White Rose Maths
At Wood End , our long-term aim is to produce an ambitious, connected curriculum accessible to all children right through from Reception to the end of Year 6. We believe that mathematics is an interconnected subject which runs parallel to the essential skills required in the world of science, engineering and technology.
We adopt the White Rose Maths scheme as a planning tool, but adapt according to the needs of our children at that time. This adaptation is based upon summative assessment gap information, ongoing formative teaching judgements and pupil feedback.
Following the White Rose Maths scheme, our mathematics curriculum will not only cover all the content of the National Curriculum, but will provide a range of opportunities to develop children into mathematical thinkers. We want our children to become fluent in the fundamentals of mathematics, to be able to reason and to solve problems.
White Rose Maths supports children to become:
- Visualisers – we use concrete, pictorial and abstract representations to help children understand mathematics and to make connections.
- Describers – we place great emphasis on mathematical language and questioning so children can discuss the mathematics they are doing, and so support them to take ideas further. We supplement this with Vocabulary Ninja, which is regularly used on working walls and in children’s exercise books.
- Experimenters – as well as being fluent mathematicians, we want children to love and learn more about mathematics.
Every year group will follow a carefully structured scheme of learning, which builds on prior learning and develops the key skills needed to be successful throughout the year. There is a cumulative approach across each year group to develop the build-up of skills from Reception to Year 6.
Lessons consist of six parts:
- Vocabulary – key words/phrases that will be used throughout the lesson/block
- Assessment for Learning – an opportunity to check pupil starting points
- Let’s Learn – the teaching element to the lesson
- Talk Task – an opportunity for the children to put their learning into practice and another opportunity for the teacher to assess for learning.
- Independent Task – children receive carefully adapted activities which are tailored to support all children in the classroom, for example, providing enabling tools for support or extending prompts for challenge.
- Plenary – the opportunity to address misconceptions, peer assess or challenge.
Every lesson includes the opportunity to develop fluency skills, construct chains of reasoning using relevant knowledge alongside relevant terminology and solve increasingly complex problems in a systematic and coherent way. We will often supplement White Rose with additional resources, such as NCETM and NRICH to ensure we are providing the best quality lessons for our children.
* NEW Guided Maths
This session happens weekly and is used to assess the security of prior knowledge before starting the next unit of learning. This helps remind pupils of what they have done previously and ensures teachers plan effectively based on prior knowledge.
Maths Meetings
White Rose Maths is a blocked learning scheme and as a consequence, certain strands of maths are not covered until later in the year. To ensure frequent timely introduction and revisiting of concepts, we deliver Maths Meetings daily, which are short 10-minute sessions designed to provide opportunities to regularly rehearse and practise key skills allowing consolidation of previous knowledge and skills.
Times Table Rockstars
We believe it is imperative that children are secure in their knowledge of Times Tables and related divisional facts by the end of Year 4. Times Tables are integrated within so many mathematical concepts, it is our aim to ensure all children are equipped with quick recall in order to access the Upper KS2 Curriculum. Our children engage in regular practice on Times Table Rockstars, at school and at home, particularly in Year 3 and 4.
10 for 10
Children are expected to complete weekly mental arithmetic tests which aim to develop children’s quick recall and working memory of fluency questions. Children will receive these weekly to practise at home, before a test in school. The aim of this is to allow them to practise and apply taught skills regularly, as well as provide teachers with opportunities to assess for learning, support children with gaps in their learning or challenge further.