Maths Curriculum Rationale

Maths teaching at West Malling is clearly structured and the learning process ensures every child masters each maths concept securely and deeply. For each year group, the curriculum is broken down into core concepts, taught in units. A unit divides into smaller learning steps – lessons. Step by step, strong foundations of cumulative knowledge and understanding are built.

We use Power Maths to allow pupils to revisit and build on concepts each term and yearly. We use the concrete, pictorial and abstract (CPA) approach to sequence our lesson content to provide children with the necessary scaffolds to access the learning within a lesson.

Substantive knowledge

Our progressive objectives identify what pupils should know by the end of each year group and link to their prior learning. Pupils will develop a deep understanding of Key concepts which are identified as the core knowledge and skills required to successfully achieve in maths. The key concepts are revisited and developed as the pupils move through the school to ensure their knowledge and skills are firmly embedded within their long term memory. The expectation is that, by the end of Primary School, children will know and understand these key concepts and will give them a solid foundation to enter the maths curriculum at KS3.

Key concepts:
• Number and Place Value
• Addition and Subtraction
• Multiplication and Division
• Geometry
• Statistics
• Measures
• Fractions, Decimals and Percentages

Disciplinary knowledge

At West Malling we teach for Mastery and we empower every child to understand and succeed. We work to develop a growth mindset and encourage hard work, practice and a willingness to see mistakes as learning tools. To develop mastery in maths children need to be enabled to acquire a deep understanding of maths concepts, structures and procedures, step by step. Complex mathematical concepts are built on simpler conceptual components and when children understand every step in the learning sequence, maths becomes transparent and makes logical sense.

Interactive lessons establish deep understanding in small steps, as well as effortless fluency in key facts such as tables and number bonds. The whole class works on the same content and no child is left behind.

We strive for children to:
▪ 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.
▪ 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.