Stag Lane Primary School & Nursery

At Stag Lane, we believe that mathematics equips pupils with a uniquely powerful set of tools to understand and change the world. These tools include number fluency, logical reasoning, problem-solving skills and the ability to think in abstract ways.   It is a creative subject which we intend to stimulate moments of pleasure and wonder for our pupils.   We use a mastery approach to teaching mathematics and a strong emphasis on ‘Growth Mindset’ to enable the best outcomes for all our pupils.   Our intent is to deliver a curriculum which is accessible to all and which ensures every child feels confident, successful and enthused about their maths learning.

We use a cumulative mastery programme, as well as continuous formative assessment to ensure that pupils progress through each strand of mathematics in small, carefully constructed steps building on prior knowledge and developing a deepening understanding of each mathematical concept.   The curriculum has a ‘spiral’ nature so that the same concepts are re-visited each academic year but with increasing depth. ‘Maths Meetings’ are carried out 3 to 4 times a week outside the daily maths lesson for all pupils.  These are vital to address any gaps or misconceptions, and to ensure that skills, concepts and knowledge are revisited regularly so that they really ‘stick’.   Where possible, more individualised ‘keep up’ sessions are also carried out outside the daily maths lesson to enable pupils to return to a concept or skill and deepen their understanding before moving on the next day; the pupils are selected based on the teacher’s formative assessment that day.

The concrete, pictorial, abstract approach is applied throughout the school and is used flexibly to expose the underlying mathematical structures which pupils need to understand in order to achieve a deep understanding. It is our intention that ALL pupils have opportunities to use concrete and pictorial representations before moving on to abstract.  However, a key way we adapt a lesson to ensure all children can access the learning, is to take a timely step back to concrete or pictorial resources and stick with this for as long is necessary for the pupil to attain deep understanding.  A written calculation policy is employed to ensure methods, concrete manipulatives and pictorial representations are consistent and become familiar to the pupils as they progress through the school.

Numerical fluency is a skill which is acquired through being taught mathematics effectively.  It is a proficiency which involves confidence and competence with numbers and measure and encompasses efficiency and flexibility within methods as well as learning facts to automaticity.  Numerical fluency is incorporated into each lesson and maths meeting.

Our aim is to ensure pupils have deep conceptual understanding, are able to apply their computational skills (in maths lessons, across the curriculum and in daily life) and gain in confidence as they experience success.