At St Joseph's, we encourage children to love the adventure of learning mathematics. We believe that mathematics is essential for everyone in daily life and through effective teaching and a high-quality, consistent curriculum, all children can achieve. We believe that all children can be successful in mathematics and foster a positive ‘can do’ attitude towards the subject. 

Our Mastery Approach 

We aim for all pupils to become masters of mathematics. Mastering mathematics means pupils acquire a deep, long-term, secure and adaptable understanding of mathematical concepts. Achieving mastery means pupils acquire a solid understanding of the mathematics being taught which enables them to move onto more advanced material (NCETM, 2022). 

Every lesson is carefully sequenced through a series of small steps and are delivered using the CPA approach. This allows for progression from the children’s prior learning, so that new concepts can be mastered. Children experience a wide range of high-quality reasoning and problem-solving opportunities and are encouraged to discuss their ideas and challenge each other’s mathematical thinking. Mathematical topics are covered in blocks to enable a ‘deep’ understanding and ensure that children have mastered the necessary foundations before advancing on to more challenging concepts

Through a mastery approach, children work together to achieve the learning outcomes. They support each other through the use of group and paired work, mathematical vocabulary, verbal reasoning and by challenging each other's thinking.

• Children communicate their mathematical reasoning through verbal explanations and the use of stem sentences. They use an increasingly complex range of vocabulary to articulate their understanding and to explore their learning journey. 
•  Through the CPA approach, children explore the relationships between numbers, patterns and operations. They explore the efficiency of calculation methods and enjoy finding solutions to complex, real life mathematical problems. 
• Through the mastery approach, children are given the opportunity to develop their mathematical thinking and make innovative connections between prior learning and new knowledge. This allows them to develop and embed a secure understanding throughout their learning journey.

The  National Curriculum 

We use the White Rose Mathematics Scheme to structure the progression of learning and ensure the three aims of the National Curriculum are met. The aims are:  

Fluency 

Children are encouraged to:  

• Develop a strong sense of number through exposure to different methods of calculation, supported by the use of practical manipulatives. 
• Develop number sense 
• Make connections between new and prior learning 
• Recall number facts efficiently from their long term memory. 
• Use mathematical vocabulary accurately 

Reasoning

Children are encouraged to: 

• Explain their understanding using dual-coding theory 
• Develop their reasoning skills using sentence stems and accurate vocabulary. 
• Explain connections between different areas of learning. 
• Explain and prove the efficiency of procedural methods 

Problem solving 

Children are encouraged to: 

• Develop a strong conceptual understanding which allows them to solve problems, explore and investigate key ideas. 
• Apply mathematical concepts in different contexts 

Lesson Structure 

Mathematics lessons are delivered using a lesson structure which ensures a consistent approach across all year groups. The lesson structure is heavily influenced by modern, evidence-based research and ensures children are given the opportunity to revise prior learning, make connections to new learning, practice fluency skills and master these skills through reasoning and problem-solving challenges. 

EYFS 

In the Early Years, children are developing their early number sense through talk and play. Our learning environments encourage children to explore relationships between numbers. They count and compare objects and understand how numbers can be composed from other smaller numbers. Children have lots of opportunities for measuring, finding patterns and manipulating shapes. We have developed a personalised scheme of learning using the White Rose Hub small steps to progression. This scheme allows children to progress through the Early learning goals and encourages ‘small numbers but big thinking’ (Crook, 2021). Our curriculum ensures children develop a secure knowledge and understanding of the 6 early concepts of mathematics: Cardinality and Counting, Comparison, Composition, Pattern, Shape and Space and Measures. In order to achieve this, children are exposed to purposeful maths experiences in everyday situations.