How we teach Maths at Northchapel

Maths is a vital subject to help children to make sense of the world and solve problems in everyday life. It is connected to science, technology and engineering and necessary for making sense of money. We aim to teach children from the earliest days in our Pre-school to the end of their time with us in Year 6, to be fluent in the basics of Maths, securing good recall of number and times tables facts and the ability to apply this knowledge rapidly and accurately. We also teach children to reason mathematically, through number talks, investigating and modelling by teachers. We ask children to talk about the Maths they have used and to explain how they got to the answer. Children may work independently, with a partner or in a group and show their learning through teaching each other to really embed concepts. Finally we present children with a wide range of age and ability appropriate problems to solve, where they can begin to use their knowledge and understanding of mathematical concepts, breaking problems down into a series of steps and seeking alternative ways of finding a solution.

Right across the school, children will be taught to use a wide range of Maths resources. This begins in Early Years when work begins using objects and resources to present their thinking. Then we move on to using pictures to represent our thinking and calculating. Finally children will be taught to use abstract methods to work out solutions. This will include a range of written methods for calculation as well as the symbols used to represent our thinking. This process - concrete - pictorial - abstract - is used in every year group and continues into the older classes as children can continue to use physical resources to demonstrate tricky concepts and solve problems. We do not rush children through the curriculum, but help them to master each stage and then to broaden their knowledge through a range of open ended tasks.