Maths

Our school and curriculum empower pupils to be advocates and agents of change for a more sustainable world. 

Intent 

At Drake Primary School, our goal is for children to leave as confident, skilled, and resilient mathematicians who understand that mathematics is a fundamental part of everyday life and the world we live in. 

We aim for our curriculum to: 

• Be coherently planned and sequenced. 

• Provide opportunities for children to develop mathematical fluency, reason mathematically, and solve problems by thinking logically and working systematically. 

• Be underpinned by a ‘Concrete, Pictorial, and Abstract’ (CPA) approach to support conceptual understanding. 

• Enable all children to experience hands-on learning, with access to manipulatives, clear models, and images that aid their conceptual understanding. 

• Be ambitious for all pupils. 

• Be successfully adapted, designed, and developed for all pupils, especially those with SEND. 

• Inspire a love of maths. 

Implementation 

Maths at Drake is guided by the Early Years Statutory Framework for Reception, the National Curriculum for Key Stages 1 and 2, and, where necessary, the Norfolk Assessment Pathway (NAP) for some children in our SRB. 

In Reception, children develop the foundations of mathematics through a mix of planned adult-led activities and child-led exploration. Exploring patterns and developing number sense are fundamental in the early stages of maths, providing a secure foundation for learning in Year 1. 

In Key Stages 1 and 2, maths is taught daily, focusing on key mathematical skills outlined in the National Curriculum. Our spiral curriculum allows these skills to be revisited throughout the year, ensuring an age-appropriate and stage-appropriate understanding of concepts is developed. 

In mixed-ability, whole-class lessons, a range of reasoning prompts are used to challenge all children and give them opportunities to explain, justify, and prove their thinking. A CPA approach is used to guide children through their understanding of mathematical processes. 

In Drake’s SRB, children’s needs are met through differentiated learning packages developed to meet individual needs. Where maths is a strength, children follow the learning of their peers and work on tasks aligned with the National Curriculum standards. Children working below National Curriculum expectations focus on smaller steps set out in the NAP. Opportunities for hands-on experiences are offered, in line with the whole school approach, with an emphasis on concrete and pictorial representations. 

Assessment is a key part of our maths curriculum. Teachers use formative assessment during every lesson to gauge children’s understanding and plan next steps. Maths meetings and immediate interventions ensure children are ready for the next lesson, often taught in targeted, differentiated small groups. A variety of formative assessment strategies are used, including: 

• Hinge questions/mini plenaries 

• Questioning 

• Quizzes 

• Prove-it tasks 

• Deliberate mistakes 

• Exit passes 

Once a term, children complete an NFER summative assessment task, except in Year 6, where KS2 SATs past papers are used. Teachers analyse the results to plan future lessons based on identified gaps. The maths lead further analyses data to spot patterns, trends, and ensure the needs of all pupils are being met. 

Book looks and learning walks are regularly conducted by the maths lead and SLT to ensure high standards of maths teaching and consistency in expectations across the school. 

In addition to daily discrete maths teaching, cross-curricular links are woven throughout the Drake curriculum. 

Impact 

As a result of our maths teaching at Drake, you will see: 

• Engaged children who are challenged. 

• Confident children who can talk about maths, their learning, and the links between mathematical topics. 

• Lessons that use a variety of resources to support learning. 

• Multiple representations of mathematical concepts. 

• Learning that is tracked and monitored to ensure all children make at least good progress from their starting points. 

• Children who have the necessary skills for the next stage of their education.