Introduction

My name is Mrs Laycock and I am the Mathematics lead. The following information will give you an overview of Mathematics at Lydiate Primary School.

The Lydiate Mathematician

Mathematics, a universal language that enables understanding of the world, is an integral part of the curriculum. Beyond the study of numbers, shapes and patterns, it also provides important tools for work in fields such as engineering, physics, architecture, medicine and business. It nurtures the development of a logical and methodical mindset, as well helping to inculcate focus and the ability to solve all manner of problems. 

Ofsted Research Review, May 2021

We are passionate about Maths here at Lydiate Primary & Nursery School and are extremely proud of our achievements. The Lydiate Primary mathematician begins their daily mathematical diet upon entry to school, moving though Morning Maths, an oral counting session and into their daily Maths lesson. They show pride in their work, dedication in their practice and resilience in their application and ability to solve problems.

We have had many years of success in teaching and learning in Mathematics. In 2019, Ofsted recognised that

Leadership of English and Mathematics is strong and contributes well to improving teaching and pupils’ outcomes.

Mathematics is well taught. Teaching builds on pupils’ previous learning and ensures progression in their skills and understanding. Teachers often question pupils well to encourage their thinking.

Lydiate Primary Ofsted Report, May 2019

However, we continue to evolve our Mathematics provision. Staff CPD sessions figure highly on the agenda throughout the school year every year, and staff often engage in collaborative learning. One of our current foci is in the area of Mathematical Reasoning.

Under leadership guidance, our Lydiate mathematicians have become confident in bridging the gap between calculation and problem solving by explaining their methods and their understanding in oral and written formats. Even our youngest children in Nursery and Reception are able to explain their mathematical thinking; through the use of working walls, sentence stems, modelled examples, carefully chosen question types and the use of specific vocabulary, all of which is monitored termly by the Mathematics lead.

Our Curriculum Drivers

Our curriculum is driven around the three principles which make up our school motto: Inspire, Achieve, Prepare for Life. We start every lesson by setting the learning intention, explaining clearly why we are learning a concept, and drawing specifically on previous learning to help us. 

Inspiring Our Pupils – The Intent

We follow Lancashire planning for Mathematics for Years 1-6. This gives powerful guidance, curriculum sequencing, links to support materials, assessment materials, problem-solving and reasoning opportunities In addition, it highlights core knowledge and calculation strategies to be gained during each year group.

However, lesson plans are not pre-determined, and this gives our skilled teachers the opportunity to design bespoke lessons which inspire pupils and enable them to succeed in exactly the right ways and at exactly the right level.

In the Early Years, we plan bespoke lessons based on the Maths Mastery approach. Our practitioners are trained by the NCETM (National Centre for Excellence in the Teaching of Maths.) We have developed our own mathematical skill progression, based on this training, and this permeates the Early Years curriculum daily.

Ensuring Our Pupils Achieve – The Implementation

As mentioned, all pupils from Year 1 to Year 6 begin their school day with a Morning Maths session, where they practise their skills in the four operations (addition, subtraction, multiplication and division) as well as keeping up their knowledge in the other areas of Maths that they have been taught. This ensures that a high level of mathematical fluency is achieved by all.

Following their Morning Maths sessions, pupils engage in counting and rehearsal sessions, where identified key knowledge, such as number bonds, times tables and counting in steps, is practised.

Every child in these year groups then begins their daily Maths lesson, for which teachers carefully select lesson objectives to build on previous learning and advance new knowledge. Once knowledge has been gained and committed to long-term memory, our mathematicians apply their knowledge through a variety of reasoning and problem-solving applications.

In the Early Years, teachers plan several whole-class Mathematics sessions per week (In Reception these take place daily.) However, we also have designated Maths areas within the classrooms for children to access during their continuous provision sessions where they make autonomous choices about their play as well as participating in planned, teacher-led activities. We also thread Maths through the whole curriculum, e.g. as part of registration and tidying routines.

Assessment for learning takes place throughout every lesson, and ready-prepared adaptations are used to support those who need it. We also provide extra challenges, usually in the form of reasoning and problem-solving applications, for those whose knowledge is shown to be secure. We advocate the policy of ‘keep up not catch up’, especially since we recognise that children can find Mathematics difficult later on if knowledge is insecure in previous year groups. We therefore respond swiftly to any challenges faced by children, with the use of sharp, timely interventions to give them confidence before moving to the next stage of learning.

Inclusivity

We promote inclusivity in Mathematics in Lydiate Primary. Our Active Teaching and Learning Policy, Great Teaching Toolkit and 5-A-Day Approach which underpin our teaching, encompass children with SEND. Pupils with SEND benefit hugely from explicit, systematic instruction and systematic rehearsal of declarative and procedural knowledge, and this is exactly the approach we take as we move through our Morning Maths, counting and oral rehearsal, conceptual understanding, fluency practice and application parts of our Maths teaching.

Systematic and consistent approaches to planning, instruction and rehearsal of content also benefit disadvantaged pupils and encourage any gaps in knowledge to close. In particular, we know that disadvantaged pupils can lack oracy skills and vocabulary, so we focus on speaking and listening, using a wide variety of mathematical terms to explain mathematical ideas. Maths Talk is high on our agenda at the moment, and we are beginning to embed the new recommendations from the EEF to use the TOLD approach in all our mathematics lessons. This stands for Take Part, Opportunities, Links and Debate, and summaries four key principles for encouraging productive talk.

Preparing Our Pupils For Life – The Impact

We recognise that assessment during the learning journey is most useful when it focuses on the component knowledge that pupils have learned, but we also realise that a moment of understanding does not guarantee long-term learning. To this end, we practise concepts thoroughly, followed by the provision of written assessment within our Maths books, based on recent mathematical areas studied, every 2-3 weeks. Any areas of under-achievement, either individual or whole class, are addressed through teaching and support activities, including the planning of Morning Maths lessons.

Formal assessment takes place three times a year. This is used to ensure children are on track, have learned and remembered the intended curriculum and are able to apply their learning. Again, swift action is taken to address and resolve any areas of under-achievement.

In this way, we can be sure that pupils know more and remember more. As a result of careful curriculum sequencing, prioritising key knowledge, and pertinent assessment, we guarantee that the Lydiate Primary Mathematician is a true achiever. This is verified during book looks, pupil voice, test results (both from test papers and from frequent, low-stakes testing such as book-based assessments and times tables tests) and lesson observations, carried out termly by the Maths lead.

Lydiate Mathematicians are equipped for future careers. We know that England performs well in mathematics compared with other countries and Mathematics continues to be the most popular subject to study at A level. Our students consistently perform well in Mathematics in their respective high schools and are able to use this springboard to propel them in a wide range of future careers.

Lydiate Futures

Every year in February, we celebrate NSPCC Number Day. This is an exciting event where all children and staff wear clothes connected with numbers, raise money for charity and take part in a day full of fun with Maths, including inter-class competitions.

We also build opportunities for practical Maths into our curriculum, such as large-scale measuring or reading dials and scales for volume or mass.

Where applicable, Maths forms parts of other subjects; for example, children in EYS measure quantities for baking, pupils in Year 2 create graphs to represent data in Science experiments and pupils in Year 6 ….. This gives pupils the opportunity to apply the high-quality, useful and efficient procedural knowledge that they have gained earlier in the year or in a previous year group to a different curriculum situation.

Want To Support Your Child’s Mathematical Development?

There are many ways you can help your child to become an even more proficient mathematician. One of the most important ways you can help is to support your child’s times tables knowledge. Every year, a letter is sent out to remind parents and carers of the yearly expectations for times tables knowledge and to demonstrate the online platform that we use for times tables practice, TTRS. The letter for the academic year 2022-3 is available to view below.

We also celebrate achievement in Maths on a weekly basis during our Friday celebration assembly. The child in each class who has made the most effort with their times tables is awarded a special certificate.

Want To Know More?

If you want to know more about the Maths curriculum here at Lydiate Primary, please feel free to make an appointment to speak to Mrs Laycock.

The following documents will showcase the Mathematical knowledge your child will acquire and give an indication of how Mathematics is taught.

Yearly Overviews

The documents below show the sequence of learning followed by each year group across the year.

Lancashire KLIPS (Key Learning Indicators of Performance) Documents 

The following document details the key objectives for each year group, divided into different areas of Maths. Teachers skilfully plan sequences of lessons throughout the year to ensure that children meet these objectives by the end of the year. Amongst all of the objectives your child will learn, those underlined are considered to be key learning indicators as these have the greatest impact on the further development of skills and subsequent learning. We therefore emphasise these learning objectives when planning, teaching and assessing.

Here at Lydiate Primary, we believe in providing a challenging and thorough curriculum for all. Whilst avoiding cognitive overload and focusing on key learning indicators, we also challenge children to learn beyond the national curriculum, especially when we know that gaining certain understanding within a year group will enable more fluent learning in subsequent years. Therefore, we also teach the objectives in italics, which extend children's understanding beyond national curriculum requirements.

Calculation Policy

The following document details the progression within addition, subtraction, multiplication and division from Early Years to Year 6, detailing the ways in which children in each year group are expected to perform and record each operation.