Maths

The Mathematics curriculum in year 7 to year 9 is tailored to ensure that every student has the opportunity to reach their potential, and to develop high levels of numeracy in order to become well-rounded citizens in the world we live in. Our programme is compatible with the requirements of the National Curriculum at Key Stage 3 and provides all students with an academically rigorous curriculum and a solid foundation in preparation of them starting their GCSE qualification.

We have applied Mastery principles when designing our Programme of Study and have embedded a spiral approach through our lesson resources that builds up mathematical concepts in each child. This will ensure that all students develop a deep, long-term and adaptable understanding of Mathematics, which will allow opportunities to develop mathematical fluency and reasoning, as well as students being able to learn how to solve maths problems without having to memorise procedures.

The Mathematics Programme of Study outlines the content and order of the objectives that a student will be studying across each half term, and medium-term plans have been incorporated so learning is presented in small-steps, with a logical sequence that has been carefully organised to establish clear lines of progression. Core objectives are highlighted so teachers of our lower ability students know which objectives should be a foci in order for all students to achieve.

The Mathematics Programme of Study promotes the British values of tolerance and resilience on a daily basis, through problem solving and understanding of complex concepts, encouraging all students to persevere and try different methods to arrive at correct solutions. Students should be encouraged to build on, and learn from their mistakes in all Maths lessons.

By the end of year 6, pupils should be fluent in written methods for all four operations, including long multiplication and division, and in working with fractions, decimals and percentages. Pupils should read, spell and pronounce mathematical vocabulary correctly. You will see from the overview that a significant amount of time in Year 7 Autumn Term is devoted to developing key number concepts, and reinforces students’ prior learning. This is also to build fluency in students’ understanding, as number sense will affect their success in other areas of Mathematics. Students who are successful with number are much more confident mathematicians.

Alongside our programme of study, our aim is also to provide a variety of assessments which challenge the core objectives, and interleave mathematical knowledge to increase the retention of students learning and their ability to transfer it to other contexts. Our assessments are designed to identify areas of development for each student and at frequent points throughout the year students will be provided with feedback, and given the opportunity to securely embed a deeper understanding of the topics covered.

It is our aim to provide all students with a good grounding in reasoning mathematically, so they can make discoveries about the world around them, and can persuade others through a logical chain of reasoning. Mathematics is interwoven into the majority of careers and features heavily in areas of science, technology, engineering and finance. We want all our students to be successful in whatever they choose.