Maths

Our maths curriculum is based upon the principles of teaching for mastery. At Ashbrook School, we see teaching for mastery in maths as allowing the pupils to gain a deep understanding of maths, allowing them to acquire a secure and long-term understanding of maths that allows them to make continual progress and be ready to move onto more complex topics.

Influenced, inspired and informed by the work of leading maths researchers and practitioners across the world, we have chosen to follow the schemes of learning produced by White Rose Maths.

They have brought together a team of highly experienced and passionate maths teaching experts to train, guide, help and support us to be the very best maths teachers.

We believe that everyone can do maths. Maths is a subject that everyone can and should be able to perform confidently and competently. Our expectation is that the majority of pupils will move through the schemes of learning at broadly the same pace. However, decisions about when to progress should always be based on the security of the pupil’s understanding and their readiness to progress to the next stage. Pupils who grasp concepts rapidly should be challenged through being offered rich and sophisticated problems rather than acceleration onto new content. Those children who are not sufficiently fluent with earlier materials will consolidate their understanding, including through additional practice and support, before moving on.

For all areas of maths, pupil’s learning will begin with concrete experience, leading onto pictorial representations and ultimately secure mental strategies, which will allow them to solve abstract problems. When appropriate, pupils will be taught formal recording methods.

There is more maths around you every day than you probably think! 

Here are a few ideas that they could do:

  • Going on a number hunt
  • Counting objects / animals / stairs
  • Cooking / baking
  • A visit to the shop to buy some sweets, how much have you spent? How much change?
  • Sorting stickers into a repeating pattern
  • Organising and classifying toys, books or cars according colour, size, length etc.
  • Play I’m thinking of a number, e.g. is it odd? Is it bigger than 20 / less than 50? Write down the questions you asked, how many questions did you need to guess correctly? 
  • Helping children to learn times tables or division facts
  • Learning number bonds
  • Finding and identifying 2D and 3D shapes
  • Exploring patterns out and about
  • Collecting and displaying data, e.g. how many red cars go past in 10 minutes? What is your family’s favourite fruit?
  • Playing free Maths games on the computer
  • Playing snakes and ladders or other board games
  • Exploring number lines, numbered and blank
  • Solving word problems

The most important thing to remember is........ to have fun!

Calculation policy