Why do we teach Maths? Why do we teach Maths in the way we do?
At Holy Cross Catholic Primary School, we believe that every child can master an understanding and love of maths. We aim to ensure that all our children develop into enthusiastic mathematical thinkers who are ready to take on the world of mathematics by the time they leave us in Year 6. Maths is delivered through an ambitious, connected and sequenced curriculum accessible to all children in our school from EYFS to Year 6. We plan for our children to be confident mathematicians who have achieved fluency in all aspects of the curriculum. We have the highest expectations for every learner; we want our children to master maths rather than having only surface knowledge and skills in this subject.
How do we teach Maths? What does this look like?
The mathematics curriculum in Holy Cross Catholic Primary School is coherently planned and sequenced through carefully structured curriculum maps for every year group. These are supported by our calculation policy and vocabulary map. The calculation policy is used within school to ensure a consistent approach to teaching the four operations over time. At the start of each new topic, key vocabulary is introduced and revisited regularly to develop language acquisition, embedding as the topic progresses. These documents are based on the EYFS Framework and the National Curriculum. The learning and teaching of maths considers all children, including pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities through thorough and rigorous planning and assessment.
Our lessons are carefully planned and designed to ensure they address the three key aims of fluency, reasoning and problem-solving. Teachers are encouraged to use high-quality materials and tasks to support learning and provide access to the mathematics. Some of these may include White Rose Maths schemes of learning, Classroom Secrets, Testbase activities, Twinkl resources, NCETM and NRICH visual images and concrete resources. By using a variety of planning resources, we believe that we provide a bespoke teaching and learning experience that is designed to interest, inform and inspire our children. Using prior knowledge as a starting point for all future planning and teaching, we plan lessons which ensure all children make good progress.
Work in mathematics is differentiated as appropriate to enable all children to make effective progress. Differentiation may be planned for by the level of practice and inquiry required by each child, the support received during the task (both by the resources given and the adult support), individualised next steps.
We ensure children learn key vocabulary; mathematical talk is a key learning tool for all pupils. Where necessary, pre-teaching, key vocabulary is a driver for pupil understanding and develops the confidence of children to explain mathematically and therefore consolidate and embed their conceptual understanding.
Alongside this, we use Times Tables Rock Stars to improve children's multiplication knowledge and 3 Minute Maths to develop arithmetic skills.
Teaching methods at Holy Cross
Short Multiplication
Short Division
Long Multiplication
Long Division
By the time children leave our school what will they be able to do?
The impact of our approach to mathematics means that by the time the leave us in Year 6, they should be able to quickly and easily manipulate numbers and apply their mathematical knowledge to a variety of problems and applications. Children should have good mental maths and arithmetic skills and a solid grasp of the key vocabulary. They are not frightened of numbers and instead relish the challenge and sense of achievement they get from truly mastering mathematics. By the end of year 6, the children are ready for the next stage of their mathematical journey and will have developed a bank of efficient and accurate skills that can be used effectively to navigate every day and real-life situations. They will become confident and resilient problem-solvers with the ability to reason and articulate their ideas mathematically.
“Mathematics is, in its way, the poetry of logical ideas.” - Albert Einstein