Maths

Maths at Merstham Primary School

At Merstham Primary School our vision statement ‘A community growing, learning and achieving together’ clearly sets out what we wish to achieve as a school community.

Embedded in our vision are our values; Community, Aiming High, Learning to Learn and Wellbeing.

‘Mathematics is a creative and highly interconnected discipline that has been developed over centuries providing the solution to some of history’s most intriguing problems.’

DFE, 2013

Mathematics connects all aspects of our lives and helps us to make sense of our world.

At Merstham, our mathematics focuses on a small step approach; we aim to support and encourage all children to master maths.

We intend to develop our children’s mathematical fluency and teach them to solve problems with confidence; applying the skills needed for all areas of the maths curriculum.

We aim to support our children to develop a deep and secure knowledge of mathematics at all stages, enabling them to build upon and develop fundamental skills, year on year, and move confidently into applying themselves to more challenging problems.

We believe that all our children can achieve.

---

Our curriculum:

At Merstham we follow the GLF Maths Curriculum, using the NCETM spines and PD materials as a framework for our Maths Mastery learning journey.

Small step sessions, which are carefully designed to reduce the children’s cognitive load, provide high quality visual representations and use of manipulatives. This exposes the structure of the mathematics being taught, encouraging deeper understanding and greater retention of information.

For a step-by-step guide to how we teach calculations in each year group, please see our calculation policy below.

Our aim in all mathematics lessons is to provide children with:

• Key questions that will facilitate and stimulate discussion; providing opportunities for children to articulate their reasoning clearly and challenge the reasoning of others through partner and whole class discussion.
• The concrete models and images required to foster a deeper understanding of abstract concepts and algorithms.
• Rich, engaging activities and problems which encourage children to make links between mathematical concepts and allow them to apply them across the wider curriculum and within real life.
• Regular, varied practice and application of number bonds, multiplication facts and mental and written arithmetic methods (in line with our calculation policy) to underpin their conceptual understanding and improve their arithmetic fluency.
• No glass ceilings. In every lesson, every child has the chance to push themselves to the edge of their own current learning and assess their own next steps.

Mastery of mathematics is something that we want all pupils to acquire throughout their school lives, and beyond. To achieve this, we include aspects of fluency, reasoning and problem solving in mathematics lessons and aim for all pupils to gain a deep understanding of mathematical concepts.

---

This video explains why we teach maths the way we do, the methodology and also the research that underpins our approach. We hope you find this useful.