Mathematics

At King’s Somborne Primary School our intent is to create lifelong mathematicians who have the vital skills and confidence to continue learning long after they leave us. Our aim is for all children to enjoy mathematics and have a secure and deep understanding of fundamental mathematical concepts and procedures when they leave us to go to secondary school.

In order to implement this, we have developed and continue to adapt a vibrant maths curriculum that inspires curiosity, enables our children to aspire for more, and supports them in becoming resilient learners. At the heart of our teaching and learning is a consistent Concrete, Pictorial, Abstract (CPA) approach which starts at the very beginning of every child’s learning journey in EYFS. Our commitment to the CPA approach at King’s Somborne Primary School helps our children achieve confidence in fluency and develop a mastery understanding across all operations in an efficient, reliable and consistent way.  We also engage our children in problem solving activities that encourage deep thought, calculation, re-calculation and dialogue between both pupils and teachers.  Our children become confident in their approach to maths by providing them with key skills, but we also want them to be enthusiastic learners that understand the importance of mistakes.  We want our children to know that this is part of the mathematical process, and for them to be able to reflect back upon just how successful they have been. For maths to be its most enjoyable, we have to experience getting it wrong, or not knowing how to do it, before we get it right - this is where the most satisfaction and confidence is obtained. Our no rubber policy helps to cement this understanding, and supports our children in embracing the importance of being resilient and curious in our approach to maths. Their use of self reflection during and after tasks also help us with our continuous assessment for learning; leading to a more personalised and targeted learning journey based upon  both confidence and understanding.

The impact of our curriculum is that it develops confident and competent mathematicians who can apply their skills out of context; meaning that they understand what they are asked to do, and explore a range of ways to find a solution, as opposed to just understanding how to get the answer correct. Our children will make targeted progress in maths, and consolidate key skills that will help them to reach their targets year on year. Our 'Every Piece, Every Time' expectations helps to build in high aspirations and expectations that support our children in achieving all of their potential.

Support for Parents/Carers

Many parents often ask which methods we use in school to add, subtract, multiply and divide. Please have a look at our method progression documents below which might help, as well as the video which outlines our approach the the teaching and learning of Mathematics at King's Somborne C of E. If you are still unsure, please don't hesitate to ask your child's class teacher - we would be delighted to help.

We know that our children learn best when they are inspired, engaged and motivated. To achieve this, our teachers draw upon a range of support documents that collectively form the framework and foundation of how we teach maths at King’s Somborne.

To find out more, read the brief description of each document outlining their purpose and enjoy learning about our approach to teaching and learning in mathematics. We hope that these documents support Parents/Carers in teaching and exploring maths at home in a manner which the children are familiar with from their experiences in school.

Please don't hesitate to ask your child's class teacher for further support - we would be delighted to help.

Mathematics Policy

This policy aims to support and challenge children in their Maths learning and provide a clear and consistent approach to teaching and learning in this school. This will support children in making progress, and support teachers in delivering the requirements of the National Curriculum in a way which best supports our children.

Skills Progression and Curriculum Coverage

We ensure that our children are taught appropriate skills and curriculum topics in a sequence that best supports their learning and understanding. This document outlines when skills/topic areas are taught and how they build and develop within year groups and across the school.

CPA Guidance

To secure a deep and connected understanding of fundamental mathematical concepts, we believe that a consistent Concrete, Pictorial, Abstract (CPA) approach must be used from the very start of our children’s learning journey in EYFS. This document outlines appropriate visual representations to support conceptual understanding of key ideas (addition, subtraction, multiplication and division) through a CPA approach for children in each year group.

Calculation Progression Guidance

The aim of this document is to share with parents the methods of calculations used in King’s Somborne school so that we all work together to support our children’s learning.