Maths

At Boughton-under-Blean & Dunkirk, we feel mathematics is an important and integral part of our everyday lives, therefore a key aspect of the children’s futures.

Our goal is for pupils to become independent learners with the ability to persevere through challenging tasks, using any mistakes they make to help drive them forward to succeed. Developing and establishing a learning environment in which all children feel comfortable to explore and thrive, is a fundamental part of this. 

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 non-routine problems with increasing sophistication, including breaking down problems into a series of simpler steps and persevering in seeking solutions.

Mathematics is an interconnected subject in which pupils need to be able to move fluently between representations of mathematical ideas. The programmes of study are, by necessity, organised into apparently distinct domains, but pupils should make rich connections across mathematical ideas to develop fluency, mathematical reasoning and competence in solving increasingly sophisticated problems. They should also apply their mathematical knowledge to science and other subjects.

The expectation is that the majority of pupils will move through the programmes of study at broadly the same pace. However, decisions about when to progress should always be based on the security of pupils’ understanding and their readiness to progress to the next stage. Pupils who grasp concepts rapidly should be challenged through being offered rich and sophisticated problems before any acceleration through new content. Those who are not sufficiently fluent with earlier material should consolidate their understanding, including through additional practice, before moving on.

With mathematics, the way children solve or ‘calculate’ a problem changes according to the number operation involved and its complexity. The methods/strategies these use get progressively more complicated. This is what we call ‘Progression in Calculation’ (PiC).

Rather than follow a specific scheme in order to deliver maths lessons, our highly skilled and experienced teaching staff use carefully sequenced long term plans to develop and enhance children’s maths skills. Using a wide variety of resources, this allows us to tailor each lesson to the needs of the individual pupils in the class, with the aim that all children, despite their confidence or ability, can be successful and reach their full potential.

As a school, we feel that developing children's ability to solve calculations mentally is incredibly important. We have placed an emphasis on arithmetic in order for children to build on and further develop their knowledge, understanding and recall speed of number, multiplication and division facts.

 

Home Learning

In Years 1-6, we primarily use MathShed to supplement the learning in school through number related tasks to be completed at home. These tasks provide a fun, competitive environment for the children to push themselves to achieve their best, building a greater conceptual understanding of number related facts.

Any support you can give your child at home is both beneficial and always hugely appreciated. However, Maths is ever changing and you may well be unfamiliar with some of the strategies we use in school to teach calculations. Feel free to discuss any aspect of the curriculum with class teachers as we are always happy to help wherever we can.

 

Useful Links

MathShed - https://www.edshed.com/en-gb/login

(All pupils have their own login for MathShed which helps pupils with their arithmetic skills. If you are unsure of your child's login, please contact their class teacher).

BBC Bitesize - https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/subjects/z6vg9j6

(Lots of games and videos that pupils may enjoy at home)

Topmarks - https://www.topmarks.co.uk/maths-games

Maths Zone - https://mathszone.co.uk/

Primary Games - https://primarygames.co.uk/

Oak Academy (KS1) - https://classroom.thenational.academy/subjects-by-key-stage/key-stage-1/subjects/maths

(Lots of videos and quizzes to further develop learning within the KS1 curriculum)

Oak Academy (KS2) - https://classroom.thenational.academy/subjects-by-key-stage/key-stage-2/subjects/maths

(Lots of videos and quizzes to further develop learning within the KS2 curriculum)