Maths
At Pelham we love maths and see it as an essential life skill. We are committed to ensuring that children have a positive and meaningful experience of mathematics throughout the school. We offer a curriculum that secures essential knowledge and skills whilst giving the children many opportunities to use and apply their mathematical skills across the curriculum through real life problem solving and mathematical investigations.
The mathematics curriculum is broken down into the following strands:
Number
- number and place value
- addition and subtraction
- multiplication and division
- fractions
- decimals
- percentage
- algebra
Measurement
- time
- money
- length and height
- weight and volume
- perimeter and area
- mass, capacity and temperature
- converting units
Geometry
- properties of shapes
- position and direction
Statistics
- data handling
- interpreting data
Aims
Our Pelham we want all pupils to:
- Enjoy Maths and study it with a sense of confidence and achievement
- Achieve a high standard in numeracy and gain a secure foundation of knowledge, skills and concepts
- Be fluent and have secure mathematical skills and knowledge accompanied by a quick recall of basic number facts
- Use and apply these skills with confidence and understanding in real life problems and within mathematics itself
- Have an awareness of the use of maths in the world outside the classroom
- Develop understanding through a process of enquiry and experience
- Develop persistence and a growth mindset through sustained work over a period of time
- Develop an ability to think logically and to use mathematical language to problem solve and reason with confidence and understanding
- Have a positive attitude towards mathematics as an interesting and creative subject
- Display a Growth Mindset attitude and understanding that mistakes help us learn
We will do this by:
- Embedding the Mastery Approach across the school, using White Rose Maths, in line with the National Curriculum
- Introducing key vocabulary at the start of new learning
- Incorporating the use of objects, pictures, words and numbers to help children explore and demonstrate mathematical ideas, enrich their learning experience and deepen understanding at all levels
- Organising, challenging and encouraging children to take part in challenges such as Primary Maths and First Maths
- Monitoring progress closely and consolidating understanding through additional practice and support where necessary
- Spending longer on topics and teaching the children step-by-step to ensure that they develop conceptual understanding along with procedural fluency
- Scaffolding questioning and by engaging learners through varied reasoning and problem solving tasks
- Using skilled TAs to address any learning gaps through interventions (eg: Power of 1 and 2)
- Creating cross-curricular links (eg: counting balls in hoops in PE for EYFS)
Interventions and extensions
At Pelham, we monitor the children's progress carefully and organise extension groups for children who are ready for an additional push whilst also giving regular small group support to those children finding the subject challenging.
Mathletics
Every child from Reception to Year 6 is given a personal password to give them access to the award winning Mathletics website. This interactive website is full of helpful guidance, games and challenges. It is a great resource that inspires the children to rehearse their maths skills at home.
Times Table Rockstars
Every child from Year 3 to Year 6 is given a personal password to give them access to Times Table Rockstars. This fun website is a perfect tool to practise and assess your times table knowledge.
How parents and carers can help
Every parent and carer can do their bit to help inspire their children to be successful in maths:
- Help them practice their times tables
- Come to our information evenings to pick up tips and have some fun
- Show your child that you like the subject (please try to refrain from admitting that you hated maths or telling your children that you are no good at it - it permissions them to feel the same and we don't want that!
Curriculum Guidance
Click on the link below for an overview of the maths topics taught across each year group, throughout the year.
A Mathematician at Pelham (Calculations) - Skills progression throughout the year groups
A Mathematician at Pelham (Geometry) - Skills progression throughout the year groups
A Mathematician at Pelham (Measure) - Skills progression throughout the year groups
A Mathematician at Pelham (Number) - Skills progression throughout the year groups
A Mathematician at Pelham (Place Value) - Skills progression throughout the year groups
A Mathematician at Pelham (Statistics) - Skills progression throughout the year groups
Click on the links below for the Mathematics National Curriculum guides:
The Primary Mathematics Curriculum
Calculation Policy
At Pelham, we recognise that children need a range of calculation strategies which are efficient, accurate and reliable. Through a carefully developed calculation policy, children are given a 'tool kit' of strategies which enable them to calculate confidently.
Some of these methods will look different to the methods you were taught as a child. To assist parents further, when helping their children with maths, we run occasional workshops and have made available the Wandsworth Calculations Policy, which the school has adopted, for you to be able to download by clicking on the link below. This provides clear examples and instructions showing how we teach addition, subtraction, multiplication and division in each school year.
Calculation Policy and Guidance (2014)
Pitch and Expectations Documents
These useful documents help show what learning is expected of the children in each year group, by the end of the year.