The subject leader for Maths is Mr Evans
Mathematics is a creative and highly inter-connected discipline that has been developed over centuries, providing the solution to some of history’s most intriguing problems. It is essential to everyday life, critical to science, technology and engineering, and necessary for financial literacy and most forms of employment. A high-quality mathematics education therefore provides a foundation for understanding the world, the ability to reason mathematically, an appreciation of the beauty and power of mathematics, and a sense of enjoyment and curiosity about the subject.
We believe that whilst it is important to learn number facts and times tables, mathematics teaching has focused on this for too long, with children not always being able to apply and manipulate what they have rote-learned.
All elements of maths are taught through the Concrete – Pictorial – Abstract progression through which children can explore maths with manipulatives such as denes rods, then apply that maths to images, before answering number-based questions.
Children are taught through whole-class interactive teaching, where the focus is on all children working together on the same lesson content at the same time, although some are supported to do this.
This approach ensures that all can master concepts before moving to the next step, allowing no child to be left behind. Our children are expected to reason and clearly explain their thinking. We firmly believe that the answer is ‘only the beginning’ and our children need to try to explain why an answer is correct or not.
Every child in Year 3 - 6 have a Times Table Rockstars account to help practice their times table skills.
There are lots of games that the children can play, however we recommend using Garage Mode as this supports progress through the times tables at a pace appropriate to the children.
In Year 4, we use Times Tables Rockstars to support children in passing the Multiplication Tables Check in June by playing using Soundcheck Mode.
If children complete their tables up to 12 x 12, they should then focus on developing their speed and rock status in Studio Mode. There are also opportunities to play with children from other school using Festival and Arena, and regular in-school competitions set by the teachers.
