Mathematics

Maths at Harriers Banbury Academy

Intent, Implementation and Impact

Intent

At Harriers Banbury Academy, our intention is to shape enthusiastic, creative and articulate mathematicians. We aim to encourage our pupils’ curiosity and understanding of the world around them and provide them with the skills to approach everyday problems.

We intend that our pupils will become fluent in the fundamentals of mathematics so they develop conceptual understanding and the ability to recall knowledge and apply this knowledge accurately. Our pupils will reason mathematically by following lines of enquiry. They will use mathematical language to describe patterns and relationships, make generalisations and justify their arguments. Pupils will also solve problems by applying their knowledge to a range of problems, including real-life scenarios.

Implementation

We use White Rose Education to help us plan a comprehensive maths curriculum that has a clear progression of knowledge and skills. Maths is taught daily through whole-class lessons which are carefully planned to develop and strengthen children’s mathematical understanding.

Key concepts are broken into small steps to ensure all pupils are able to access the learning. Our pupils build on their prior knowledge which allows them to consolidate key skills before learning something new. This enables our pupils to gain a deep understanding of mathematical concepts so that learning is maintained over time. We use appropriate support and scaffolding in all lessons, including the use of mathematical manipulatives and visual representations to develop conceptual understanding as well as planned interventions.

Our pupils are encouraged to make mistakes and discuss misconceptions in a safe and supportive environment. All pupils have opportunities to challenge themselves through the use of deeper thinking questions and discussions about efficient approaches to problems they may face.

In addition to the daily maths lessons, pupils also take part in daily arithmetic sessions. These provide an opportunity to practise key number facts and arithmetic skills. The sessions are planned, taught and focused, encouraging children to make connections, see patterns, build their arithmetical fluency and work together to explore mathematical ideas and conjectures.

Impact

Our pupils demonstrate confidence in maths and they are engaged in their learning. Pupils and adults alike enjoy maths lessons because they are carefully crafted with opportunities to revisit and deepen thinking as appropriate.

Pupil attainment is tracked and monitored to ensure all pupils make good progress. To do this we use ongoing teacher assessment, low-stake quizzes, Times Tables Rock Stars and formative assessment. We consider that a skill has been mastered when a pupil can show it in multiple ways, using mathematical language to explain their ideas, and they can independently apply the concept to new problems in unfamiliar situations.