Maths
At our school we teach our children to develop a deep and secure understanding of the different mathematical concepts in our National Curriculum. We do this through a focus on Fluency, Reasoning and Problem Solving.
Intent
The ‘Intent’ of our mathematics curriculum has been derived from the aims of National Curriculum for Mathematics:
- Fluency: become fluent in the fundamentals of mathematics, including through varied and frequent practice with increasingly complex problems over time, so that pupils develop conceptual understanding and the ability to recall and apply knowledge rapidly and accurately;
- Reasoning: reason mathematically by following a line of enquiry, conjecturing relationships and generalisations, and developing an argument, justification or proof using mathematical language;
- Problem Solving: can solve problems by applying their mathematics to a variety of routine and non-routine problems with increasing sophistication, including breaking down problems into a series of simpler steps and persevering in seeking solutions.
Through our curriculum design, we ensure that all children can develop the mathematical skills and knowledge needed to become successful citizens of the world.
Our teaching and learning approach across the whole curriculum is based on the Cognitive Load Theory (CLT) developed by Sweller (1988). Within maths lessons, we are teaching all children to have a deep and secure understanding of the concepts that they are being taught. In order to do this, our curriculum is designed to reduce cognitive load by ensuring we structure and design lessons in small coherent steps, which organically allows opportunity for the promotion of retention. This allows for an inclusive learning environment where all children are supported to transfer learning from short-term to long-term memory.
