Kaizen Primary School

Intent

‘Mathematics is a creative and highly interconnected discipline that has been developed over centuries, providing the solution to some of history’s most intriguing problems. It is essential to everyday life, critical to science, technology and engineering, and necessary for financial literacy and most forms of employment. A high-quality mathematics education therefore provides a foundation for understanding the world, the ability to reason mathematically, an appreciation of the beauty and power of mathematics, and a sense of enjoyment and curiosity about the subject.’

The 2014 National Curriculum for Maths aims to ensure that all children:

• Become fluent in the fundamentals of Mathematics
• Are able to reason mathematically
• Can solve problems by applying their Mathematics

At Kaizen Primary School, these skills are embedded within Maths lessons and are developed consistently over time. We are committed to ensuring that children are able to recognise the importance of Maths in the wider world and that they are also able to use their mathematical skills and knowledge confidently in their lives in a range of different contexts. We want all children to enjoy Mathematics and to experience success in the subject, with the ability to reason mathematically. We are committed to developing children’s curiosity about the subject, as well as an appreciation of the beauty and power of Mathematics.

Implementation

We understand that children have missed opportunities of learning because of the COVID outbreak and the resulting distance and blended learning models that were used in the previous school years. Our current teaching model ensures that any missed opportunities are addressed before teaching new concepts and topics. This pre teaching approach ensures that children are able to access the new learning and build upon their knowledge and skills. 

The considerable task of planning for curriculum coverage in this context is felt in maths perhaps more acutely than in any other subject. An adapted curriculum this year is used to:

• support children to recover any learning missed as a result of lockdown
• build on children’s current levels of understanding.

It became clear that it would be imperative to remap mathematical content for the whole of the academic year for each year group with the aim of:

1. maintaining overall coverage and progression within core concepts 
2. ensuring curriculum consistency for our children i.e. if individual teachers were to adapt the curriculum the outcomes would be variable in quality and inconsistent across year groups. 
3. ensuring learning from the Spring and Summer term of the previous academic year is built upon, whilst also covering necessary content for this academic year. 

The content and principles underpinning the 2014 Mathematics curriculum and the Maths curriculum at Kaizen Primary School reflect those found in high-performing education systems internationally, particularly those of east and south-east Asian countries such as Singapore, Japan, South Korea and China. 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.
• 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.
• Practice 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, the school uses the DfE approved ‘White Rose’ scheme. This is fully aligned with the White Rose Maths scheme and the school’s ongoing engagement with the DFE funded Maths Hubs programme continues to ensure that staff at all levels understand the pedagogy of the approach. New concepts are shared within the context of an initial related problem, which children are able to discuss in partners. This initial problem-solving activity prompts discussion and reasoning, as well as promoting an awareness of maths in relatable real-life contexts that link to other areas of learning. In KS1, these problems are almost always presented with objects (concrete manipulatives) for children to use. Children may also use manipulatives in KS2. Teachers use careful questions to draw out children’s discussions and their reasoning. The class teacher then leads children through strategies for solving the problem, including those already discussed. Independent work provides the means for all children to develop their fluency further, before progressing to more complex related problems. Mathematical topics are taught in blocks, to enable the achievement of ‘mastery’ over time. 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. Aspects of the maths curriculum are embedded in learning within the provision of SEND learning to ensure that all children have access to a broad and balanced curriculum. Themes are planned throughout the year that allow for maths skills and knowledge to be embedded and built upon. Children with high levels of need have a broad curriculum offer, linking into National Curriculum themes, but with scaffolded learning which meets their needs, ensuring they are also making good progress from their initial starting points.

Impact

White Rose Maths ensures that children can progress through this year’s curriculum content, whilst also revisiting content missed in the two terms prior to this academic year. It also provides high quality lessons allowing children to continue progressing if moving in and out of home learning because of self-isolation or lockdown. The school has a supportive ethos and our approaches support the children in developing their collaborative and independent skills, as well as empathy and the need to recognise the achievement of others. Children can underperform in Mathematics because they think they cannot do it or are not naturally good at it. The White Rose programme addresses these preconceptions by ensuring that all children experience challenge and success in Mathematics by developing a growth mindset. Regular and ongoing assessment informs teaching, as well as intervention, to support and enable the success of each child. These factors ensure that we are able to maintain high standards, with achievement at the end of KS2 well above the national average and a high proportion of children demonstrating greater depth, at the end of each phase.

Please click here to see the subject overview for Maths.

Maths Future Me