Mathematics

Vision

At Sholing, we 'Achieve Together'. We believe strongly that all children should experience the beauty, power and enjoyment of mathematics. We encourage and develop a sense of curiosity about the subject with a clear understanding that mathematics helps us to understand and change the world. We encourage children to develop maths skills that enable them to explore and solve problems encountered in their lives.

We believe all children can achieve in mathematics, and teach for secure and deep understanding of mathematical concepts through manageable steps. We teach and develop a logical approach to solving problems and developing mental strategies. We passionately believe that every child has the right to access these skills, and we aim to provide them with a ‘tool box’ that they can confidently apply to solving ‘real life’ problems. Children are encouraged to learn from mistakes and misconceptions as they are essential components of learning. At our school, the majority of children will be taught the content from their year group only. They will spend time becoming true masters of content, applying and being creative with new knowledge in multiple ways.

Regular workshops for parents are used to share these strategies and support the learning of maths at home. Children explore the key concepts of Number, Measurement, Geometry and Statistics. We pride ourselves on delivering a rich, daily maths lesson that follows the National Curriculum, however mathematical opportunities are linked throughout our Creative Curriculum. By making links between these areas and encouraging children to apply their maths skills and develop reasoning, we aim to ensure that they are confident and enthusiastic in their approach to maths learning.

National Curriculum Purpose of study

Mathematics is a creative and highly inter-connected discipline that has been developed over centuries, providing the solution to some of history’s most intriguing problems. It is essential to everyday life, critical to science, technology and engineering, and necessary for financial literacy and most forms of employment. A high-quality mathematics education therefore provides a foundation for understanding the world, the ability to reason mathematically, an appreciation of the beauty and power of mathematics, and a sense of enjoyment and curiosity about the subject.

Aims

The national curriculum for mathematics aims to ensure that all pupils:

 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.

 reason mathematically by following a line of enquiry, conjecturing relationships and generalisations, and developing an argument, justification or proof using mathematical language

 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.

Mathematics is an interconnected subject in which pupils need to be able to move fluently between representations of mathematical ideas. The programmes of study are, by necessity, organised into apparently distinct domains, but pupils should make rich connections across mathematical ideas to develop fluency, mathematical reasoning and competence in solving increasingly sophisticated problems. They should also apply their mathematical knowledge to science and other subjects.

The expectation is that the majority of pupils will move through the programmes of study at broadly the same pace. However, decisions about when to progress should always be based on the security of pupils’ understanding and their readiness to progress to the next stage. Pupils who grasp concepts rapidly should be challenged through being offered rich and sophisticated problems before any acceleration through new content. Those who are not sufficiently fluent with earlier material should consolidate their understanding, including through additional practice, before moving on.

The Sholing Junior School's 

Maths Hall of Fame

To celebrate inclusion and diversity in Mathematics, we are going to vote on who to admit to Sholing Junior School’s Maths Hall of Fame.

We need you to explore our nominations for the Maths Hall of Fame. All of these key mathematicians are inspiring and have positively impacted the way that we live today. From Katherine Johnson, the first African-American woman to work as a NASA scientist, to Al-Khwarizmi, the man who is considered to have written the first book on algebra. But only one magical mathematician can be entered to the Maths Hall of Fame this term.

After exploring these marvellous mathematicians, we need you to choose one to research. Then, write a short description of their mathematical achievements to persuade others to vote for your nomination. Your research could be the deciding factor.

The best persuasive descriptions will be shared in assembly and may even be displayed around the school. A special vote will follow and our first miraculous mathematician will be inducted into the Hall of Fame.

All entries must be submitted to Mr Wakefield by Thursday 24^th June.

Information and communication technology (ICT)

Calculators should not be used as a substitute for good written and mental arithmetic. They should therefore only be introduced near the end of key stage 2 to support pupils’ conceptual understanding and exploration of more complex number problems, if written and mental arithmetic are secure. In both primary and secondary schools, teachers should use their judgement about when ICT tools should be used.

Spoken language

The national curriculum for mathematics reflects the importance of spoken language in pupils’ development across the whole curriculum – cognitively, socially and linguistically. The quality and variety of language that pupils hear and speak are key factors in developing their mathematical vocabulary and presenting a mathematical justification, argument or proof. They must be assisted in making their thinking clear to themselves as well as others and teachers should ensure that pupils build secure foundations by using discussion to probe and remedy their misconceptions.