Subject Co-ordinator: Mr Mike Bawn

Maths Curriculum - Purpose of study

Mathematics is a creative and highly inter-connected discipline that has been developed over centuries, providing the solution to some of history’s most intriguing problems. It is essential to everyday life, critical to science, technology and engineering, and necessary for financial literacy and most forms of employment. A high-quality mathematics education therefore provides a foundation for understanding the world, the ability to reason mathematically, an appreciation of the beauty and power of mathematics, and a sense of enjoyment and curiosity about the subject.

Aims

The national curriculum for mathematics 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 have conceptual understanding and are able to recall and apply their knowledge rapidly and accurately to problems
• 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.

White Rose Maths:

At St Joseph's, we are pleased to closely follow the White Rose Mathematics scheme across the school. White Rose Maths is an organisation that aims to work collaboratively with teachers across the country to improve mathematics teaching. Inspired and informed by robust, world-class research and global maths experts, the scheme aims to transform maths education and change the experience of maths forever. The white Rose approach aims to help all pupils to master mathematics. 

White Rose Maths provides maths resources and Schemes of Learning for pupils of all ages, from early years to secondary school. The Schemes of Learning (SOL) outline yearly frameworks that break down what children need to learn during each week of each term to master the learning objectives laid out by the National Curriculum.  White Rose Maths frameworks are designed to be enjoyable, engaging and varied, to help pupils develop a love of learning and work towards mastery with differentiated resources.

But what defines White Rose Maths more than their resources and frameworks is their approach to teaching maths. At the heart of their resources and frameworks is the motto “Everyone Can Do Maths: Everyone Can!” — a slogan that we at St Joseph's wholeheartedly agree with!

White Rose teaches children mathematical concepts through pictorial, practical and written methods in order to develop a deep understanding, confidence and competence in Maths and improve fluency. Fluency in Maths is about developing number sense and being able to choose and use the most appropriate method for the task at hand and be able to apply a skill to multiple contexts. 

It uses the CPA (Concrete, Pictorial, Abstract) approach, which is a highly effective approach to teaching that develops a deep and sustainable understanding of maths in pupils. CPA was developed by American psychologist Jerome Bruner. It is an essential technique within the Singapore method of teaching maths for mastery. 

Times Table Rockstars 

St Joseph's Catholic Primary School subscribes to Times Table Rock Stars. This is a system that the children use to practise the instant recall of their multiplication and division facts.

When it comes to times tables, speed AND accuracy are important – the more facts a child remembers, the easier it is for them to complete harder calculations. Times Table Rock Stars is a fun and challenging programme designed to help children master the times tables. To be a Times Table Rock Star they need to answer any multiplication fact up to 12×12 in less than 3 seconds!

Research shows that daily practise is the best strategy for children to learn these important facts.  Short bursts of daily practise are much more effective than spending hours once a week. Parental support is critical in this area.  For children to be fully motivated and for them to get the best out of the practice, they need an adult's help. Without a Parent's praise and reminders, without sitting down together or checking their work, practising times tables will not feel important.

Each class or group within a class will be set a schedule of times tables to work on by their teacher. The quicker a child can answer a times tables question, the higher their Rock Status.

Game Modes

Single Player

Garage - the questions will only come from the times tables the teacher has set for the week. As pupils start to answer questions, TT Rock Stars works out which facts they take longer on and will give them more of these questions to answer. The Garage is best for getting quicker at a few facts. Players get 10 coins per question.

Studio - the questions in the Studio can be anything from 1×1 up to 12×12.
TT Rock Stars calculates each the mean speed from their last 10 games in the Studio and translates into a Rock Status.

They earn 1 coin per question and the Studio is the place for them to set their best time across all the tables.

Multiplayer 

Rock Arena - The Arena allows players to compete against all other members of their Band (their Bandmates would need to join the same game in order to compete together).
A new Arena game starts every 15 seconds and once the clock starts they race to answer more questions than the others. In the Arena, questions will only come from the times tables the teacher has set for the week, similar to the Garage.  They earn 1 coin per correct answer.

Rock Festival - The Rock Festival games are open to players from around the world. Like the Arena, there is no limit to the number of players who can join a game; however, unlike the Arena, questions are selected at random from 1×1 to 12×12.
Pupils might choose the Rock Festival if they were playing at home (and therefore couldn't easily synchronise playing against a classmate) or wanted to compete against others not in their Band. They earn 1 coin per correct answer.

How you can help at home

There are lots of ways to help to build your child's confidence in maths. There are many fun games and activities you can do with your child that practise maths skills. Most children love playing games and it's an easy way to support their learning.

Tips for helping your child to enjoy maths: 

• Point out the different shapes to be found around your home.
• Take your child shopping and talk about the quantities of anything you buy.
• Let your child handle money and work out how much things cost.
• Ask younger children to count all the coins in your purse or wallet.
• Look together for numbers on street signs and car registration plates.
• Look at house numbers and talk about odd and even.
• Ask older children to work out the best special offer.
• Look at clocks and tell the time. Talk about timings for cooking.
• Learn how to recall times tables quickly.
• Practice number recognition, numbers bonds to 10, 20 and 100
• Practice times tables including their related division facts e.g. 2 x 3 = 6    6 ÷ 2 = 3

Parent Workshops

During the Autumn term, we have been holding a series of maths workshops for KS1 & 2 looking at the different areas of maths our children will be learning at school.  The workshops focus on how you can support your child with their mathematical development through everyday life, games and activities, as well as enabling you to answer any questions your child may ask and be able to recognise any misconceptions he/she may make or have. 

If you could not attend the workshops some of  the support materials are attached on this page. 

Thank you for your continued support!