A typical maths lesson lasts approximately 1 hour and is taught daily. Children begin the lesson with a quick ‘Do Now’ task which supports fluency and recall of number facts that are pertinent to the upcoming lesson.
Following this, the main part of the lesson begins with an ‘Explore’ task; a contextual problem is shared for the children to discuss and delve into in their maths journals. This helps promote discussion and reasoning and ensures mathematical ideas are introduced in a logical way to support conceptual understanding. During the ‘Master’ part of the lesson, the teacher demonstrates the varying strategies that could be used to solve the problem and they use careful and considered questions to draw out children’s discussion and their reasoning of the problem.
Following this, the children are presented with similar problems during the ‘Guided Practice’ section of the lesson where the children can choose to use the scaffolds provided by the teacher should they wish to solve the problems. Teachers use this part of the lesson to address any initial errors or misconceptions as well as reminding and cementing the different methods that can be used in preparation for the children to succeed independently. The class then progresses to their independent practice part of the lesson, working in their workbooks, using their journals, working walls and concrete materials to support if necessary. This practice uses conceptual and procedural variation to build fluency and develop greater understanding of underlying mathematical concepts. For children who finish their independent practice work, appropriate challenge(s) is provided which promotes a deeper level of thinking around the same concept.
In order to strengthen the connections of the material learned, teachers skillfully create ‘Morning Maths Mats’ for the children to complete during open school before registration. This gives the children an opportunity to apply and practise the skills that they have recently learned in maths lessons, or begin to recall information from previously taught units in preparation for the unit being taught again. This daily practice supports the process of building up the amount of effective practice required to reach the level of mastery where recall is automatic.
In addition to the daily hour of maths, each class receives an additional 30 minute fluency and arithmetic practice as we recognise that children must have the fundamental and foundational building blocks on which to build their mathematical knowledge. During this session, teachers and support staff may also use a variety of strategies to target children who may need some extra support; this may be in the form of a pre-teach for the next lesson or a targeted intervention based on the lesson that morning. Teachers and support staff are skilled at being able to recognise when intervention is needed and choosing the appropriate way in which to do this.
Maths in the Early Years
Developing a strong grounding in understanding number is essential so that all children develop the necessary building blocks to excel mathematically. Within our Early Years we strive to ensure our children are provided with rich opportunities to develop their spatial reasoning skills across all areas of mathematics including shape, space and measures. Our focus is to ensure that all children develop firm mathematical foundations in a way that is engaging and appropriate.
The six key areas of our early mathematical learning are:
Cardinality and Counting- Understanding that the cardinal value of a number refers to the quantity
Comparison- Understanding that comparing numbers involves knowing which numbers are worth more or less than each other
Composition- Understanding that one number can be made up from two or more smaller numbers
Pattern- Looking for and finding patterns helps children notice and understand mathematical relationships
Shape and Space- Understanding what happens when shapes move, or combine with other shapes, helps develop wider mathematical thinking
Measures- Comparing different aspects such as length, weight and volume, as a preliminary to using units to compare later.
In Early Years, pupils are taught in accordance with the EYFS framework- children receive:
Engaging and exciting adult-led learning opportunities
Opportunities to learn and develop through play- ensuring continuous provision promotes mathematical development and provides children with ‘real life’ mathematical experiences
Frequent and varied opportunities to build and apply mathematical understanding
Individual assessments and next steps, which are implemented through the use of effective mathematical learning trajectories
Mathematical learning through play in the Early Years:
Children are encouraged to develop positive attitudes and interests in mathematics through high quality interactions and support from adults, promoting a sense of curiosity.
- The children within our Early Years are presented with opportunities to develop their mathematical understanding within their environment and are provided with meaningful scaffolding and resources that build on their interests and intuitive mathematical knowledge. Mathematical opportunities are presented within:
- Story time
- Song time
- Sand and water play
- Small world play
- Construction play
- Role play
- Mark-making and creative play
- Outdoor learning environment
- Physical activities
- Games
- Circle time
- ICT
- Routines
- A playful learning approach within our Early Years, offers the opportunity to deliver rich mathematical learning through child-directed and adult-supported play.
Mastering Number Programme
From Reception, through to Years 1 and 2 , we provide an additional 15 minutes of Maths each day through the NCETM’s Mastering Number Programme. The aim is that children will leave KS1 with fluency in calculation and a confidence and flexibility with number.
Intervention
Through monitoring and formative assessment, pupils who may struggle or possibly ‘fall behind’ with parts of the curriculum are quickly identified. Teachers work closely with support staff to initiate the best action to support struggling learners. As well as extra support being provided for the main part of the lesson, it may be necessary to plan extra intervention sessions to close the attainment gap. For targeted SEND pupils, an adapted, personalised curriculum is considered. Interventions include:
- In class support
- Pre teach
- Small group, maths booster lessons led by trained teaching assistants
- After school tuition
Assessment and Marking
During lessons, teachers use Assertive Monitoring to accurately assess children and provide focus and relevant feedback. Assertive Monitoring establishes what a child can do and what they need to do to move to the next stage of learning. Assertive monitoring may also be used to inform next steps and support interventions for children who have not grasped a concept.
Children’s independent work will always be marked by a member of staff using green and orange highlighters or it will be self-marked by the child. This is paramount as immediate feedback ensures that children have time in the lesson to reflect and act on feedback. Mistakes are corrected with a purple polishing pen.
At the end of each unit taught, a Workbook Review is completed by the children which assesses which parts of the unit each child has grasped and which elements they need more support with. Teachers use this information to identify any children who need additional support to master the concepts within the unit.
Timely summative assessments are undertaken throughout the year to assess long-term progress; the results are tracked using the Maths No Problem tracking programme, Insights. Children are recorded as working towards, expected or greater depth. This data is then analysed in half-termly pupil progress meetings to ensure the attainment gap is being closed and that children are being adequately supported in lessons.
The assessment timetable is shown below:
