Maths

At Paddox we have adopted a mastery approach to Mathematics in order to deliver the three aims of the National Curriculum, fluency, reasoning and problem solving. Underpinning this pedagogy is a belief that all children can achieve in Maths. We believe in promoting sustained and deepening understanding by employing a variety of mastery strategies, with teaching for conceptual understanding at the heart of everything we do.

Our approach aims to provide all children with full access to the curriculum, enabling them to develop independence, confidence and competence – ‘mastery’ in mathematics in order to be independent mathematicians who are well equipped to apply their learning to the wider world.

Children at Paddox follow the Mathematics Mastery programme of learning.  The Mathematics Mastery curriculum is cumulative – each school year begins with focus on the concepts and skills that have the most connections, and this concept is then applied and connected throughout the school year to consolidate learning. This gives pupils the opportunity to ‘master maths’, by using previous learning throughout the school year. These skills are developed by applying the 3 Dimensions of Depth to teaching and learning:

1. Conceptual understanding
2. Language and communication
3. Mathematical thinking

These underpin the Mathematics Mastery approach because together they enable pupils to develop a deep understanding in mathematics. If a pupil has a meaningful understanding of the maths they are learning, they will be able to represent it in different ways, use mathematical language to communicate related ideas and think mathematically with the concept. This will enable them to apply their understanding to a new problem in an unfamiliar situation.

We help children to develop their Mathematical language and communication skills by encouraging all pupils to answer mathematical questions with a focus on the correct mathematical vocabulary and through the use of sentence stems for mathematical reasoning. Mathematical vocabulary is shared at the start of each lesson with an expectation that this is used during ‘Talk Tasks’ with their peers and throughout the lesson. One of the reasons we explicitly teach mathematical language and insist on all pupils using it in sentences is because of the complexity of the language required to be a competent and confident mathematician. Mathematics has a precise formal language, which is distinct from everyday language.

Maths Meetings are a vital part of the Mathematics Mastery programme and are used to consolidate key learning outside of the maths lesson. Maths Meetings provide an opportunity to teach and revise ‘general knowledge maths’ which may not explicitly be covered during the maths lesson. This enables pupils to practise applying concepts and skills on a regular basis, meaning they are continually building on their mastery of these concepts. At the centre of the mastery approach to the teaching of mathematics is the belief that all pupils have the potential to succeed. They should have access to the same curriculum content and, rather than being extended with new learning, they should deepen their conceptual understanding by tackling challenging and varied problems. Similarly, with calculation strategies, pupils must not simply rote learn procedures but demonstrate their understanding of these procedures through the use of concrete materials and pictorial representations.

Each Mathematics Mastery lesson, is provided in a six-part lesson structure. The Dimensions of Depth underpin the six-part lesson. Each part provides opportunities to focus on conceptual understanding, language and communication and mathematical thinking for the mathematical concept being covered.

The six-part lesson consists of:

• Do Now: This is a quick five-minute task that all pupils can access without any teacher input as an introduction to the mathematics lesson.
• New Learning: The New Learning segment introduces the lesson’s main mathematical concepts.
• Talk Task or Let’s Explore: The Talk Task or Let’s Explore is a chance for all pupils to practise using mathematical vocabulary related to the lesson’s concept.
• Develop Learning: This segment builds on the New Learning and develops a deeper understanding of the maths concepts of that lesson. It also addresses misconceptions or inaccuracies discovered during the preceding segment.
• Independent Task: The Independent Task provides pupils with the opportunity to practise the learning from that lesson. This may be independently and/or in pairs/small groups. Here we offer additional ‘deepen the moment’ activities to challenge the children to deepen their application and understanding further following the original task set. To challenge our most able mathematicians, we also provide a ‘deeper deepen the moment’ which is a complex challenge that pupils can revisit lesson on lesson, too.
• Plenary: The Plenary segment recaps on the lesson, checking understanding and celebrating success.

Children at Paddox have a consistent approach to the teaching of Maths which will avoid any gaps in learning becoming apparent. The immersive approach to Maths through Maths Meetings, lessons is where the main impact will be, however children will utilise their mathematical knowledge across the curriculum. Termly, pupils will complete formal assessments provided by Ark Curriculum which allows pupils to showcase their knowledge independently. Similarly, the outcomes will be taken into account by the class teacher, along with their performance within lessons, to assess their level of working. The strands to the Maths Mastery scheme will ensure children leave Paddox as confident and competent mathematicians that are prepared for secondary school and beyond.