Maths

At St. Joseph's Catholic Primary School, the aims of our maths curriculum are: 

To develop fluency in the fundamentals of mathematics.

To reason mathematically by following a line of enquiry, conjecturing relationships and generalisations, and developing an argument, justification or proof using mathematical language.

To solve problems by applying their mathematics to a variety of routine and non-routine problems.

Number Sense is used  in Reception, Power Maths in Y2-Y5, White Rose maths resources in Y6 and we are introducing Oak Academy resources in Y1, to deliver the National Curriculum 2014 and support a Mastery approach to teaching.

All of these schemes support Mastery and are aligned in terms of sequence and approach. In addition to this, teachers may use quality materials from NCETM and other sources.

Early Years

In early years the children experience maths everyday through whole class teaching, focused activities with an adult and through play opportunities both inside and outside the classroom. Maths is discovered, explored, discussed and made sense of from the child's own perspective, guided and facilitated by the adults.  

 Key Stage 1

In Year 1 and 2 maths learning is explored through concrete apparatus such as a tens frame, Base Ten apparatus and the part whole model. This enables the child to develop a secure understanding of number as they start to select apparatus to manipulate whilst they make sense of number, place value and calculations. Children reason and explain their maths using maths vocabulary and may journal  to show their learning in pictorial (pictures / models) and abstract (numbers). 

Key Stage 2

In Key Stage 2 learning continues to be supported by concrete resources and pictorial representations such as part-whole, bar model and place value counters. There is an emphasis on developing solid arithmetic skills, quick recall of key facts and curiosity around number connections. Explaining and reasoning are an integral part of the maths lessons in order for children to develop a solid understanding of the maths concepts and learning. 

All classrooms, Nursery up to Y6,  have a Working Wall  to help learning 'stick'  and to act as the 'silent teacher' so that  children  can refer to it when they are unsure or need a little reminder. Children are reminded of this thorugh the 'Learning Ladder' which is a whole school approach, enabing children to develop a range of strategies to use when unsure of what to do.  The Working Wall shows the current learning in Concrete, Pictorial and Abstract form and a pyramid of vocabulary is displayed alongside sentence stems to help children construct clear, succinct and exact explanations. 

We have also subscribed to Times Table Rockstar for keeping those multiplication skills sharp. All children have their own login details. Use this link to take you to the page!  Times Table Rockstar.

We take learning the times tables seriously at St Josephs!

In Year 4, in the run up to the Multiplication Test Check, the classes are split into smaller groups according to the  tables they most need to focus on.  They practice with the counting stick, chanting, quick fire questions, looking at patterns in the answers, using known facts, 2 minute tests and using the website https://urbrainy.com/mtc to see scores improve!   ALL HAVING FUN!

This year they blasted their way through their Multiplication Check and were very proud of themselves!