In Maths our excellent teachers inspire a love of the subject and develop passionate learners that are able to solve problems whilst appreciating the beauty of maths. Our learners can apply themselves to real-life situations and can use these skills to solve problems.
Throughout our 5 year scheme of work we have adapted the Kangaroo Maths scheme of learning which supports the Edexcel content. This has been crafted so that it allows us to stretch, challenge and support whilst insisting students complete deliberate practice. We use a Mastery approach to teaching within our sprial curriculum to ensure that all students progress and retreive as needed.
We apply our learning to real life where possible to ensure we create well rounded future citizens
Implementation:
The maths department use a mastery approach to teaching to ensure all students embed their key skills. We use retreival practice every lesson to consolidate and we model key concepts with examples. Teachers constantly question learners and provide an environment for students to safely feel they can question their understanding. We use Sparx Maths for our homework to check for understanding. This involves a 10 week retrieval program, consolidation of key skills and constant book work checks to ensure students are making notes. Students are encouraged to use videos for support.
At the end of each topic, we complete short in class assessments to help students check their progress and understanding.
We also have ToolKit lessons once a fortnight for each class which acts as a retreival and review lesson to ensure students are prepared for the next unit of learning. We have the Maths Hub available every lunchtime meaning students can get support with any homework or revision which is an invaluable session.
Impact:
The maths department are constantly checking for understanding using hands down questioning.
We complete short tests (5 questions) at the end of each topic which assess understanding immediatley after finishing teaching.
Sparx Maths then helps students to recap their learning approximatley a week after finishing an objective. Sparx also then helps students to revise topics from learning completed up to 10 weeks prior. Sparx Maths uses videos to support pupils and teachers regularly complete feedback lessons to help students with mistakes.
We have 2 assessment points per year to help check for understanding and use feedback lessons to ensure students use these assessments to make progress.
Mathematics is an important and exciting subject because it has direct and valuable applications for students in many areas of life. It makes an essential contribution to a student’s education by developing a wide range of skills which can be applied across the curriculum.
As a department we are committed to the philosophy that during the five core years, each student should:
Develop fluency in their mathematical skills and confidence in using them effectively; understand the significance of results and estimate whether or not an answer is reasonable.
Tackle increasingly difficult problems, learn from their mistakes and develop high levels of resilience.
Apply mathematics to everyday situations and appreciate how mathematics can be used to solve real life problems, including in other subjects.
Reason mathematically, generalising findings and develop and communicate arguments using mathematical language, both orally and in writing.
Experience a feeling of progress and success in the subject throughout their school life through being prepared for the demands of their GCSE and beyond.
We are committed to pushing students towards fulfilling their potential, irrespective of their starting point. We believe that students should be encouraged to learn not just mathematical content, but the full range of skills required in order to apply this when solving problems. We plan all our lessons to engage students with the subject, and to build confidence.
Over the last four years, we have been involved, with other local schools, in the national ‘Teaching for Mastery’ initiative. Mastery is achieved through developing procedural fluency and conceptual understanding in tandem, since each supports the other. Lessons are designed to have a high-level of teacher-student and student-student interaction where all students in the class are thinking about, working on and discussing the same mathematical content. Every lesson has a highly focussed objective. Teachers model new concepts using worked examples, giving explicit instructions and explanations. Challenge and the opportunity to deepen understanding of the key mathematical ideas is provided for all. Differentiation is achieved, not through offering different content, but through paying attention to the levels of questioning, support and challenge needed to allow every student to fully grasp the concepts and ideas being studied. This ensures that all students gain sufficiently deep and secure understanding of the mathematics to form the foundation of future learning before moving to the next part of the curriculum sequence. Students are encouraged to make notes in lesson to support their learning. They do this in their exercise books along with independent consolidation work which they complete.
Enrichment
UK Maths Challenge
Students in the top sets in all year groups plus all our sixth form students have the opportunity to take part in the UK Maths Challenge. This is a national Mathematics competition aimed to challenge the most able students. We have had many successes at all levels with several pupils each year being asked to take part in further competitions by the invitation of the organisers. These competitions give the very best students the chance to shine and if you can achieve at this level, you really can describe yourself as a mathematician! This year we had several Golds, including one in the senior section, this was an amazing result.
