Why is Mathematics part of the RFA curriculum?

Mathematics is essential to everyday life, critical to science, technology and engineering, and necessary for financial literacy and most forms of employment. We aim to provide a high-quality mathematics education which will provide a foundation for understanding the world, to develop an appreciation of the beauty and power of mathematics, and a sense of enjoyment and curiosity about the subject. Our pupils will leave our primary academy as confident, resilient mathematicians, demonstrating conceptual and procedural fluency, with the ability to reason mathematically and efficiently solve problems. The RFA Maths curriculum aims to ensure that all children:

• 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.

• Can 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 nonroutine problems with increasing sophistication, including breaking

How do we teach Mathematics?

RFA uses a ‘Teaching for Mastery’ approach to support learning of mathematics. Mastery in mathematics is:

• Achievable for all

• Deep and sustainable learning

• The ability to build on something that has already been sufficiently mastered

• The ability to reason about a concept and make connections

• Conceptual and procedural fluency

Our teaching approach The teaching approached used is informed by the Effective Maths scheme.

In our maths lesson, you can expect to see:

• Whole class teaching in mixed attainment classes and in mixed attainment learning partners. We work with the assumption that all pupils are capable of achieving a high standard in mathematics.

• Pupil work is not differentiated by task. Instead, children who require more support are provided with additional structures to enable them to access the learning (such as working with concrete resources for longer or being provided with focused pre-teaching or same day intervention), and children who grasp concepts quickly will be challenged to think about particular aspects more deeply and to work on more challenging problems within the same curriculum content.

• Teaching is underpinned by methodical, coherent, curriculum design and supported by carefully crafted lessons and resources to foster deep conceptual and procedural knowledge.

• There is a big focus on developing children’s mathematical vocabulary and language. Teachers use whole class chorusing, stem sentences and repetition of key words and sentences to ensure pupils develop fluency with using mathematical vocabulary and develop precise explanations.

• Fluency has dedicated teaching time, where the focus is on developing automaticity with number facts, and applying number facts to mental arithmetic strategies as well as formal arithmetic procedures. The focus of fluency lessons is on efficiency, accuracy and flexibility. Pupils are encouraged to notice the numbers before beginning a calculation, and to identify patterns, relationships or structures which may lead to an efficient calculation strategy.

By the end of their time at RFA, all pupils will be confident, resilient mathematicians, demonstrating conceptual and procedural fluency, with the ability to reason mathematically and efficiently solve problems. They will be prepared to succeed in mathematics at KS3 and KS4. They will be numerate individuals with a love of working with number, who can apply their numeracy knowledge confidently in adult life. We will assess the impact of the maths curriculum in how well it is achieving these aims, and how pupils knowledge and application of maths is building. Regular assessments take place at the end of each unit of work to enable teachers to identify and address gaps and ensure that no pupils are getting left behind.