Wootey Infant School – Maths

'Staff constantly check pupils’ learning and provide appropriate support. This effective support helps pupils to listen, concentrate and engage well in their learning in class.'

Ofsted October 2024

Intent

At Wootey, we believe mathematics is an integral part of a child’s learning experience. We provide opportunities for our children to see maths as being relevant to their world now and throughout their life and become confident mathematicians developing resilience and perseverance when faced with mathematical challenges. Children are taught to use previous mathematical knowledge and make links between different mathematical concepts. We value the importance of mathematical talk to explore and understand mathematical concepts. Mathematical vocabulary is developed throughout school and children are encouraged to use it when explaining their methods, thinking or proving their understanding. Throughout our school children are regularly exposed to increasingly complex problem solving, which allows them to develop their mathematical knowledge and their ability to work logically and identify patterns. We provide a challenging and fun mathematical curriculum that builds fluency, reasoning and problem solving skills.

Implementation:

Our Maths learning journey at Wootey is designed in a spiral curriculum. Key concepts are presented repeatedly throughout the curriculum building on prior learning allowing for retrieval practice and opportunities to reinforce understanding. Appropriate models, images, concrete resources and visual representations are introduced, modelled and used throughout the curriculum. We use a CPA (Concrete, Pictorial, Abstract) approach.

In EYFS, children are given the building blocks of maths. We ensure that the six main areas that collectively underpin children’s early mathematical learning as identified by NCETM, provide the firm foundations for the maths that our children will encounter as they grow through the school.

These are: 

• Cardinality and Counting: understanding that the cardinal value of a number refers to the quantity, or ‘howmanyness’ of things it represents
• Comparison: understanding that comparing numbers involves knowing which numbers are worth more or less than each other
• Composition: understanding that one number can be made up from (composed from) two or more smaller numbers
• Pattern: looking for and finding patterns helps children notice and understand mathematical relationships
• Shape and Space: understanding what happens when shapes move, or combine with other shapes, helps develop wider mathematical thinking
• Measures: comparing different aspects such as length, weight and volume, as a preliminary to using units to compare later.

Continuous Provision and enhancements in EYFS provide the children with planned purposeful play, quality resources and a mix of adult-led and child-initiated activities that support and develop their mathematical skills.

Across the school we have adopted the ‘Mastering Number Approach’ a non-negotiable in our daily diet where we have the opportunity to explore number through the key concepts of subitising, cardinality, counting, composition and comparison. A key part of this daily diet allows each child to use the vocabulary and stem sentences related to number.

Teachers support learners on their journey in maths with high quality teaching and questioning. Teachers provide timely feedback to allow learners to understand their progress and next steps.

Across Key Stage 1 we follow a progression in the formal calculation strategies that gives an overview of the four operations (addition, subtraction, multiplication and division). Manipulatives and visual representations are used alongside the more formal recording of a strategy to ensure pupils develop both a conceptual and procedural understanding of a mathematical concept. Further details of multi-representations to support conceptual understanding/ mental fluency are detailed in our unit plans.

How to help your child

Take a look at these links with short clips showing great ideas and everyday activities to help your child love maths.

Concrete-Pictorial-Abstract

The concrete-pictorial-abstract approach, based on research by psychologist Jerome Bruner, suggests that there are three steps (or representations) necessary for pupils to develop understanding of a concept. Reinforcement is achieved by going back and forth between these representations.

Click link below for more information.