Mathematics

Mathematics at Four Swannes

We use the Herts for Learning Essential Maths plans across school to ensure that there is appropriate breadth and depth in our maths curriculum.  Pupils have lots of opportunities to practise the basic skills and memorise key number facts such as number bonds and times tables to help them develop greater fluency in their mathematical development.  There are also many opportunities for children to develop their mathematical reasoning and problem solving. 

Curriculum Requirements

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.

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 develop

conceptual understanding and the ability to recall and apply knowledge rapidly and

accurately.

• 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 nonroutine 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. 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. (www.gov.uk 2013)