Intent

At St James School it is our intention to teach the children how to make sense of the world around them through developing their ability to calculate, reason and solve problems.  As a school we follow the National Curriculum for Mathematics where the aims are to ensure that all pupils:

 • Become fluent in the fundamentals of mathematics, through varied and frequent practice with increasingly complexity over time.

 • Develop conceptual understanding and the ability to recall and apply knowledge rapidly and accurately. 

• Reason mathematically by following a line of enquiry, finding relationships and generalisations.

 • Can develop arguments, justifications or proof using mathematical Vocabulary. 

• Problem Solve by applying mathematics knowledge to a variety of problems, including breaking down problems into a series of simpler steps and persevering in seeking solutions.

Implementation

At St James Primary School, we the following principles taken from the National Curriculum to embed our intent into our school by:

• Having the expectation that most pupils will move through the programmes of study at broadly the same pace. With constant recall through the five day to make sure that operations and new knowledge is constantly being revisited.

• Understanding that pupils who grasp concepts rapidly should be challenged through being offered rich problems and reasoning to give breath to their learning before any acceleration through new content.

• Giving those who are not sufficiently fluent with earlier material should consolidate their understanding by being given additional practices before moving on.

• Addressing the learning of the pupils through Rosenshine Principles of Instruction (2010) by scaffolding, questioning, checking children’s understanding, modelling and designing independent practices.  At the heart of all learning is task design for teach – task – teach – task (Alex Bedford 2023) so not to overload the working memory.

• Giving the reasoning behind mathematical processes to the children to support their understanding.

• Having interactions between the teacher and pupils to explore how answers are obtained as well as why the method worked and what might have been the most efficient strategy.

• Using precise mathematical vocabulary so that mathematical ideas are conveyed with clarity and precision by our teachers. 

Impact

By the time the pupils leave St James we want them to have a full understanding of number and how this is applied to other subjects as well as being used in the wider world.  We want to make sure that the pupils have a solid understanding of Mathematics so they can build on these foundations as they continue their educational journey.

Mastering Number

St James is a Mastering Number School, a programme which aims to secure firm foundations in the development of good number sense for all children from Reception through to Year 1 and Year 2. The aim over time is that children will leave KS1 with fluency in calculation and a confidence and flexibility with number. Attention will be given to key knowledge and understanding needed in Reception classes, and progression through KS1 to support success in the future.

During Reception Mastering Number is used as the curriculum for the children to follow for the ELG in number and number pattern.  In Years 1 and 2, Mastering Number is delivered as an extra 15-minute lesson, four times a week for the whole academic year.

Multiplication Times Tables

Knowledge of the times tables is a vital part of every child’s education and by learning the times tables off by heart is essential for the transition to upper Key Stage 2 where division, fractions, decimals, percentages and algebra are secured.  Children who know their times tables facts will be able to answer questions more quickly and be able to focus on using other mathematical strategies in more complex problems rather than being slowed down by the multiplication. Knowing times tables can also increase confidence levels as this particular part of the question becomes easy.

Learning the times tables requires lots of practise both in school and at home so we use Times Table Rock Stars to support the teaching and learning of times tables.  As a school, we also run extracurricular clubs after school where the children recall and use their times tables using the Times Table Rock Star programme.

In 2020 the Government introduced a statutory Multiplication Test for all pupils in Year 4.   During Year 4, the children take sound check assessments every half term to check on their recall of their tables.  The assessments produced from these checks gives information to the teachers on where to take the learning