Intent, Implementation and Impact of Mathematics at Sparsholt C of E Primary School

Intent

Mathematics teaching at Sparsholt C of E Primary School shapes confident, competent and resilient mathematicians who relish challenges and show courage when engaging in mathematics. We follow the White Rose scheme of learning (Years 1 – 6) and through this mastery approach we expect our learners to become independent, reflective and creative thinkers who have a deep understanding of mathematical concepts and structures. Through the successful implementation of our wider curriculum, our learners develop numerical fluency with opportunities to problem solve and reason by applying maths in a variety of ways and context. It is our intention that all children have a positive and knowledgeable experience of learning maths throughout their time at Sparsholt, enabling them to become lifelong lovers and users of mathematics.

Implementation

At Sparsholt, we implement our adapted White Rose curriculum using a mastery approach. This includes paying attention to mathematical structure through good-quality task design and secure subject knowledge from teachers, enabling misconceptions to be identified and addressed in a timely fashion. The consistent use of models, images and structural representations is a crucial feature of our teaching at Sparsholt. It ensures that all learners feel confident and able to access key concepts with success.

In order to maintain pupil progression in their mathematical knowledge and understanding, teachers at Sparsholt use high-quality questioning and effective assessment for learning tasks to plan next steps – as well as recognising when additional tasks or reviews are required to further cement understanding.

Staff also refer to the school’s Calculation Policy when teaching formal methods, understanding that sometimes children find their own efficient methods along the way. Lessons at Sparsholt include a variety of fluency, problem solving and reasoning tasks appropriate for the age and stage of the children. We use flexible grouping to allow for constant assessment and differentiation without limiting the children’s progress. We track the progress with termly assessments from White Rose Maths as well as teacher assessments at the end of each block taught.

As subject leader, the successful embedding of the White Rose curriculum is a planned monitoring calendar to ensure a consistent and effective approach across all year groups. It also ensures that teaching staff are able to work together to ensure that children in mixed age classes are given equal access to the curriculum.

Impact

The impact of our Maths at Sparsholt aims to create confident, competent and resilient mathematicians. This is evidenced by improved outcomes for pupils in every year group and clear progression in maths skills. This will be seen in end of Key Stage statutory assessments and accurate teacher assessment at transition times. Our learners will move to the next stage of their education as courageous and creative mathematicians, who will be able to access increasingly complex problems – both in and out of the classroom.