Overview

At Selling CE Primary, we aim to provide a practical broadly balanced mathematics curriculum which will suit the individual needs of our children and show them the usefulness and relevance of Maths in their everyday lives. We place a high priority on mathematical achievement and all classes have at least a daily Maths lesson, with other opportunities to practise these skills such as five-a-day (Fluent in Five Arithmetic), early work, times tables practice. All work is differentiated to suit the needs of all our children, and challenge is built into every lesson.

We encourage the children to apply what they have learnt in their Maths lessons in practical ways and you will often see children applying their learning to real-life contexts and teaching other children a concept they have already mastered themselves.

To support the mental dexterity with numbers we learn number facts, such as number bonds and times tables.  These are regularly practiced and tested - often utilising tools such as TimesTable Rockstars or Big Maths, Beat That. 

Differentiated online learning is provided using the Mathletics website. Tasks are set regularly by class teachers with attainment and progress in curriculum areas monitored.

Key Instant Recall Facts (KIRFs) are available online to be practised to support the children's fluency in number recall.

Our Intent

Our intent is to ensure that mathematics is taught daily, with children having the opportunity to learn a variety of fluency and reasoning skills that they can apply in different situations. Children are given problems to solve involving real-life contexts so they understand the importance of the subject area and how it can assist them in later life.

How does this look at Selling CE Primary?

All children at the school are provided with a practical, balanced mathematics curriculum. We focus highly on fluency, utilising Fluent in Five alongside lesson content, so children feel secure and confident with the four operations and other arithmetic strategies.

Within most lessons, reasoning and application skills are taught and modelled to show the relevance of the fluency skill that the children have learnt. Tasks are differentiated to suit the needs of the children and challenges are provided to extend a child's mastery of the mathematical areas covered. All children have the opportunity to succeed in this subject area in a safe environment that allows pupils to learn from their mistakes and develop a positive attitude to the subject.

At Selling, children are taught a spiral, progressive curriculum with content revisited throughout the academic year. The combined use of concrete manipulative resources, pictorial representations and abstract methods to support learning and understanding are actively encouraged. Real-life problem solving questions and contexts are regularly provided offering our children the opportunity to apply and understand the relevance of their learning.

Outside of the daily Maths lessons, children complete their ‘5 a day’ (Fluent in Five Arithmetic) which is where they develop, practice and apply their methods for and understanding of the four operations - addition, subtraction, multiplication and division alongside other arithmetic areas.

Children at Selling participate in frequent 'Topic Focus Days' to immerse themselves with their respective topics and deepen their knowledge and understanding. Activities to use and apply known fluency skills are actively encouraged and, in many cases, children learn about historic number systems and their impact on the 'base 10' system that we use both at school and across the world.

What does a successful mathematician look like at Selling CE Primary?

Upon completion of Selling's mathematics curriculum, our children will feel confident when using and applying the four operations and a firm understanding of the 'base 10' place value system. At an appropriate level, our children will be able to apply their fluency learning to varied application activities. 

Most importantly, our pupils will understand the importance of maths as a subject area and how the subject and curriculum coverage will impact on their future lives thus effectively preparing them for their transition to secondary education and beyond.