Mathematics at Ripley Junior School.

Our Vision:

At Ripley Junior School, we know that it important to develop children’s mathematical confidence and fluency in a range of engaging and meaningful ways to ensure they are equipped to succeed in the future and in later employed life. By the end of their time at RJS, children should be able to confidently tackle a wide range of problems resiliently and effectively. 

Our Intent:

The aims of our provision are in line with those of the national curriculum for mathematics which ensure that all pupils:

• become fluent in the fundamentals of mathematics, including through varied and frequent practice with increasingly complex problems over time, so that pupils develop conceptual understanding and the ability to recall and apply knowledge rapidly and accurately;
• reason mathematically by following a line of enquiry, investigating relationships and making generalisations, as well as providing a justification or proof using mathematical language;
• can solve problems by applying their mathematics to a variety of routine and non-routine problems with increasing sophistication, including breaking down problems into a series of simpler steps and persevering in seeking solutions

Key Elements of Learning:

All children should have access to the same curriculum content and, rather than being extended with new learning, they should deepen their conceptual understanding by tackling challenging and varied problems. Lessons focus on developing depth of learning, ensuring that children have the opportunity to work in smaller steps to develop a secure understanding of the concepts outlined in the National Curriculum. Lessons use parts of the big ideas of maths mastery:

. 

Implementation:

We follow the Programmes of Study in the national curriculum for Mathematics which breaks learning initially into four strands. These are: number, measurement, geometry and statistics. By year 6, the additional strands of algebra and ratio & proportion are built into the Programmes of Study. RJS teaches a mastery curriculum focusing on firstly embedding understanding, delivered through the teaching of concrete, pictorial and abstract skills. Further practice ensures fluency in the skills. The skills are then mastered in deeper-thinking activities; this requires the application of skills to problem-solving, investigation and reasoning. Integral to all maths lessons is the teaching of efficient mental maths strategies.

We plan our schemes of learning using a variety of resources, but base our structure around the White Rose Maths schemes of learning  which follows the 2014 national curriculum programme of study strands. This allows us to ensure the children are able to tackle problems in a variety of ways and develop their reasoning and problem solving skills effectively.

Each class uses the school calculation policy, which outlines how we move on children's knowledge using apparatus (concrete), drawings (pictorial) and formal written methods (abstract).

As a school, we have bought into Times Tables Rock Stars this online programme aims to build number fluency through multiplication and division games.

Maths in Key Stage 2:

Each unit of learning must explore the following three strands:

1. Element 1 – Focus on prior learning and areas which may have misconceptions and gaps.
2. Element 2: Use the concrete, pictorial and abstract approach to develop secure fluency.
3. Element 3: Ensure children are able to reason and problem solve effectively using key vocabulary to explain and justify.

Each class at RJS follows a similar structure in maths: they begin with a flashback task which encourages children to recall and apply prior learning, followed by an anchor task, which assesses children's current understanding, guided practice, independent learning (using White Rose, PowerMaths or other appropriate activities in-line with the White Rose Scheme) in their Maths books, then complete either a reflect or Deep Dive Challenge - these aim to check and challenge understanding further. Problem Solving and Reasoning should be embedded for all children in every lesson. Manipulatives are used to embed learning in all classes, before moving on to using pictorial methods and formal written methods.

The White Rose Scheme - overview of the year

Here is an overview of the topics your child will be covering this year in maths. However, timings and durations may change depending on the assessments made by your child's teacher. If they feel longer is needed on a topic, they will extend the unit to ensure the children have mastered it before moving on. Due to school closures caused by Covid-19, some units were not covered in school during the 2019/20 academic year which may result in some children having gaps in their learning. Therefore, as part of our recovery curriculum, we may need to teach objectives from the previous year before building upon this with the current year group's objectives for the topic. 

Year 3

Year 4

Year 5 

Year 6

Progression:

The 2014 National curriculum clearly outlines expected progression within each year group. To support further with ensuring work is pitched at an age-appropriate level, we also use the White Rose Maths Small Steps planning system. We use these small steps to ensure that children re-cover any gaps in prior learning, before moving through age-related expectations quickly and confidently. The spiral structure of the White Rsoe curriculum ensures children revisit key concepts every year which they will then build upon to ensure children are secure in their learning and can make progress. 

Impact:

Teachers continually assess children’s understanding through daily marking and feedback. This ensures that children are able to receive immediate intervention and support as required, as well as providing challenge for children who grasp concepts quicker. We also use the NFER assessments and end of key stage tests (SATs) to identify gaps in knowledge and skills.