Maths

Maths at Chiltern
Maths lessons at Chiltern Primary School are designed to cover the teaching of arithmetic and reasoning skills through a variety of styles and structures. We aim to develop children’s understanding of mathematical concepts to enable them to use and apply skills effectively in the real world. Maths is found everywhere and the understanding of number is crucial therefore we strive to teach children all of the skills needed to become competent mathematicians who persevere with challenges and constantly question things.
 
Maths in Early Years:
In the Early Years mathematical development takes on a variety of forms.  In the Early Years children will take part in short adult led tasks which develop their concept of number, shape, space and measure. This will all be done through play based tasks, which, whenever possible will be set within a real life context or link to the current topic or theme. Alongside this children will have daily access to mathematical activities which they will take part in through their own play and child-initiated learning. The Early Years team observe the children during this time and will come alongside to further challenge and develop the children’s skills and understanding.
 
Maths in KS1:
Learning is made irresistible for KS1 Maths by developing children's mathematical learning by building on the underpinning set out in early years. At Chiltern Primary School we deliver high quality inclusive teaching of the core curriculum content in a creative and enjoyable way. Our key focus is to ensure that pupils develop confidence and fluency across each mathematical domain. The domains include number and place value, addition and subtraction, multiplication and division, fractions, measurement and geometry and statistics. Early skills are developed through the use of concrete apparatus, to enhance the children’s conceptual understanding. Children are then taught to represent problems through pictorial methods and jottings before focussing on abstract written and mental strategies. Lessons provide children the opportunities to investigate and work practically so that they see mathematical ideas in a wide variety of situations. At Chiltern Primary School our children will be given the skills needed to think creatively and solve problems with efficiency, as well as establish a foundation for mathematical reasoning to take with them into key stage 2.
 
Maths in KS2:
In key stage 2 maths is taught through blocks that cover the necessary mathematical curriculum in Autumn, Spring and Summer. Our aim is to repeat the blocks, progressing the children’s learning within the topic each time and building on prior knowledge. These blocks include number and place value, the four operations and algebra, fractions, ratio and proportion, measurement and finally geometry and statistics. Each year group have a set of objectives to cover throughout the year and we teach these in a variety of ways. Some lessons focus on the pure number work whilst others encourage the children to use and apply this understanding through exploratory investigations and real life scenarios. We also scaffold and support children's mathematical reasoning skills. We link our learning in Maths back to our six strands particularly resilience to keep trying even when the answer may not be clear from the start. Teachers at Chiltern Primary School strive to make learning irresistible and relevant so that the children leave year 6 with a solid foundation ready for secondary school.

Targeted support and intervention

At Chiltern Primary School we acknowledge that some children may need targeted support and intervention. We use a range of different strategies and approaches to help scaffold, adapt and close gaps in learning.

At Chiltern Primary School we have a range of targeted Maths interventions to help children master skills further: 
 

• Number Stacks Maths Intervention Programme
• Diagnostic Maths Tasks (Hampshire County Council)
• SEN Planning Toolkit (Hampshire County Council)
• Teacher planned intervention

How can you help at home?
We fully encourage supporting your child with their maths work at home through the use of times table practice, number bond work and taking advantage of any opportunity for children to apply their knowledge in the real world. Get the children to handle the money when purchasing things from the shops, ask them to tell you the time and how long until they finally get to have their dinner and when handing out treats, let them divide them up equally between their brothers and sisters! Any opportunities like this will help the children build on their understanding and practice those key skills. 

If you have any questions about supporting your child with Maths at home then do not hesiate to speak with your child's class teacher. 

We are currently developing our Progression in Calculation which will be uploaded to this page once it has been completed.