The Curriculum
Our curriculum embraces the aims of the National Curriculum, ensuring that children:
- become fluent in the fundamentals of mathematics, including through varied and frequent practice with increasingly complex problems over time, so that they 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
Teachers use the NCETM Long Term Planning guides as the basis for their planning, drawing additionally on White Rose Maths and Power Maths supporting the development of reasoning and problem solving alongside fluency to ensure challenge and ambition for all pupils but maintain the freedom to make changes and adaptations to suit the different needs of their pupils.
Learning is broken down into a sequence of ‘blocks’ of mathematics and within each block as ‘small steps’ which are again sequenced in order of difficulty and dependency. Each step builds carefully from the previous one, building on pupils’ prior knowledge to develop new skills.
Pupils revisit topics in different contexts and in different years to develop and deepen their understanding.
To ensure that pupils remember long-term the content that they have been taught, each lesson begins with a brief, daily review of prior knowledge using the principle of spaced learning to revisit questions from the previous lesson, month, term and year. New subject-specific vocabulary is also introduced, clarified and defined at the start of each lesson.
Throughout each maths lesson, new content is taught through small steps to support children on their learning journey. Pupils work on layered tasks which progress through supported and independent practice, allowing them to secure their new skills and deepen their understanding.
Through mathematical talk, children develop their ability to articulate and discuss their thinking. The quality and variety of language that pupils hear and speak are key factors in developing their mathematical vocabulary, allowing them to present mathematical justifications, arguments and proofs. High-quality mathematical talk is a key component of maths lessons at Hillbrook. Teachers assist pupils to make their thinking clear to themselves as well as others and ensure that they build secure foundations by using discussion to probe thinking and remedy misconceptions.
In the Early Years and Years 1 & 2, daily Mastering Number sessions allow pupils further opportunities to practice key skills. There are regular opportunities for pupils to develop their ability to recall at speed key mathematical facts. In Year 1 pupils practice number bonds and simple addition and subtraction while in years 2-6 pupils use Times Tables Rockstars to aid their recall of multiplication and division facts. This practice of recall at speed sits alongside the development of pupils’ deepening conceptual understanding of the 4 operations (addition, subtraction, multiplication and division) developed during lessons through the use of concrete resources and pictorial representations.
Our mathematics curriculum is accessible to all through our use of planning which builds progressively on previously acquired knowledge and skills. We aim to maximise the development of every child’s ability and academic achievement. All pupils have access to the same curriculum content and, rather than being extended with new learning, opportunities are provided for pupils to deepen their conceptual understanding by tackling varied and challenging problems.
Maths Curriculum Overview