The Maths curriculum at Grove School

Our aim as a school is to support our children:

• To become fluent in the fundamentals of mathematics, through access to varied and frequent practice with increasingly complex problems over time. To develop conceptual understanding and the ability to recall and apply knowledge rapidly and accurately

• To be able to reason mathematically by following a line of enquiry, understanding relationships and generalisations, and developing an argument, justification or proof using mathematical language

• To be able to solve problems by applying their mathematics with increasing sophistication, including breaking down problems into a series of simpler steps and persevering in finding a mathematical answer

Delivering Maths lessons at Grove School

The whole class is taught together through a mastery approach. Lessons are scaffolded for children that need their understanding strengthened. Depth is promoted as the lesson progresses. Additional depth activities are available for children at various points within the lesson, for those children that have a strong understanding of the concept.

We use the White Rose maths scheme of learning to support our teaching. We spend longer on topic areas, rather than revisiting topics term on term. This allows a greater depth of understanding in subject areas, as small steps are built into the planning. This is further supported with the use of the DfE Mathematics Guidance documents (2020). Along the learning journey there is time for assessment points to gauge children’s understanding and plan for intervention opportunities to address misconceptions.

Maths lessons follow this structure:

Flashback 4 – A short revisit of previously taught material.

Small step title- introducing key vocabulary 

Exploration & Discussion – each lesson may begin with a problem to solve or a real-life example, sometimes a puzzle or a game. These are engaging and fun, and designed to get all children thinking. Children will be required to demonstrate their understanding using a concrete, pictorial and abstract approach (CPA).

Shared task – the class shares their ideas and compares different ways to solve the problem, explaining their reasoning with hands-on resources and drawings to make their ideas clear. Children are able to develop their understanding of the concept with input from the teacher.
Think together – the next part of the lesson is a journey through the concept, digging deeper and deeper so that each child builds on secure foundations while being challenged to apply their understanding in different ways and with increasing independence.

Independent activity– now children practice individually, rehearsing and developing their skills to build fluency, understanding of the concept and confidence. There are opportunities for differentiation, scaffold and challenge.

Plenary - Reflection – finally, children are prompted to reflect on and record their learning from each session and show how they have grasped the concept explored in the lesson.

Through our approach in maths we are looking to develop an ‘I can’ mindset when children engage with numbers and mathematical problems.   We want at all times to reduce maths anxiety amongst the children and develop a love for those mathematical connections and explorations that are all around them.

Click this link to find out more about White Rose Hub.
Click this link to find out more about Timestable Rockstars
Click this link to find out more about our maths mastery approach

Share this page...