Cedarwood Primary School

Intent

At Cedarwood, we recognise the vital role mathematics plays in everyday life and aim for all pupils to develop their confidence and competence in the subject so that they can develop a secure understanding of maths and mathematical concepts that will enable them to succeed in their day-to-day life and prepare them well for their future. Mathematics is critical to science, technology and engineering, and necessary for financial literacy and most forms of employment.  Therefore, we aim to ensure that our pupils develop the necessary knowledge, skills and attitudes to become successful citizens who can reach their life goals.

Implementation

At Cedarwood, we use Maths No Problem!, a mastery approach to teaching maths, developed in Singapore.  When teaching maths for mastery, the whole class moves through topics at broadly the same pace. Each topic is studied in depth and the teacher does not move to the next stage until all children demonstrate that they have a secure understanding of mathematical concepts. Students are given time to think deeply about the maths and really understand concepts at a relational level rather than as a set of rules or procedures. This slower, deeper pace leads to greater progress because it ensures that students are secure in their understanding and teachers don’t need to revisit topics once they’ve been covered in depth.

Teaching maths for mastery offers all pupils access to the full maths curriculum. This inclusive approach, and its emphasis on promoting multiple methods of solving a problem, builds self-confidence and resilience in pupils and enables high levels of challenge, whilst providing support and structure for those who need more support. Those pupils who grasp concepts quickly are challenged with rich and sophisticated problems within the topic. Those children who are not sufficiently fluent are provided additional support to consolidate their understanding before moving on.

Teaching maths for mastery is a key plank of the Government’s education reforms and is reflected in the 2014 English national curriculum for mathematics. The NCETM, Department for Education and OFSTED have all endorsed this evidence-based approach which is a key part of the work within the Maths Hubs Programme.

Lessons are structured and sequenced to build upon prior learning and consist of three parts:

1. The Anchor Task – the entire class spends time exploring a task, guided by the teacher. The children are encouraged during this time to think of as many ways as possible to solve the question/problem posed.

2. Guided Practice – pupils practise new ideas in groups, pairs or individually guided by the teacher.

3. Independent Practice – pupils independently practise. Once pupils have mastered the concept they use their reasoning and problem solving skills to develop their depth of learning.

The whole class works through the programmes of study at the same pace with ample time on each topic before moving on. Ideas are revisited at higher levels as the curriculum spirals through the years.

Maths No Problem! supports the school’s 'high challenge, low threat' principles to learning. Tasks and activities are designed to be easy for pupils to enter while still containing challenging components. Learners who find concepts more challenging will be fully supported through accessing concrete equipment, use of visual models to support understanding and scaffolded support from adults.

For confident learners, there are non-routine questions for pupils to develop their higher-order thinking skills.  They will be challenged through exposure to unfamiliar problems, development of reasoning skills and by exploring multiple ways to manipulate numbers and solve problems. Lessons and activities are designed to be taught using problem-solving approaches to encourage pupils’ higher-level thinking. The focus is on working with pupils’ core competencies, building on what they know to develop their relational understanding.

Maths No Problem! has a Concrete Pictorial Abstract (CPA) approach.
Based on Jerome Bruner’s work, pupils learn new concepts initially using concrete examples, such as counters, then progress to drawing pictorial representations before finally using more abstract symbols, such as the equals sign.

Concrete – children have the opportunity to use concrete objects and manipulatives to help them understand and explain what they are doing.
Pictorial – children then build on this concrete approach by using pictorial representations, which can then be used to reason and solve problems.
Abstract – With the foundations firmly laid, children can move to an abstract approach using numbers and key concepts with confidence.

All learners access teaching of content which matches the expectations of the new curriculum in England and be supported further, if needed, in order to access this. The resources match the expectations for formal written methods set out by the Government, alongside greater understanding.

The Cedarwood Maths Calculation Policy can be found here.

Impact

Our curriculum aims to ensure all pupils have a positive experience of maths and develop a love of, and confidence in, the subject that extends beyond their schooling. It seeks to equip pupils with life skills to enable them to 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.