Overall Aims
Maths at Queensbury School is there to help our young persons become fluent in the fundamentals of mathematics; ensure that pupils develop confidence and mental fluency which is essential to everyday life, critical to science, technology and engineering and necessary for financial literacy and most forms of employment. This is done by:
- Solving problems by helping students to applying their mathematics to a variety of routine and non-routine problems with increasing sophistication, including breaking down problems into a series of simpler steps and persevering in seeking solutions.
- Reasoning mathematically by following a line of enquiry, conjecturing relationships and generalisations, and developing an argument, justification or proof using mathematical language.
- Most importantly making maths fun and linked to real life.
| KS3 | Intent (Why are we doing it) | Implement (How we are going to do it) | Impact (What we want to see and develop) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Discovery | Tangible life based experiences with developing the skills and knowledge of everyday maths with a focus on addition, subtraction money, time and language associated with number. Giving our students a sense of enjoyment and curiosity about the subject and provide opportunities for channelling, practice and reinforcement. | Use concrete, abstract and pictorial approach to develop a deep and sustainable understanding of maths. Learning will be delivered using the CPA Approach (Concrete, Pictorial and Abstract). CPA is a highly effective approach to teaching that develops a deep and sustainable understanding of maths in pupils. Our students can find maths difficult because it is abstract. Students will engage with a wide and varied range of concrete manipulatives, pictorial representations and abstract methodologies within each session. Concrete and pictorial references scaffold and strengthen understanding and are widely used as a teaching and learning tool. | Develop skills linked to response, curiosity and discovery. Students become attentive to a new stimulus. Students start to react in a meaningful way. By the end of KS3 we expect the vast majority of our students to have developed confidence with whole numbers, counting and place value including working with numerals, words, addition and subtraction. |
| Explorer | Students develop and build on prior knowledge, skills and understanding of fundamental mathematical methods and concepts. Students acquire, select and apply mathematical techniques to solve problems. | Students participate, interpret and communicate mathematical information. How do they know? Can they explain why it happens? Is there a link to real life? | Students comprehend, interpret and communicate mathematical information in a variety of forms appropriate to the information and context. Students start to use correct terminology. |
| Navigator | Building on student’s prior knowledge. Getting students to apply mathematics to both routine and non-routine problems, including breaking down more complex problems. | Support and promoting their confidence and developing their application. | Applying their understanding and giving solutions to multi step problems. Demonstrate greater confidence with numbers and shape and application. |
| Venture | In Maths, we aim to develop and extend our core numeracy skills that shows flexibility that supports the cohort to help fill in the gaps in students learning and understanding. The content we cover will enable us to undertake Entry Level/ GCSE depending on whatever pathway they take which enables all students to unleash their limitless potential | The Curriculum for Venture groups will be individualised depending on needs and outcome of assessments on entry into the school. Support and promoting their confidence and developing their application encouraging pupils to contribute positively to life in modern Britain. Active learning with the aid of specialist mathematical equipment. | Our vision is for students to complete key stage 3 having gained a good knowledge and understanding of the core numeracy skills. Depending on cohort students will apply their understanding and giving solutions to multi step problems. Show greater awareness and understanding of links between maths and the real world. They show the ability to capitalise on fluency in mathematic terminology and equipment. |
| Quest | In Maths we aim to develop understanding of addition, subtraction money, time and language. The semi-formal curriculum gives students a sense of enjoyment and curiosity about the subject and provide opportunities for channelling, practice and reinforcement. | The semi-formal curriculum including structured and unstructured learning develops the CPA Approach (Concrete, Pictorial and Abstract). CPA is a highly effective approach to teaching that develops a deep and sustainable understanding of maths in pupils. | By the end of KS3 we expect the vast majority of our students to be confident using whole numbers, counting and place value including working with numerals, words, addition and subtraction. |
| KS4 | Intent (Why are we doing it) | Implement (How we are going to do it) | Impact (What we want to see and develop) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Discovery | Developing student’s knowledge, skills and ideas and ways of working that enable them to make sense of the world in which they live. Learning is personalised to their needs through collaborative work and independent learning. | Help our pupils acquire a growing understanding of the numbers, time, money and shape through personalised learning outcomes. Learning is sequenced to support understanding. Continue using the CPA Approach (Concrete, Pictorial and Abstract), this will build on pupil’s existing knowledge by introducing abstract concepts in a concrete and tangible way. It involves moving from concrete materials, to pictorial representations, to abstract symbols and problems. | Students ascertain a greater awareness of themselves, their environment in which they live and the mathematical world around them. By the end of KS4 students will become increasingly fluent with whole numbers and the four operations, including number facts and the concept of place value. They will have worked towards AQA Unit Award Scheme, this is an important pathway for our students to receive accreditation for their achievements. |
| Explorer | Students further their understanding of mathematics around them. They start to grow ideas and make links between different areas of maths. | Promote independence by developing fluent knowledge, skills and understanding Teaching is designed to teaching is designed to help learners to remember in the long term the content. | Greater fluency and application. Ability to understand the importance of math in their lives. |
| Navigator | Our young persons move fluently between representations of mathematical ideas. Development of problem solving and reasoning. | Sequenced learning outcomes which is ambitious and challenging link to given our young persons greater career opportunities and life skills. | Students develop problem solving and reasoning skills. Start to link maths to certain career choice and college places. |
| Venture | Flexibility with supporting the cohort to continue to fill in the gaps in their understanding and to become better equipped and fluent in the fundamentals of mathematics. | Incorporate active learning with sufficient flexibility to follow a thematic approach and time needed to meet the individual student needs and interventions. | Prepare students for adulthood and a better understanding of the world around them by reasoning mathematically, solving problems by applying their mathematics to a variety of routine and nonroutine problems. |
Examples.
Delivery of Maths is supported via educational trips (annual visit for KS4 students to RAF Cosford) working with HSBC Bank, Healthy Tuck Shop Money Management, celebration of world maths day, parent workshops, visit to local Tesco and raising money all year round for various charities.
Promotion of careers and real life linked to maths is embedded within the curriculum planning.