Intent

At Frome Valley School, we aim for all pupils to: 

• Become fluent in the fundamentals of mathematics so that they develop conceptual understanding and the ability to recall and apply knowledge rapidly and accurately. 

• To be able to solve problems by applying their ‘basic’ mathematical skills to a variety of problems, including in unfamiliar contexts and to model real-life scenarios. 

• Reason mathematically by following a line of enquiry and develop and present a justification, argument or proof using mathematical language. 

Implementation

At Frome Valley School, we teach numeracy through a maths mastery approach. This approach means that teaching focuses on children mastering key concepts and building on their knowledge each year. Maths Mastery focuses on a child's ability to reason about a concept and make connections to other concepts.  It also focuses on procedural fluency with conceptual understanding, i.e. the understanding of how and why something in maths works. 

Key Components of Maths Mastery 

• Talking mathematics:  

-Articulating their thinking 

-Taking responsibility for asking questions of others to clarify understanding 

-Agreeing and disagreeing and justifying their thinking 

-Responding in full sentences with the intention that everyone understands them 

• Vocabulary: the use of subject-specific vocabulary by all adults and pupils in the school from EYFS onwards. Vocabulary is a key focus during mathematics lessons and can be seen displayed around the classrooms.  
• Stem sentences: these are a simple and effective technique for scaffolding pupil talk by supporting them to start a sentence. In maths, they use accurate vocabulary in a structured sentence that allows pupils to communicate their ideas that are mathematically correct and clear. This allows pupils to concentrate on what to say rather than how to say it.
• Concrete. pictorial and abstract (CPA): using representations – either concrete (e.g. counters, cubes, rekenreks, coins etc) or pictorial – is a powerful way for children to acquire deep conceptual knowledge of the maths that they are learning. Rather than simply teaching at a superficial level, focussing on short-cuts and tricks, representations allow children to visualise what they are learning, enabling them more readily to develop understanding of underlying mathematical principles and structures. When introducing the written method, the CPA approach is to use representations alongside, at the same time as, the written method: the representations give meaning to the abstract calculation.
• Variation: for a child to understand a concept, they need to see variations of that concept. They need to see examples (e.g. different examples of a triangle) but also non-examples (e.g. shapes that are not a triangle and the reason why). 
• Fluency: it is important that children can recall mathematical facts and concepts without thinking. In particular, this includes number bonds (e.g. 4+2; 7-9; 12-4; 14+6), subitising (to recall mathematics facts and concepts without thinking) and times tables. With fluency, children can use their number sense to solve problems. Fluency is knowledge in the long term memory which then frees up the working memory to solve problems in maths. 
• Early number knowledge: we use NCETM Mastering Number Programme and Numberblocks to support children's understanding of number and, in particular, number bonds. 

At Frome Valley School, we use the White Rose Scheme of work to support our planning and teaching. Please click on the links below to find out more about what is taught in each year group, as well as the whole school vocabulary progression document:

White Rose Maths Vocabulary Progression

Reception	Autumn Term	Spring Term	Summer Term	YR Calculations Policy
Year 1	Autumn Term	Spring Term	Summer Term	Y1 Calculations Policy
Year 2	Autumn Term	Spring Term	Summer Term	Y2 Calculations Policy
Year 3	Autumn Term	Spring Term	Summer Term	Y3 Calculations Policy
Year 4	Autumn Term	Spring Term	Summer Term	Y4 Calculations Policy

 

Impact

Assessment is an integral and continuous part of the teaching and learning process at Frome Valley First School. Teachers integrate the use of formative assessment strategies such as effective questioning, clear and adapted learning challenges, the use of success criteria, live marking alongside effective feedback and observing children participating in activities. Questioning within a lesson helps to draw out misconceptions or learners who are struggling on a concept at that time but not their understanding overall. 

In addition to the above, the impact of our maths provision is monitored in a variety of ways:
– Learning walks by the subject leader, headteacher and primary executive head;
– Book scrutinies;
– Teacher judgements made on tracking sheets;
– Insight assessments recorded;
– Year 4 statutory multiplication check