Curriculum Intent
Our Mathematics Curriculum at The Links Primary:
- Equips pupils for everyday life;
- Instils a love of learning;
- Is well-planned and well-sequenced;
- Has breadth, depth and ambition for all;
- Has full scope to ensure challenge for all;
- Has high expectations and rigour, with careful scaffolding where necessary;
- Guarantees long-term learning and ensures pupils know more, remember more and can do more;
- Is underpinned by a range of research;
- Reflects our Trust ethos: inspiring excellence and equality for all.
Curriculum Implementation
- High standard of classroom practice – based on high quality pedagogy;
- Use of pre and post assessment tasks to ensure maximum progress;
- Enhanced curricular offer.
Curriculum Impact
- Outcomes – formative and summative assessment;
- Quality assurance;
- Pupils enjoy maths lessons and have a love of learning;
- Pupils know more, remember more and can do more in maths;
- Pupils are ready for the next stage of their education/ mathematical journey.
Year 4 Multiplication Tables Check 2022
| 2022 |
2023 |
2024 |
| 23.8 |
22.8 |
23.7 |
Average Score (out of 25)
Key Stage 2 Outcomes EXS+
| 2022 |
2023 |
2024 |
| 93% |
92% |
93% |
Reception:
Mathematical Provision in Reception
In Early Years, we ensure children have a deep understanding of numbers to 10 and extend their understanding of the number system.
In Reception, children have daily Mathematics lessons. We use a ‘spiral’ approach ensuring the Mathematics Educational Programme and bespoke curriculum are embedded and enhanced throughout our Mathematics lessons and continuous provision. Our long-term plan has been well planned and sequenced, ensuring breadth, depth and ambition for all. The spiral approach allows us to revisit and deepen mathematical knowledge, understanding and using vocabulary. We ensure shape, space and measure are threaded through our curriculum every half term.
Our curriculum encompasses the following:
- Daily counting (progressing across the year, to reach numbers to 50), starting from any number, including finding one more and one less;
- A variety of representations and manipulatives, including Numicon and tens frames;
- Regular subitising activities;
- Ongoing focus on number bonds;
- Introducing shapes with associated number of sides as a number is taught;
- Language of time used throughout the school day;
- Regular reading and writing of numerals, progressing beyond 10.
Enriched Opportunities:
- Songs and nursery rhymes throughout our mathematics curriculum;
- Continuous provision offers additional high-quality mathematical opportunities;
- Using Mathematics in the outdoor environment, embedding the concept that Mathematics takes place all around us;
- Bridging the curriculum and preparing for Year 1 through our ‘Year 1 Ready’ statements.
Partnership with Parents:
- Curriculum information for parents
- Communication with and updates for parents
- Encouraging mathematics at home
KS1 & KS2 Curriculum Design:
At The Links Primary, our Mathematics curriculum is designed, in line with the National Curriculum, using a ‘spiral approach’ (Bruner, 1960), where learners revisit mathematical aspects throughout the year, each time making connections and deepening their understanding. Our mathematics curriculum is the product of careful sequencing and linking of declarative (facts), procedural (methods) and conditional (strategies) knowledge, which have been coherently planned and sequenced, guaranteeing long-term learning and ensuring learners are best prepared for the next stage of their learning. We want all of our pupils to develop a love and enthusiasm for Mathematics.
Progression and sequencing
Progression is based on the development of interdependent units, outlined below. Pupils should make rich connections across mathematical ideas to develop fluency, mathematical reasoning and competence in solving increasingly sophisticated problems:
- Number – Number and Place Value
- Number – Addition and Subtraction
- Number – Multiplication and Division
- Number- Fractions (including decimals and percentages)
- Ratio and Proportion
- Measurement
- Geometry – properties of shapes
- Geometry – position and direction
- Statistics
To build mathematical knowledge effectively, some knowledge has to be built before others, e.g. elements of place value need to be understood before working with addition and subtraction and addition needs to be learnt before looking at multiplication (as a model of repeated addition). Emphasis is on number skills and mental/written methods first, carefully ordered and sequenced, throughout our primary curriculum. For some other topics, the order isn’t as crucial, e.g. Shapes and Statistics need to come after elements of number, but don’t depend on each other. We have tried to mix these so pupils have as wide a variety of mathematical experiences as possible in each term and year, in accordance with the National Curriculum. We have ensured an appropriate amount of teaching time is allocated to each unit, in accordance with the number of objectives.
In KS1 and KS2, we use pre-learning tasks to assess pupils’ pre-existing knowledge of an objective and these are then used to inform teaching and learning. Teachers use the outcomes to provide appropriate scaffolding/depth and breadth across the week, ensuring all pupils make maximum progress in learning. Visits to other schools and research from a range of valid sources, including Davies (2019), was influential when designing our mathematics curriculum: pre-learning tasks ensure that learners are directly involved in the planning process. Hattie and Yates (2013) also state that ‘prior knowledge is one of the most influential factors in learning’.
Arithmetic
From Year 1-6, we have a daily 15-minute arithmetic session which is planned time for pupils to rehearse declarative knowledge (facts – number facts and times tables) and procedural knowledge (methods). We aim to ensure pupils have efficient, accurate and clear methods for the four operations and fractions, which should be taught and rehearsed to automaticity. Equally important is the neatness and logical approaches to reduce the risk of accidental errors (Ofsted Mathematics Research Review 2021). Arithmetic content for each year group is provided, ensuring we revisit content from previous years.
Times tables and number facts should be an explicit part of the arithmetic session, ensuring rapid and accurate recall.
Enhanced Curricular Offer
- Times Table Rockstars
- STEM – curriculum links
- Trust/wider area links – competitions/challenges e.g. National Number Day, Times Tables Competition
Pre and Post Learning Tasks
Each week, children in Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 complete a pre-learning task to show their teachers what they already know about a particular objective before the learning takes place. The teachers can then ensure each child receives the appropriate breadth and scaffolding to move them on with their individual learning. At the end of the week, children complete a post-learning task to assess the children’s progress. It is always great to see how much progress our children make!
Daily Knowledge Recall
Each day, in KS1 (Y1/Y2) we complete a ‘4 box challenge’, in Lower KS2 (Y3/Y4) we complete a ‘6 box challenge’ and in upper KS2 (Y5/Y6) we complete an ‘8 box challenge’ to help us to remember and recall all of our important knowledge and strategies. Children say that it helps them to ‘remember’, ‘recap’ and ‘be confident mathematicians.
Times Table Rockstars
All pupils in Y2-6 have access to ‘Times Table Rockstars’ to practise and recall their times tables!
Collaboration across our Trust
We like to work together with other primary schools in our Trust to share good practice and enhance our maths curriculum through additional activities and challenges. Some of the examples include: our Trust ‘National Number Day’, ‘Year 4 Times Table Competition’, ‘Maths Quiz’ and ‘Primary Maths Challenge’.
AIM HIGHER DAY
Every year at The Links, we host the A.I.M. High for More Able Mathematicians full day event, where some of our local primary schools are invited to attend. This year, the event was aimed at children in Year 5 and Year 6. Throughout the day, the children work collaboratively to complete a range of mathematical challenges.
NSPCC’S NUMBER DAY
Last year, we decided that our focus would be ‘Maths at the Movies’. Each key stage had a movie to focus on and the children completed a range of number and maths-based activities linked to this, recognising that maths is found throughout each movie. We also dressed in non-uniform in order to raise money for NSPCC – thank you for your contributions. Take a look at some of our pictures!
