Boynton Primary School

For progression in skills and knowledge, please follow the 'progression' tab.

For progression in skills and knowledge, please follow the 'progression' tab.

Intent:

At Boynton, our intent for mathematics is to teach a rich, balanced and progressive curriculum, using Maths to reason, problem solve and develop fluent conceptual understanding in each area.  

The national curriculum for mathematics aims to ensure that all pupils:

‘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.

Reason mathematically by following a line of inquiry, 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 non-routine problems with increasing sophistication, including breaking down problems into a series of simpler steps and persevering in seeking solutions.’

We promote a maths curriculum that is creative and engaging to help children across our school become fluent mathematicians who can reason and solve a range of mathematical problems.  A curriculum which promotes the acquisition of maths skills which can be recalled quickly and fluently, transferred and applied to different contexts including other subject areas and the wider world. Our curriculum also promotes ‘deep thinking’ through making rich connections by exploration of their own ideas while applying skills and previous learning.  Not only is it our expectation that our pupils develop the skills of fluency, problem solving and reasoning set out in the national curriculum, we also aim for them to acquire a confident, courageous approach to their learning through the fostering of resilience and mutual support.

Implementation:

Our whole curriculum is shaped by our school vision which aims to enable all children, regardless of background, ability, additional needs, to flourish and to become the very best version of themselves they can possibly be.  We aim to provide enriched experience covering a broad and balanced mathematical curriculum including elements of number, calculation, geometry, measures and statistics and ensure that key mathematical vocabulary is consistently included throughout the school.  

We teach the National Curriculum, supported by a clear skills and knowledge progression. This ensures that skills and knowledge are built on year by year and sequenced appropriately to maximise learning for all children.  At Boynton, we follow the Hamilton Trust spiral curriculum which allows children to revisit each topic within a fairly short time span.  This ensures that confidence is boosted by regular encounters with a specific skill or concept.  We also use a wide variety of resources to enhance our curriculum as and when they suit the specific needs of our pupils such as the White Rose Scheme of work.  Staff at our school use their professional judgement when deciding if and when certain areas of maths need to have more or less time spent on them, rather than simply following what the scheme of work suggests. 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 a similar pace.  Differentiation is achieved by emphasising deep knowledge and through individual support and intervention.

In key stage two, there is a greater focus on times tables and fluency of number that enables the children to apply their skills as they progress. As well as a cross curricular approach, we use maths programmes such as ‘Times Tables Rockstars’ , ‘Mathletics’ and daily counting/number sessions.  Children’s fluency is developed through repeating, reinforcing and revising and through regular practising of these key skills, our children are able to build on this fluency throughout the school.

Children at Boynton work both collaboratively and independently when solving problems, which require them to persevere and develop resilience; our children are constantly reminded about the importance of perseverance when faced with solving a problem in maths.

We aim to ensure that all children move together through the learning in order to avoid gaps in understanding from forming. Long term gaps in learning are prevented through the accurate and timely assessment that leads to appropriate teacher intervention and pre-teaching. A balance of pace and consolidation is achieved by working closely with our pupils and being flexible in our approach. Those children who grasp concepts more quickly are given opportunities to deepen their knowledge and improve their reasoning skills rather than accelerating on to new curriculum content.

Assessment is carried out in several ways. Formative assessment is incredibly important at Boynton, where we focus on carefully crafted questions, analysis of work, extension work, mini plenaries and discussions with peers in lessons as an integral component to planning. We carry out summative assessments at key points in the year within our school’s monitoring and evaluating cycle.