Maths
Intent
At Seaton Primary School we take a mastery approach to the teaching and learning of mathematics. Our ethos is that ‘everyone can’ be successful in the study of mathematics –and as such the vision for maths at Seaton Primary is to enable and extend all of our learners in every lesson using the concrete, pictoral and abstract approach.
We aim to deliver an inspiring and engaging maths curriculum through high quality teaching in order to create independent, resilient learners who become lifelong mathematicians. We strive to facilitate powerful dialogue and discussion within our maths lessons to encourage all of our children to articulate and explain their methods and thought processes. In order to improve our mastery approach and ensure that each lesson enables and extends our children, from this year we are using Power Maths to support our teaching and learning in maths. Our ethos echoes the philosophy of the the Power Maths philosophy that we have adopted – EVERYONE can learn maths successfully.
The philosophy behind Power Maths is that being successful in maths is not just about rote-learning procedures and methods, but is instead about problem solving, thinking and discussing. Power Maths includes practice questions to help children develop fluent recall and their conceptual understanding. Power Maths uses growth mindset characters to prompt, encourage and question children. They spark curiosity, engage reasoning, secure understanding and deepen learning for all.
Power Maths is based on a ‘small-steps’ mastery approach. This means that the concepts are broken down so that our children can master one idea without feeling over-whelmed. There are a range of fluency, reasoning and problem solving questions in each lesson that are designed to support the different needs and confidence levels within a class, while at the same time fostering a spirit of working and learning together. Each lesson includes challenge questions to extend those children who can delve deeper into a concept.
Implementation
The Power Maths Programme of Study lays out our long term and medium term plans for maths across the whole school, breaking down curriculum content into small steps.
Teachers follow the planning progression and calculation policies set out by Power Maths , breaking down curriculum content into small steps.
Each lesson has a progression, with a central flow that draws the main learning into focus. There are different elements, informed by research into best practice in maths teaching, that bring the lessons to life:
- Discover – each lesson begins with a problem to solve, often a real-life example, sometimes a puzzle or a game. These are engaging and fun, and designed to get all children thinking.
- Share – the class shares their ideas and compares different ways to solve the problem, explaining their reasoning with hands-on resources and drawings to make their ideas clear. Children are able to develop their understanding of the concept with input from the teacher.
- Think together – the next part of the lesson is a journey through the concept, digging deeper and deeper so that each child builds on secure foundations while being challenged to apply their understanding in different ways and with increasing independence.
- Practice – now children practice individually or in small groups, rehearsing and developing their skills to build fluency, understanding of the concept and confidence.
- Reflect – finally, children are prompted to reflect on and record their learning from each session and show how they have grasped the concept explored in the lesson.