Maths

Maths at St Aloysius

A high-quality mathematics education 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.
(National Curriculum 2014)

At St Aloysius we have designed our curriculum to meet the needs of our children, while covering the statutory content of the Early Years Foundation Stage Statutory Framework and the National Curriculum programmes of study.

Our aim is for all pupils to:

• become fluent in the fundamentals of mathematics, including through varied and frequent practice using concrete resources, pictorial models and abstract methods. Children will face increasingly complex problems over time, so that they develop conceptual understanding and the ability to recall and apply knowledge rapidly and accurately.
• reason mathematically by following a line of enquiry, 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.

At St Aloysius we are on a journey of continued development to sustain our  teaching for mastery approach to mathematics as a whole school. Since 2019, we have taken part in several years of Mastery TRGs through North West Hub 3, starting with ‘Mastery Readiness’ and we are now ‘sustaining maths mastery’ at St Aloysius. We are proud to have a ‘Primary Mastery Specialist Teacher’ working in the school who supports the mastery journey of other schools whilst also working alongside her colleagues at St Aloysius.

As part of this teachers and staff in our school will:

• enhance their mathematical subject knowledge, emphasising key areas of maths
• learn how to establish an effective collaborative planning culture
• plan, teach and reflect collaboratively to provide a coherent mastery curriculum
• continue to refine our school structures and systems to embed and sustain mastery
• continue to ensure a sustainable model for collaborative planning and ongoing specialist subject knowledge development for all teachers.

From Reception to Year 6 all classes follow the DfE approved Power Maths scheme of work. This ensures all children have a consistent experience of maths throughout the school, with intelligent practice and variation embedded in all lessons.

To support fluency, KS1 are taking part in the NCETM Mastering Number programme including regular training for teaching staff. This involves additional 15 minute sessions in addition to Power Maths.

In Key Stage 2, Years 3 and 4 have focused daily multiplication sessions, helping them to quickly recall times tables and related facts. All KS2 classes have a 15 minute basic skills revisit and review session in addition to their daily Power Maths  lesson, enabling children to practice strategies they have previously worked on in class.

At St Aloysius, we have spent the last few years on a whole school mastery journey and we plan our maths lessons using Power Maths. This involves a whole class mastery approach to teaching and learning in maths, making every lesson engaging and challenging for all children.

Power Maths:  

• Builds every concept in small, progressive steps.
• Is built with interactive, whole-class teaching in mind.
• Provides the tools needed to develop growth mindsets.
• Establishes core elements such as intelligent practice and reflection.

All children explore mathematical problems together as we ‘discover’ the learning for the day. From Year 1 to Year 6 children have a maths journal to explore their mathematical thinking and develop explanations.  They then work with a Power Partner to ‘share’ ways they could solve the problems. Then they ‘think together’ and work through a range of problems as the teacher guides them.  Next, they are ready tackle a variety of questions independently in their practice books.

This has resulted in improving end of Key Stage assessment results in Key Stage 1 and 2, especially with reasoning and problem solving. 

When planning and teaching maths, teachers ensure all children are learning the same concept in small, cumulative steps, each finding and mastering challenge at their own level. When we  teach for mastery, EVERYONE can do maths! Those who grasp a concept easily have time to explore and understand that concept at a deeper level. The whole class therefore moves through the curriculum at broadly the same pace via individual learning journeys. We believe that with this approach, all children can make good progress and achieve their mathematical potential.