Subject Leader

Mr Poole

Our Maths Curriculum Intent

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. At Saint Thomas More, we believe that maths is not taught as a rule bound passive approach but where active learning promotes talking through and explaining maths.

The national curriculum for mathematics aims to ensure that all pupils:

· become fluent in the fundamentals of mathematics, including through varied and frequent practice with increasingly complex problems over time, so that pupils have conceptual understanding and are able to recall and apply their knowledge rapidly and accurately to problems

· reason mathematically by following a line of enquiry, conjecturing relationships and generalisations, and developing an argument, justification or proof using mathematical language

· can solve problems by applying their mathematics to a variety of routine and non-routine problems with increasing sophistication, including breaking down problems into a series of simpler steps and persevering in seeking solutions.

Mathematics is an interconnected subject in which pupils need to be able to move fluently between representations of mathematical ideas (so that pupils have a sense of living maths in a real life context). The programmes of study are, by necessity, organised into apparently distinct domains, but pupils should make rich connections across mathematical ideas to develop fluency, mathematical reasoning and competence in solving increasingly sophisticated problems. They should also apply their mathematical knowledge to science and other subjects. The expectation is that the majority of pupils will move through the programmes of study at broadly the same pace. However, decisions about when to progress should always be based on the security of pupils’ 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 before any acceleration through new content. Those who are not sufficiently fluent with earlier material should consolidate their understanding, including through additional practice, before moving on.

At St Thomas More follows the White Rose Scheme for its Maths Curriculum. 

For more information, please follow this link: https://whiteroseeducation.com/parent-pupil-resources/maths

To support our children's development of times tables fluency, we adopted the Times Tables Rock Stars online programme.

Children across the school will be set challenges to test their skills. 

Follow the link below the log in. 

https://play.ttrockstars.com/auth/school/student 

Need or want additional games and resources to aid your child's learning in Maths?  The following links should provide more opportunities for you

Maths Zone

A range of games based around areas of Maths so you can select activities that will support your child's learning and their enjoyment of Maths.

https://mathszone.co.uk/

Oxford Owl

Based upon the age of your child, there are numerous ways for your child to engage with their learning in Maths on this site (they have a Reading section too).

https://home.oxfordowl.co.uk/kids-activities/fun-maths-games-and-activities/

Snappy Maths

Numerous worksheets and resources for children categorised in the different areas of Maths.

http://www.snappymaths.com/

Websites to support times tables

http://www.topmarks.co.uk/maths-games/7-11-years/times-tables

http://www.teachingtables.co.uk/

Websites to support maths fluency

http://www.arcademics.com/