Mathematics
When teaching at Homer, we intend to provide a curriculum which caters for the needs of all individuals and sets them up with the necessary skills and knowledge for them to become successful in their future adventures. We aim to prepare them for a successful working life. We incorporate sustained levels of challenge through varied and high quality activities with a focus on fluency, reasoning and problem solving.
Mastery
Pupils are required to explore maths in depth, using mathematical vocabulary to reason and explain their working. A wide range of mathematical resources are used and pupils are taught to show their workings in concrete, pictorial and abstract form wherever suitable. They are taught to explain their choice of methods and develop their mathematical reasoning skills. Our curriculum allows children to better make sense of the world around them relating the pattern between mathematics and everyday life.
High Expectations and Mastery
All children are expected to succeed and make progress from their starting points.
Modelling
Teachers teach the skills needed to succeed in mathematics providing examples of good practice and having high expectations.
A Vocabulary Rich Environment
We intend to create a vocabulary rich environment, where peer talk is a key learning tool for all pupils. Pre teaching key vocabulary is a driver for pupil understanding and develops the confidence of pupils to explain mathematically.
Pattern and Connection Identification
All children will have opportunities to identify patterns or connections in their maths; they can use this to predict and reason and to also develop their own patterns or links in maths and other subjects.
The Teaching of Fluency
We intend for all pupils to become fluent in the fundamentals of mathematics, including through a varied and frequent practice with increasing complex problems over time, so that pupils develop conceptual understand and the ability to recall and apply knowledge.
The Teaching of Reasoning
We intend for all pupils to reason mathematical by following a line of enquiry, conjecturing relationships and generalisations, and developing an argument, justification or proof using mathematical language.
The Teaching of Problem Solving
We intend for all pupils to solve problem 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.
This is underpinned by:
- Quality modelling
- High expectations and mastery
- A vocabulary rich environment
- The teaching of fluency, reasoning and problem-solving which threads through our curriculum.
- Children will make connections between the maths they have learnt throughout their time in school.
Rationale:
It is a highly effective approach to teaching maths based on research and evidence. It builds students' mathematical fluency without the need for rote learning. It introduces new concepts using Bruner's Concrete Pictorial Abstract (CPA) approach. It is designed to meet the needs of every learner, textbooks feature a spiralled lesson approach that builds a long-term, stable understanding of maths. Adopting the same concepts and textbooks across the boards means teachers, students, and parents will always be on the same page when it comes to maths. That means crystal clear student data, better collaboration, and a consistent learning experience for every pupil. Resources, communication, learning — make maths better for everyone.
