Times tables
Every Friday, the children at St Anne’s take part in a very special challenge. In KS1, children work their way through 10 levels of the ‘St Anne’s Number Bond Challenge’, recalling number bonds to 10 and 20. Children, who can recite their number bonds in a variety of challenging ways, including missing number calculations, will become part of Club 10 and Club 20.
As children move up the school to KS2, they will take part in the ‘St Anne’s Times Table challenge’. With the focus on fluency and speed, children are given three minutes to complete a times table quiz. The ultimate goal is to become part of the prestigious St Anne’s 144 club.
Celebrations
We love to celebrate and promote the learning of maths at St Anne’s. Children are awarded with ‘Mathematician of the Week’ certificates during our Friday collective worship and are given special certificates and badges when they join club 10, 20 or 144. We also use Sumdog to promote maths in a fun and engaging way, both at home and at school. We also take part in regional and national competitions, with many of our students winning prizes and certificates for their class.
Maths at home
We encourage children to continue their maths learning at home. Here are a number of websites that parents can use to help children with their maths learning at home.
Defenders of mathematica BBC game