Maths at Mab Lane

Maths is a vibrant subject which incorporates many skills and we aim to apply these skills and knowledge in many ways. We see maths as an important part of every child’s right to a high quality education and we recognise that Maths is all around us.  Mathematics equips pupils with a uniquely powerful set of tools to understand and change the world.

Intent – What we are trying to achieve?

• Our principal aim is that children leave Mab Lane Primary School with a wide range of happy and rich memories in Mathematics formed through interesting and exciting experiences driven through vehicles that enhance a child’s awareness of their own abilities and strengths as a learner; thus ensuring that children see learning in mathematics as an ongoing process not a one-off event.
• Children will meet the National Curriculum expectations in mathematics, which will be taught by highly- enthusiastic qualified staff who will support children to develop mastery of concepts and inspire enthusiasm and interest in mathematics.
• Children will study a high quality maths curriculum that is both challenging and enjoyable.
• Children will develop into independent learners with inquisitive minds who have secure mathematical foundations and an interest in self-improvement.
• All children will study mathematics everyday.
• Opportunities will exist for children of all ages to experience learning beyond the classroom.  This will allow them to enrich their knowledge by, for example, undertaking maths investigations outdoors, applying maths skills to curriculum vehicle work and engaging parents in home application of skills.
• Children will develop a deep understanding of the mathematics they are studying. They will increasingly use their prior knowledge to solve problems and develop the sophistication of mathematics. This will be done through teacher input as well as independently.
• Children will be provided with a variety of mathematical opportunities which will enable them to make connections in learning leading to greater depth learning, ensuring they are confident mathematicians who are not afraid to take risks.
• A high quality mathematics education will be taught providing a foundation for understanding the world, developing the ability to reason mathematically and encouraging a sense of enjoyment and curiosity about mathematics.
• Mathematical skills will be applied (where necessary) to all subjects.
   
  Implementation – How do we translate our vision into practice?
• We adapt the White Rose Scheme to meet the needs of all children at Mab Lane from EYFS – Year 6.
• The curriculum hours in Mathematics are non-negotiable and will be followed by all staff in the school.  Fixed timetables will be set before the academic year and monitored by the Senior Leadership Team of the school.
• Carefully designed schemes of learning in mathematics ensure consistency and progress of all learners.
• The focus on a mastery approach to Mathematics will ensure that pupils acquire a deep, long-term, secure and adaptable understanding of the subject. 
• Pupils will make rich connections across mathematical ideas to develop fluency, mathematical reasoning and competence in solving increasingly sophisticated problems.
• Success criteria in Mathematics lessons are set in order to guide children to achieve their potential. 
• High quality teaching responds to the needs of children.   Spiral learning is a key focus of all formative and summative assessment with teachers actively marking work in lessons in order to identify misconceptions early.
• High quality input from experts and educational resources complement the delivery of specialist learning admirably.  Children understand how Mathematics is used in the wider world including careers.
• The Subject Leader for Mathematics will meet the Senior Leadership Team to evaluate provision in order to raise standards of teaching and learning. Where necessary, staff will receive coaching and training in Mathematics.

Impact – What is the impact of our curriculum on the students?

• Children are happy learners within mathematics.  They experience a wide-ranging number of learning challenges in the subject and know appropriate responses to them.
• Children of all abilities and backgrounds achieve well in mathematics, reflected in outstanding progress that reveals a clear learning journey.  Children talk enthusiastically about their learning in mathematics and are eager to further their learning in the next stages of their education.
• There is a proven track record of test success that reflects the impact of deep learning.
• Clear outcomes focus and guide all mathematical development plans and drive improvement.
• Children will become fluent in the fundamentals of mathematics. Through varied and frequent practice with increasingly complex problems over time, pupils will have the conceptual understanding and the ability to recall and apply knowledge rapidly and accurately.
• Children will be able to reason mathematically by following a line of enquiry, conjecturing relationships and generalisations, developing an argument, justification or proof using mathematical language.
• Children will solve problems by applying their mathematics in a variety of problems with increasing sophistication, including breaking down problems into a series of simpler steps and persevering to seek solutions.
• Learning in Mathematics will ensure children understand how mathematics is essential to everyday life, critical to Science, technology and engineering, and necessary for financial literacy and most forms of employment.
• Visits within mathematics will enrich the lives of the children and they will be able to discuss how the experience impacted their knowledge and understanding.

Through wider reading in mathematics, children will have opportunities to explore key mathematic concepts that explore such topics as mathematics in nature and support learning linked to vehicles. They will explore how mathematics has provided a solution to some of history’s most intriguing problems. Through this exposure, children will produce work that is influenced by the best of the best.

In November 2019 we were delighted to have achieved GOLD for the Liverpool Counts Quality Mark. 'The aim of the Quality mark is to tackle the negative attitudes in society towards numeracy and mathematics. We want to promote a culture where people understand the impact good numeracy skills and mathematics qualifications can have on the social, health and employment aspects of their lives. We also aim to support adults in schools to encourage pupils to make connections in their lessons to real life contexts and with other areas of their school experiences.’