Maths
Curriculum Intent
At Brightside Nursery Infant School we aim to ensure that our children have access to a high quality maths curriculum that is both challenging and enjoyable.
We strive to embed the National Curriculum aims that ensure children become fluent in the fundamentals of mathematics, are able to reason mathematically and can solve problems by using the skills they have learnt. We achieve this by providing our children with a variety of opportunities to gain solid, basic mathematical skills, which will enable them to make the connections in their learning and apply mathematics to a range of concepts.
Children leave Brightside as independent learners who have secure mathematical foundations which provides a bright start, leading to a brighter future.
Implementation
The content and principles underpinning the 2014 mathematics curriculum and the maths programme at Brightside reflect those of a ‘Mastery’ curriculum. These principles and features characterise this approach and convey how our curriculum is implemented:
- teachers reinforce an expectation that all children are capable of achieving high standards in mathematics
- children are taught to develop a ‘growth mindset’ and encouraged to ‘have a go’.
- the large majority of children progress through the curriculum content at the same pace.
- differentiation is achieved by emphasising deep knowledge and through individual support and intervention.
- teaching is underpinned by methodical curriculum design and supported by carefully crafted lessons and resources to foster deep conceptual and procedural knowledge.
- practise and consolidation play a central role. Carefully designed variation within this builds fluency and understanding of underlying mathematical concepts.
- teachers use precise questioning in class to test conceptual and procedural knowledge and assess children regularly to identify those requiring intervention, so that all children keep up.
To ensure whole consistency and progression, we have designed our own maths curriculum that moves through each mathematical topic progressively in blocks. Each lesson phase provides the means to achieve greater depth, with more able children being offered rich and sophisticated problems, as well as exploratory, investigative tasks, within the lesson as appropriate. Throughout school, we ensure that children are provided with concrete apparatus and pictorial aids to support and secure their learning in all areas of mathematics before moving onto an abstract approach.
Teachers use carefully planned questions to draw out children’s discussions and their reasoning. The teacher then leads children through strategies for solving the problem, including those already discussed. Independent work in KS1 provides the means for all children to develop their fluency further, before progressing to more complex related problems and investigative work. In early years, children are challenged to use and apply their mathematical skills and knowledge in focused tasks and in all areas of indoor and outdoor provision.
Early Years
The Early Years Framework is followed in nursery and reception. Children learn basic mathematical skills and concepts through planned activities in indoor and outdoor continuous provision. They practise their counting skills with numbers 1-20 and learn basic addition, subtraction, multiplication and division skills. They also explore different areas of shape, space and measure.
EYFS assessment points term by term
Key Stage 1
The National Curriculum is followed in years 1 and year 2. Pupils have a daily maths lesson and four additional mental and oral sessions per week. Lessons build on previous skills that have been learnt in nursery and reception. Pupils are challenged to develop their fluency, reasoning and problem solving skills through various tasks and investigations.
Impact
Our children make rapid progress from entry into Foundation Stage and, by the end of Key Stage 1, achieve extremely well in mathematics when compared with national and local results. Children leave Brightside with the basic skills in mathematics to recall facts and procedures and to have the flexibility and fluidity to move between different contexts and representations. Children will have mastered mathematical concepts and skills, therefore they can represent it in multiple ways, using the mathematical language to explain their ideas or present it in a pictorial or written form.
Useful Links
Key Stage 1 National Curriculum for maths (year 1 and year 2)
Early Years Foundation Stage Ages and Stages (nursery and reception)