Curriculum
Curriculum by Subject
Early Years
Intent
At Wellesley, we aim to encourage our children to have a positive attitude towards mathematics, enjoying both the fun and challenge it brings. We believe that allowing our pupils to develop their knowledge and understanding of mathematical concepts through concrete and pictorial experiences gives them a secure start in their learning, enabling them to reason and problem solve. We use the White Rose Maths programme to teach our Reception to Year 6 children. White Rose is a whole-class mastery programme designed to spark curiosity and excitement and help nurture confidence in maths. Concepts are taught in small connected and structured steps, so that children are consistently building upon their previous knowledge. We ensure that Mathematics is taught across our curriculum, so that our children develop as confident mathematicians and can apply their knowledge and skills in other contexts.
Mathematics is a core subject in the National Curriculum and at Wellesley our ‘mastery’ approach follows the DFE Mathematics National Curriculum Programmes of study. and the Early Years Foundation Stage Guidance using the White Rose Maths scheme of work.
Implementation
To ensure consistency and progression through the school, Wellesley uses White Rose Maths scheme. The White Rose curriculum is a cumulative curriculum, so that once a topic is covered, it is met again in other contexts. For example, place value is revisited in addition and subtraction and multiplication and division. Teachers also revisit topics through mental oral starters at the beginning of each maths lesson.
Daily lessons are planned to provide plenty of opportunities to build reasoning and problem-solving opportunities into the curriculum. When introduced to a new concept, children have the chance to use concrete objects and manipulatives to help them understand what they are doing.
Mathematical topics are taught in blocks, to enable the achievement of ‘mastery’ over time. These teaching blocks are broken down into smaller steps, to help children understand concepts better. This approach means that children do not cover too many concepts at once which can lead to cognitive overload.
Teachers adapt worksheets to ensure all children are exposed to reasoning and problem-solving challenges along with other resources to support their understanding of the Maths curriculum in this mastery approach.
Teachers use the five – a – day approach into their everyday practice to support the progress of all children. Research conduced by the Education Endowment Foundation supports this. Teachers include explicit instructions, cognitive and metacognitive strategies, clear scaffolding, flexible groups and technology into their teaching to enable all children to access the math curriculum.
The children in Key Stage One and Reception participate in the NCETM ‘Mastering Number’ project. The aim is to secure firm foundations in the development of good number sense. This is 10 minutes per day outside of the maths hour and will enable children to leave KS1 with fluency in calculation and have greater confidence and flexibility with number.
Impact
Teachers use end of topic assessment as an essential tool to help them evaluate learning and plan the next steps needed for the children. Regular monitoring of books and pupil conferencing shows a clear teaching sequence and progression through the school. Children are exposed to fluency, problem-solving and reasoning opportunities. Children from Year 1 to Year 5 complete the end of year NFER assessment so progress can be tracked through the school.
The impact can be seen in the following ways:
Children can talk about their maths learning and the strategies they use.
Children can apply the skills they have learnt to reason and problem solve in different mathematical strands.
Teachers support every child in the class to make good progress and adapt children’s work to ensure all pupils are challenged appropriately.
Read our Maths Intent
