The purpose of our curriculum is to increase the quantity and quality of what our students know; to give them a rich hinterland of knowledge and cultural capital which they will have access to and be able to build upon for the rest of their lives.

‘Developing fluency and understanding of mathematical concepts within the context of the world that we live in.’

Our Intent

Mathematics has beauty and romance. It’s not a boring place to be, the mathematical world. It’s an extraordinary place; it’s worth spending time there.
— Marcus du Sautoy, British mathematician

We strive to encourage enthusiasm and a love of maths, and a belief that everyone “can do” with the understanding that errors help us learn and are a key part of the process of finding a deeper level of understanding. Our children are encouraged to say ‘I can’t do it yet’ as opposed to ‘I can’t do it’ as we have a shared belief and commitment that our children will reach the level of understanding required by starting with what they do know, and not giving up. We encourage our children to be inquisitive, curious and enthusiastic in their approach to their maths learning.

Start with what you know; learn from what you don't:

We have built an environment based on the thinking that ‘mistakes are our friends,’ with the understanding that errors help us learn and are a key part of the process of finding a deeper level of understanding. To this end, our pupils work in pen within their maths books – every single part of our children’s thinking process is important to us and them. Our children are encouraged to say ‘I can’t do it yet’ as opposed to ‘I can’t do it’ as we have a shared belief and commitment that our children will reach the level of understanding required by starting with what they do know, and not giving up. Within our maths curriculum, children develop a rich tapestry of image and language with which to navigate ever-increasing mathematical concepts.

Talk it out:

We have a commitment to developing the reasoning of the children in our classes. We have implemented effective oral and written strategies to develop our children’s reasoning in maths as we feel that this gives them a much deeper, more purposeful understanding of the maths that they are learning. We teach key vocabulary to help our children think and articulate their reasoning. During our discussions, we utilise P4C techniques and encourage a sense of opinion and respect which help our children to have balanced conversations as they work together to discuss the mathematical concept in question. We learn maths together within our federation; the best mathematical resource that our children will ever have access to is the ideas of others.

The power of context:

Research has shown that teaching academic applications in a context is an effective way to engage hard-to-reach students and motivates them in the areas of math, written and oral communication, critical thinking skills, and problem solving.

 At the Northam Schools' Federation we acknowledge that it is vital that our children are engaged in their learning. We pledge never to hear: 'I don’t know why we did algebra at school, I never use it.' Therefore, our Maths learning has a strong link to context.  We use our maths lessons to further our learning across the curriculum, giving our maths learning a purpose and drive that adds to the energy of the classroom.  When maths lessons dissolve into social justice debates, it shows that we can make connections between the classroom and the world. The more expansive we are in our use of context, we will create adults who recognise when they use structures like algebra in the ‘real world’. Our aim is to make mathematical thinking interchangeable with thinking across the curriculum. We want our children to draw on their mathematical knowledge in every conversation they have within the classroom. Maths surrounds us in the world so it is vital that our children understand the intricate and nuanced links between mathematical understanding and general understanding across the curriculum.

We have stopped thinking of context as window dressing for the ‘real’ mathematics, and we recognise it for what it really is: Context is the heartbeat of mathematics. 

Class Pages: what we’ve been up to

Here you can see your child’s learning overview, and a little of what they have been up to.

RECEPTION

YEAR 1

YEAR 2

YEAR 3

YEAR 4

YEAR 5

YEAR 6

Statutory Testing

KS1 SATs

KS1 SATs take place in May of Year 2. The Y2 maths test is made up of two papers: Paper 1 (arithmetic) and Paper 2 (problem-solving and reasoning). For more information use the link below.

The children in Year 4 will sit a multiplication tables check in June. Click below for more information.

KS2 SATs

KS2 SATs take place in May. Children sit three papers in maths: Paper 1 (arithmetic, 30 minutes), Papers 2 and 3 (reasoning, 40 minutes each). Paper 1 consists of fixed response questions (children have to give correct answers to calculations). Papers 2 and 3 involve question types including multiple choice