Mathematics
At St Maxentius, we believe that Mathematics is a key life skill, providing children with a means of making sense of the world in which they live. It demands a practical understanding of the ways in which information is gathered, presented, and sorted. Therefore, St Maxentius offers opportunities for children to develop their confidence and competence with numbers, shapes, measures, and data and develop their ability to solve a variety of problems they may come across in real-life.
Teachers ensure that pupils understand and remember mathematical knowledge, concepts, and procedure appropriate for their starting points, including knowledge of efficient algorithms to ensure pupils are ready for their next stage of education.
Children at St Maxentius will sharpen mental agility in numeracy and the ability to instantly recall basic facts by having recall opportunity to do so. They will be able to explain their strategies and talk about their reasoning, sharing ideas with others through using specific mathematical terminology. They will acquire the skills needed in handling data and interpreting information and presenting in graphs, diagrams, charts, and tables.
Staff at St Maxentius will cultivate an enjoyment for mathematics and a positive attitude, approaching all problems with confidence and enthusiasm, enabling children to reach their full potential and achieve their highest possible standards.
Leaders have carefully planned and sequenced the appropriate knowledge, concepts, and procedures to build mathematical knowledge and skills systematically. The maths curriculum is designed with clear end points for what pupils will be able to know and do at key points. Teachers introduce new material in manageable steps lesson by lesson. Planning will be linked directly to the mathematics programmes of study. Teachers will use formal as well as on-going teacher assessment to adapt their planning where appropriate to meet the needs of pupils. For vulnerable pupils, including those with Special Education Needs, the curriculum has been adapted to ensure the curriculum contains the content that leaders have identified as most useful.
The school curriculum allows opportunity for mathematical reasoning and solving problems so that pupils can make useful connections between identified mathematical ideas or to anticipate practical problems they are likely to encounter in adult life. The curriculum is designed so that there are sufficient opportunities to revisit previously learned knowledge, concepts, and procedures; this is to ensure that, once learned, mathematical knowledge becomes deeply embedded in pupils’ memories.
The learning culture within our school is built around the Christian Values which help to make our school a place where our pupils are ‘Believing and Achieving Together’.