Maths

Without mathematics there's nothing you can do. Everything around you is mathematics. Everything around you is numbers.

- Shakuntala Devi

No employment can be managed without arithmetic, no mechanical invention without geometry.

- Benjamin Franklin

Vision

Our vision is to nurture articulate, confident, curious mathematicians with a love for the subject. We want our pupils to have an understanding and appreciation that maths is a fundamental part of everyday life and the world we live in.

What do the children learn and when?

To learn more about progression in maths please click the image below.

How do we teach maths?

From Nursery to Year 6, we teach maths using the Mastery approach which consists of five big ideas: coherence, mathematical thinking, variation, fluency and thoughtful use of representation and structure.

To support our planning of small, sequenced steps for successful Mastery teaching, we use a range of resources such as White Rose, NCETM and DfE ‘Ready to Progress’ guidance which we review and adapt to ensure learning is accessible to all.

We place a high emphasis on mathematical talk and our lessons include regular opportunities for the children to discuss their understanding and explain their thinking, both with adults and their peers. Accurate use of vocabulary is a key feature of our lessons, with teachers modelling and expecting it from the children from Nursery up to Year 6.

In Nursery and Reception, maths planning is informed by guidance from Development Matters, White Rose and the NCETM ‘Six Areas of Early Mathematics Learning’. Children have the opportunity to develop their early mathematical skills through child initiated play and adult led activities in both the indoor and outdoor areas. In addition to this, whole class maths sessions are taught daily.

Online platforms such as Times Tables Rock Stars are used to boost mathematical skills.
We use Times Tables Rock Stars to encourage fluency in multiplication and division facts with regular tournaments. Weekly tasks are set on Mathletics for homework to consolidate learning.

We also work very closely with the SW London Maths Hub to ensure we have the most up to date guidance and training.

Assessment

Teachers continuously assess throughout each lesson. Through prompt intervention or targeted questioning we ensure that the learning needs of all children are identified and addressed with the necessary support or challenge.

We use formal Testbase assessments twice a year to support teachers' judgements and the statutory KS2 tests at the end of 6.

Our learning

What pupils at Penwortham say about maths:

Enrichment

Maths Bee - in the Summer term we shall once again be holding our own Maths Bee for Years 4, 5 and 6 where the children have to answer as many times tables and division facts as they can in 1 minute in front of a hall full of children! Each year the standard just gets better and better and we are excited to see how fast our amazing, brave competitors are later this year. Click here to read more about the buzz in previous years!

Chocolate Trading at Deloitte - please click the image below to find out more

Leadership

Staff Leads: Mrs Hitch and Mrs Gladwin

Pupil leads:

Daisy:
I am proud to be a Maths lead because I want to help people understand better and support their knowledge. I chose Maths because Maths is everywhere so if people want to achieve their full potential, they need to understand maths.

Josh:

I am proud to be a Maths pupil lead as I like helping others to reach their full potential. I chose Maths as you use it in everyday life and it is my favourite subject. I also like Maths because it has lots of complicated questions and I love testing myself in my free time to help my knowledge grow.

Mateo:
I am proud to be a Maths pupil lead because I can make my favourite subject even better than it already is and then more people can enjoy the subject. This is my favourite subject because I love how many ways you can use Maths and the different ways you can solve problems.

Yasir:

I want to be a Maths pupil lead because I would like new responsibilities and to help others. I am creative, nurturing and respectful. I would also like to make sure everyone enjoys Maths and reaches their goals.

Safiya:

I love being a Maths lead and I have many innovative ideas. I love solving Maths equations - if you need a Maths genius who is experienced, you know who to call:)

Luie:

Hi my name is Luie and I would like to be a Maths pupil lead so I can help people better understand and enjoy Maths. I would also love to represent the school and let people know how amazing it is.

How to help your child at home

If you would like to know more about how we teach maths using resources (manipulatives), please click here. There are also some great child led videos which are a useful guide for showing the mastery approach to calculations, and are particularly helpful for highlighting the vocabulary your child will use in school.

Click below to watch.

How we teach short division (bus stop method)

How we teach column addition (compact method)

How we teach column subtraction (without exchange)

How we teach column subtraction (with exchange)

How we teach column subtraction (compact method)