Wadhurst CE Primary School and Nursery

At Wadhurst, we aim to inspire a love of learning and a lifetime enthusiasm for mathematics through active and meaningful experiences. We understand that mathematics is an essential part of daily life that supports children in understanding the world around them. We value creating curious, confident and capable learners who have a firm understanding of the key concepts, facts and representations of mathematics. We believe that all children, no matter their background, can become competent mathematicians who are equipped with the skills to succeed in future life.

Our ambitious curriculum offers all children opportunities to make connections and deepen understanding through a range of rich fluency, reasoning and problem solving activities that link to real world contexts. We have used current pedagogical, developmental and mathematical research and guidance to sequence our small-step, mastery curriculum that enables all children to feel successful.

As part of the development of the whole child, we understand the importance of spoken language in preparing children for further study and success beyond school. Our systematic approach enables all children to explore, investigate and make connections between mathematical concepts and empowers them to communicate, explain and generalise effectively through meaningful discussions using accurate, high-quality vocabulary.

A ‘Mathematics Mastery Curriculum’ is at the heart of what we do; this is why we use the Power Maths scheme of learning to drive our mathematics curriculum. Power Maths is a DfE supported mastery scheme and has been designed in line with the National Curriculum and is grounded in extensive research and expertise of effective teaching and learning. It has been designed to support and challenge all pupils and is built on the belief that everyone can successfully learn mathematics. We believe that being successful in mathematics requires a deeper understanding of concepts rather than rote-learning procedures and methods. Power Maths uses small step progression and intelligent practice to develop conceptual understanding. Power Maths also uses growth mindset characters to prompt, encourage and question children whilst sparking curiosity, engaging reasoning, securing understanding and deepening learning for all children.

In our mastery mathematics lessons, pupils will be taught by a phase teacher as a whole year group rather than in attainment sets or mixed classes. There is much evidence that not setting improves long-term outcomes for all pupils, regardless of their current attainment level, and in addition, it promotes a Growth Mindset. We very much want to send the message to every child that we are all mathematicians. We aim to achieve this message by ensuring that all pupils are suitably supported and challenged and by all children accessing the same concepts together. We have high expectations of all children and support those who need extra support by scaffolding learning with concrete resources, additional learning support and mathematical aids. Scaffolds are slowly withdrawn to increase the child’s independence whilst maintaining confidence. For those who rapidly grasp concepts, learning is deepened through demonstrating a clear understanding of the concept by applying it in different contexts, using reasoning to form generalistions and being given opportunities to solve rich and sophisticated problems rather than acceleration through new content.

Lessons are interactive with the expectation that all children participate and begin with a review of previous learning before being introduced to the new learning through a real-life ‘Discover’ problem. In pairs, children have to grapple with this task, and consider how to show their understanding in different ways, transferring ownership of learning. After the Discover stage, children discuss their learning in a Share activity. During this whole-class, interactive learning phase, children share their thinking and look for the best ways to solve the problem. The lesson then progresses onto a Think Together section. It begins with a teacher-guided question followed by a problem for children to solve in collaboration with a partner, and finally an independent question. It develops the concrete problem through the pictorial and abstract stages and there is clear progression within each lesson. Once children have an understanding of the concept, they apply this in the independent practice. Independent practice builds in complexity from fluency to reasoning, and finishes with a deeper problem solving challenge. The session culminates with a reflect and review that sees children use what they have learnt in the session and apply it to a final discussion or problem.

If our children are keeping up with the curriculum, they are deemed to be making good or better progress. We measure the impact of our curriculum through assessments in EYFS and Years 1, 3, 4 & 5 will be through a combination of summative testing and teacher judgement. Years 2 and 6 are assessed through the End of Key Stage National Curriculum Tests. Ongoing formative assessment opportunities are also built into all lessons so that adults can check for understanding and and adapt the curriculum as necessary. The impact of our Maths curriculum is that our pupils are equipped with the knowledge that will enable them to be ready for the next stage of their curriculum and for life as an adult in the world outside the classroom.

• Be fluent in the fundamentals of mathematics
• Have developed conceptual understanding and the ability to recall and apply knowledge rapidly and accurately
• Be able to reason mathematically by following a line of enquiry, conjecturing relationships and generalisations, and developing an argument, justification or proof using mathematical language
• Be able to solve problems by applying their mathematics to a variety of routine and non-routine problems by breaking down problems into a series of simpler steps and persevering in seeking solutions
• Have a secure factual fluency including addition, subtraction, multiplicative and division facts
• Be secure in a range of calculation strategies
• Have developed a vast and ambitious mathematical vocabulary and use this accurately
• Have confidence that they can ‘do maths’

• Recording in books and end of unit checks show children are demonstrating a good understanding of the concepts being taught
• Summative assessments show children have a good understanding of key areas
• attainment shows that children are on track or have made progress from their starting points
• Pupil voice show children are able to articulate their mathematical learning

Beyond Wadhurst
We believe that when children leave Wadhurst CE Primary they will have confidence in their own Maths ability and a curiosity about the subject that challenges them to want to know more. They will be equipped with the knowledge, skills and conceptual understanding that will enable them to be ready for the next stage of their curriculum and for life as an adult in the world outside the classroom.