First Federation Trust
What does this look like in practice?
Planning
Learning Concepts are planned into small, progressive steps which draw upon wider connections within the mathematics curriculum.
Prior learning is explicitly linked to new learning to further enhance coherence and to develop understanding of the mathematical journey, professionally questioning decisions regarding coherence (representation use/order of learning/consistent vocabulary use).
Throughout the planning process, misconceptions are discussed and deliberately planned into sequences to promote mathematical reasoning by pupils.
Teachers are expected to know why they have chosen particular questions within their lessons and how these support concept development or mathematical thinking.
Whole School Practices
Underpinning our whole school practice is the belief that all children can achieve in mathematics
All staff understand the importance of recognising a child’s pre-requisite understanding and building from this.
Teachers are expected to assess formatively within each lesson, ensuring all children have kept up with the learning.
Specifically planned in ‘catch up’ time is available every day. Where possible, teachers may decide to pre-teach in order to build pupil’s confidence for the lesson ahead.
Staff understand that developing concepts often requires additional practice. Therefore recording of work is simply to allow the teacher to understand whether a child has grasped a concept. Feedback for learning takes place within the lessons verbally or through immediate intervention.
Teaching
Explicit sessions focussed on number/multiplication facts as well as calculations are taught to develop both accuracy and efficiency.
Prior to teaching new content, prior content is made explicit in a recap which is then linked to new learning linked to last lesson, last week, last term and last year activating prior learning in the long term memory.
Retrieval opportunities are found across all learning. This may be at the beginning of a lesson through our retrieval grids or through prior concepts being built into questions during a pupil’s independent practice.
Lessons will include short episodes of teaching followed by opportunities for students to ‘do’ within a guided environment. These are known as learning opportunities.
Opportunities for children to dive deeper into content are provided throughout.
Depth of understanding is promoted through high levels of discussion within the classroom, ensuring children articulate their mathematical thinking as well as considering alternative approaches towards a problem. A range of Independent Practice opportunities are provided for a specific purpose
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Teachers use a range of questions to promote mathematical thinking. This may be in the form of verbal discussion ‘What do you notice?’ ‘What is the same? What is different?’ or through more formal written questions.
Assessment
A series of pre-requisite assessments and end of block assessments are used in order to ensure all children are keeping up with the content.
Rigorous formative assessment is in place within lessons to ensure all children keep up within the lesson. Should a child not keep up with the lesson’s content, immediate intervention opportunities across the school are in place to enable the child to be ready for the next lesson.
Where pre-requisite or End of Block assessment identifies any gaps, teachers cater for this in their planning by either: planning a longer learning sequence to ensure pre-requisite understanding is secured or lesson time is made available post block for teachers to work with pupils who need further support to keep up, whilst children who are ready to progress spend time deepening understanding or previously taught content.
SEND
It is ensured that SEND children have an ambitious curriculum. Where a SEND pupil is maintaining pace with the class’s learning journey, they would continue with appropriate in class support where necessary.
Should a child be significantly behind the class’s curriculum, small group work outside of the lesson would take place to allow the pupil to move on from their starting point. This teaching would take place by a highly-trained teaching assistant where the focus would be aiming for the child to meet each year’s ‘ready to progress’ criteria.