Bolsover Church of England Junior School
Maths
It's in everything!
"Mathematics is not about numbers, equations, computations or algorithms: it is about understanding”
(William Paul Thurston)
Subject Intent
At Bolsover we foster positive attitudes, interest and excitement of discovery through understanding the teaching and learning of mathematical concepts using Power Maths scheme of work. We aim for our children to recognise themselves as Mathematicians through a persevering mind set and recognise maths is an integral part of the world. We aim for our pupils to use and understand mathematical language and recognise its importance as a language for communication and thinking.
Maths lessons provide the opportunity for children to use concrete and pictorial resources to represent a concept or practise a newly taught skill. Classroom environments support this as each classroom has their own maths resource area. Children are encouraged, independently, to make use of these resources to support their learning.
For further information about the Concrete and Pictorial Approach, check out this part of our website here.
At Bolsover we believe in the concrete – pictorial – abstract principle, where children need to use resources to ‘do’ and ‘see’ the Maths, before using images, and then being able to work independently. This does not just happen during children’s early years, but throughout their Maths learning. For example, Upper Key Stage 2 children would use Base10 resources to ‘see’ calculations with decimals before being able to ‘do’ the Maths without them.
The Bar Method is used to support children in understanding and solving word problems. It begins in Early Years, where 1 symbol represents 1 unit, and progresses up the school where the bar represents a quantity.
Click on these links to find out more about the bar method. Also, parents can download the document showing the Progression in Bar Method Problem Solving.
Progression in Bar Model Problem solving
Subject co-ordinator
The subject co-coordinator for maths in school is Miss Abbie Jepson, who can be contacted on 01246 822324, or via our school email at info@bolsover-jun.derbyshire.sch.uk. Our maths nominated governor is Mrs Pamela Hall who can be contacted via the same contacts above.
Purpose of study
Mathematics is a creative and highly inter-connected discipline that has been developed
over centuries, providing the solution to some of history’s most intriguing problems. It is
essential to everyday life, critical to science, technology and engineering, and necessary
for financial literacy and most forms of employment. A high-quality mathematics education
therefore 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.
Aims
The national curriculum for mathematics aims to ensure that all pupils:
- become fluent in the fundamentals of mathematics, including through varied and
frequent practice with increasingly complex problems over time, so that pupils 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 nonroutine problems with increasing sophistication, including breaking down problems into
a series of simpler steps and persevering in seeking solutions.#
Mathematics is an interconnected subject in which pupils need to be able to move fluently
between representations of mathematical ideas. The programmes of study are, by
necessity, organised into apparently distinct domains, but pupils should make rich
connections across mathematical ideas to develop fluency, mathematical reasoning and
competence in solving increasingly sophisticated problems. They should also apply their
mathematical knowledge to science and other subjects.
The expectation is that the majority of pupils will move through the programmes of study at
broadly the same pace. However, decisions about when to progress should always be
based on the security of pupils’ understanding and their readiness to progress to the next
stage. Pupils who grasp concepts rapidly should be challenged through being offered rich
and sophisticated problems before any acceleration through new content. Those who are
not sufficiently fluent with earlier material should consolidate their understanding, including
through additional practice, before moving on.
The National Curriculum for Mathematics aims ensure that all pupils:
Lower KS2:
To ensure that pupils become increasingly fluent with whole numbers and the four operations, including number facts and the concept of place value. This should ensure that pupils develop efficient written and mental methods and perform calculations accurately with increasingly large whole numbers.
By the end of year 4, pupils should have memorised their multiplication tables up to and including the 12 x 12 and show precision and fluency in their work.
Upper KS2:
Teaching in upper key stage 2 is to ensure that pupils extend their understanding of the number system and place value to include larger integers. This should develop the connections that pupils make between multiplication and division with fractions, decimals, percentages and ratio.
Across KS2 children are encouraged to reason and problem solve within all areas of maths taught.
You can find the full programme of study for maths by clicking here.
At Bolsover we follow Power Maths scheme of work, more information can be found here. To see how Power Maths is matched to the National Curriculum click here.
Subject Policies, Documents and Guidance
Lower Key Stage Calculations policy can be found here.
Upper Key Stage Calculations policy can be found here.
Maths Policy can be found here.
Maths Curriculum Policy Addendum can be found here.
Power Maths matched to the National Curriculum document can be found here.
What do we cover across school in Maths?
Subject Overview by year group
(Click the year group to be taken to each year group overview of learning from Power Maths)
Curriculum Document - what do the progression of key concepts, knowledge, skills and vocabulary in maths look like at Bolsover?
Maths Knowledge Organisers
In school, our pupils have access to Maths knowledge organisers in their individual work packs. These are referred to in lessons to allow pupils to remember any knowledge that is key for their year group.
Check them out here:
| Year 3 Knowledge Organiser | Year 4 Knowledge Organiser |
| Year 5 Knowledge Organiser | Year 6 Knowledge Organiser |
Maths Key Vocabulary
Click on the following document to access the progression of vocabulary in Maths at our school following the Power Maths curriculum.
Check them out here:
Pupil Voice
Assessment in Maths
Assessment of pupil progress in maths aims to assist pupils in understanding their own progress, aid teachers with their planning, as well as informing the school’s monitoring of progression and attainment. Therefore, children will have opportunities to assess their work in accordance with the school’s policy for self-assessment as they would do for any other written work. This will accompany teachers' assessment through observations, marking and feedback, highlighted in the school's policy. This will include the ongoing assessment of independent work including: spoken language, reading and writing. Teachers should ensure that children strive to meet the skills, whilst also building up their knowledge and understanding of maths, inclusive of knowledge of unplugged learning and key vocabulary.
The assessments made throughout the academic year are recorded and used to inform the end of year reports to parents/guardians. The co-ordinator, with support from the Senior Leadership team, will also carry out maths lesson drop ins, work scrutinies, evaluations of lesson planning and use of Power Maths planning, conducting pupil interviews, discussions with pupils, staff and parents as well as carrying out formal lesson observations.
Pupils will also undertake formal written assessments from Power Maths on a termly bases, this will inform the teacher of the progress and attainment of the pupils. Year 6 pupils will also undertake previous SATS papers in order to track progress towards the standards expected for a year 6.
Progression in Skills from NCETM - with examples of reasoning
Below please find the progression in skills maps for each strand of mathematics; showing your childs journey through their school life, from year 1 all the way to year 6. They detail how each skill strand is built on from the previous year. These skills are taken from the National Center for Excellence in the Teaching Mathematics (NCETM) and have been developed with the DfE. Power Maths aims to build on these skills and develop children as rounded mathematicians. (Please click each word to open the document).
Geometry - Properties of shape
Geometry - Position, direction and movement
Please find some helpful hints documents for supporting your children at home:
What do we know about careers in Maths?
Learning in maths helps children develop skills in logical thinking, problem-solving and decision-making as well as pure mathematical skills. These skills are valued by employers across many job sectors, including:
- Actuary scientist
- Chartered accountant
- Chartered certified accountant
- Data analyst
- Investment analyst
- Research scientist
- Secondary school teacher
- Statistician
- Systems developer
- Financial manager
- Financial trader
- Insurance underwriter
- Meteorologist
- Operational researcher
- Quantity surveyor
- Software tester
Some Useful Links:
BBC Bitesize: https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/subjects/z826n39
The Curriculum explained, for parents: https://www.theschoolrun.com/what-your-child-learns-key-stage-2-maths
Maths Frame: https://mathsframe.co.uk/en/resources/category/22/most-popular