Mathematics

Maths teaching at Grove provides a scaffolded learning framework with problem solving at its heart. It is focused on continuously building and consolidating knowledge to reach deep understanding, fluency and mastery, so that every child - across all abilities -  can succeed at mathematics. 

We use a concrete-pictorial-abstract (CPA) approach to teaching mathematics. 

Why is a CPA approach so powerful? From very early on in their school life, we expect children to use and understand numbers, which are abstract concepts. Many children struggle with this and so their first experiences of mathematics can be confusing, leaving them with no solid foundation to build on for later learning. A CPA approach helps children achieve secure number sense - that is, a sense of what numbers really represent and how to use them mathematically. This is done through a series of carefully structured representations - first using physical objects (concrete), then diagrams or pictures (pictorial), and ultimately using representations such as numerals (abstract).

Maths teaching across all year groups includes:

• careful questioning to support the use of concrete apparatus.
• opportunities for higher-order questioning to help children become confident and competent problem solvers. 
• use of mathematical talk to explore and develop reasoning skills.
• development of mathematical language and reasoning through collaborative work. 
• games to reinforce skills, concepts and problem solving strategies leading to mastery.
• activities to encourage children to investigate connections through mathematical reasoning.
• provision of opportunities for children to discuss their thinking with each other, helping to establish next steps and giving a sense of pride in their achievements.

The National Curriculum:

The National Curriculum for Mathematics (2014) 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 non-routine problems with increasing 
• sophistication, including breaking down problems into a series of simpler steps and persevering in seeking solutions.

Assessment

Our lessons have clear learning objectives. Assessment is planned and relates to the learning objectives. Assessment informs the next step for each child’s learning. Marking follows the schools guidelines. Children in Year 2 and 6 carry out the SAT’s at the end of the academic year. The Year 2 SAT's are to support teacher assessment

We use Maths Bands to support our assessments, of which a copy was given to parents at Parent's Evening.