Maths

Subject Overview

At Cordwalles, our mathematics curriculum is based on the National Curriculum and is developed in collaboration with the local NCETM Maths Hub. Our goal is to deliver a mathematics curriculum that is inclusive, inspiring, and engaging, ensuring that our students become numerate, creative, independent, inquisitive and confident learners. We adopt a mastery approach, centered around the NCETM Spines, which ensures that pupils spend ample time on each unit. This allows them to become secure in using and applying their new skills before progressing to new concepts. By breaking the curriculum into small, manageable steps, we enable pupils to deepen their understanding. As they advance through the curriculum, they continuously build and extend their skills and knowledge.

Intent

Mathematics at Cordwalles is ambitious and aligns with the National Curriculum standards for each key stage. Our vision for teaching mathematics focuses on fostering a positive attitude towards numbers and an enjoyment of maths lessons. Through precise teaching, pupils will develop fluency in number facts and a strong understanding of key mathematical knowledge and skills, leading to a secure and deep comprehension of mathematical concepts. Maths lessons at Cordwalles aim to enhance pupils' abilities to reason, problem-solve and think logically. We encourage mathematical curiosity, motivating children to ask questions that enhance and deepen their own knowledge and understanding. We recognise that maths plays an integral part of developing and enriching a child’s understanding of the world around them.  A secure understanding of maths is vital in allowing children to develop real-life practical skills such as reasoning logically and thinking in abstract ways, whilst also helping them to achieve well in other subjects such as science, computing, history and geography.

Implementation

At Cordwalles, we utilise a variety of teaching and learning styles in mathematics to create an engaging curriculum. Our approach is grounded in research and evidence on how pupils best learn and secure knowledge. Learning is delivered in small, coherent steps to ensure that all students can access the material effectively. We place a strong emphasis on number fact fluency, using the Number Sense program, to enable pupils to easily access other areas of mathematics. Various representations, such as tens frames, number beads, number lines, Numicon, Dienes and place value counters support pupils by making mathematical concepts visible and understandable. In addition to developing fluency in arithmetic skills, our curriculum emphasises reasoning and mathematical thinking. We provide opportunities for students to apply their skills and understanding in everyday contexts, encouraging them to enquire, deepen, and explore their understanding through discussions, investigations and open-ended problems. Pupils are encouraged to talk mathematically, always explaining their answers using precise vocabulary, stem sentences, and generalisations. Regular CPD is provided to teachers and LSAs to enable them to successfully deliver the maths curriculum. Good practice is shared between teachers (both within Cordwalles and across the GLF Trust) and all members of staff are encouraged to continually reflect on their own practice.

What a “Typical Lesson” looks like

Maths is taught daily for 1 hour and 15 minutes at Cordwalles. Each lesson typically includes:

• A ping-pong style lesson approach, introducing learning in small, manageable steps.

• Exploration of a range of concrete, pictorial, and abstract representations to support understanding.

• Opportunities for children to clearly and confidently explain their learning using generalisations and stem sentences.

• Correct use of mathematical vocabulary by both children and adults.

• Development of oracy skills through activities like talk partners and echo reading.

• Rapid and effective addressing of misconceptions by the teacher or LSA.

• Explicit links made to other areas of learning.

In addition to daily maths lessons, each class participates in a 15-minute Number Sense Times Tables Fluency session after lunch, ensuring fluency in the 36 essential multiplication facts.

Inclusion

Mastery is an inclusive teaching approach that emphasises the importance of differentiated teaching strategies, rather than differentiated content, to enable all pupils to progress together. At Cordwalles, we believe that every child can achieve their potential with sufficient high-quality teaching and adequate time, therefore appropriate scaffold and challenge is considered within every lesson. Our class teachers, in collaboration with the SENDCo, use their knowledge of individual pupils to ensure that the needs of all learners are met in each maths lesson. Common approaches include:

• Targeted interventions to provide additional support.

• Scaffolding to build on prior knowledge and support learning.

• Use of manipulatives to aid conceptual understanding.

• Highly skilled questioning throughout the lesson to deepen or support understanding.

• Tasks that require children to think deeply about their learning.

By employing these strategies, we ensure that all children, including those with SEN, can engage with and benefit from our mathematics curriculum.

Assessment & Impact

The following methods are used to assess progress and measure impact:

• Retrieval practice embedded in every lesson
• Reflective approaches to teaching and learning providing opportunities for all in every lesson
• Regular learning walks, book looks and pupil voice surveys to monitor the teaching of maths
• Termly assessments and subsequently data analysis.

The maths subject lead and SLT regularly monitor the quality and impact of our mathematics curriculum through targeted learning walks, book looks and professional dialogue.

Progression of Knowledge and Skills Year 3-6

Year 3 Yearly Overview

Year 4 Yearly Overview

Year 5 Yearly Overview

Year 6 Yearly Overview