Maths

At Bentley Heath, the vision for maths is for pupils to understand and apply, enjoy and be confident. 

In full, this means that our aim is to:

Understand & Apply

• Ensure pupils have a secure grasp of mathematical facts, methods and concepts
• Give pupils a deep understanding of the processes in a method and the connections between concepts
• Ensure pupils can apply these ideas flexibly, accurately and efficiently in a range of different situations

Enjoy & Be Confident

• Foster an appreciation and enjoyment of maths
• Develop pupils’ self-confidence by giving them the tools, opportunities and resilience to achieve

This vision has been developed with the input of pupils, staff, parents and governors.  It is a reflection of the values that underpin our commitment to helping all pupils to fulfil their mathematical potential and our belief that all pupils can achieve in this subject.

The Curriculum

The basis for the Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 maths curriculum is the White Rose Maths 3.0 scheme which provides a broad and balanced programme of work.  In Early Years and Key Stage 1, the NCETM Mastering Number Programme has been adopted to provide all pupils with a solid foundation in number which will support them as they progress through the school.

Lesson Structure

Most lessons will adopt a three part structure which ensures that pupils will acquire the three types of knowledge – declarative, procedural and conditional – that will allow them to succeed in mathematics.

The three part structure

• Fluency – a recapping and retrieval of knowledge from previous lessons e.g. last lesson, last week, last year
• Anchor Task – A real life task which activates pupils’ prior knowledge, promotes collaboration and establishes a classroom environment where problem solving through perseverance is established
• I Do, We Do, You Do – In this section, the teacher will instruct pupils in the area of learning and provide faded support until they can independently complete tasks using this knowledge

Knowledge Acquisition

Declarative knowledge –  ‘I know that’ – is developed through the fluency element which is presented at the beginning of all maths lessons and allows pupils to retrieve facts from across the curriculum.

Procedural knowledge – ‘I know how’ – is developed through the direct teaching of methods/concepts and the principles underpinning them.  This is addressed through the Anchor Task and I Do, We Do, You Do elements.

Conditional knowledge – ‘I know when’ – refers to understanding when and how strategies should be applied to reason and problem solve.  It is a combination of declarative and procedural knowledge which helps all pupils to achieve mastery in this subject.  Reasoning and problem solving are essential components of the Anchor Task and You Do sections of a lesson where all pupils are encouraged to reason in their spoken and written responses to carefully designed questions and tasks.

Ref: A Summary of Ofsted’s Maths Research Report for Primary Teachers and Leaders (marcrhayes.com)

Support, Scaffolding, Deepening

All pupils are provided with the support and scaffolding they need to achieve within their age related expectation and all pupils can access tasks which will enable them to achieve mastery through deep, connected learning.  Some examples of support and deepening include:

• Universal access to manipulatives e.g. multilink, Dienes, two colour counters, Numicon, Rekenreks
• Universal access to supportive models e.g. fraction walls, number lines, 100 squares
• Deepening learning through the use of open ended questions, non-routine problems and rich, investigative tasks e.g.

Vocabulary

The correct and discrete teaching of vocabulary and stem sentences are a key component of lessons at Bentley Heath.  This vocabulary is displayed on working walls and all pupils are encouraged to use the correct vocabulary and stem sentences to ensure that pupils can communicate mathematically with accuracy and confidence.  It will also allow them to identify generalisations within a concept and to identify the underlying structures of a concept.  The use of stem sentences is essential in ensuring that pupils have a full, clear and precise understanding of key terminology within maths.

Examples of stem sentences include:

• The more we subtract, the less we are left with.

The less we subtract, the more we are left with.

• If the column sum is equal to ten or more, we must exchange.
• _ tenths + _ tenths is equal to _ tenths which is _ whole and _ tenths

e.g. 6 tenths and 8 tenths is equal to 14 tenths which 1 whole and 4 tenths.

• For every _ there are _ .

e.g. for every two teachers there are seven children.