Version 8.0 / MATHEMATICS POLICY – Curriculum Committee
mathematics Policy
This section should be completed following ratification of the Policy.
Name / Signature / DateChair of SubCommittee’s Approval / Gary Brown
Headteacher’s Approval / Paul Watson
Chair of Governors’ Approval / Neal Prescott
Recommended Review Date: / February 2016 (Annual Review)
Ownership
Preston Hedge’s Primary School is responsible for the production and maintenance of this document. It is issued by the Clerk, to whom any change requests or queries should be directed.
Version Control
This document is issued and maintained in accordance with Preston Hedge’s Primary School procedures. Any change to the document will increase its version number. It is the responsibility of the reader to check with the Clerk that this is a currently valid copy.
Version / Date / Description of Change / Changed By1 / 1999 / Original policy document / -
2.0 / May 2007 / Entirely updated and rewritten / Gill Truswell
2.1 / June 2007 / Minor changes, formatting and addition of document history section / Richard Baldwin
2.2 / 27 Sept 2007 / Typographical corrections / Richard Baldwin
3.0 / June 09 / Minor amendments to content to update policy / Tracey Coles
3.1 / Feb 2010 / Minor changes following Governor review (KO) / Tracey Coles
4.0 / Feb 2011 / Review / Tracey Coles
5.0 / Feb 2012 / Annual Review / P Watson, T Coles
6.0 / Feb 2013 / Annual Review – no changes / P Watson, T Coles
7 / Feb 2014 / Annual Review – One change – review annually / P Watson, T Coles
8 / Feb 2015 / Annual Review – One change – New Primary Curriculum / T Coles, I Sinnamon
References/Related Documents
Doc. No. / TitleN/A / School Development Plan (s:/data/admin/Development Plans)
Glossary
Term / DescriptionFile Name/Path
S:\Data\Admin\Policies and Aims\CURRICULUM POLICIES\CUR-001 Mathematics Policy V8.docMATHEMATICS POLICY
Aims
To raise standards in Mathematics.
To develop skills which enable children to use and apply numbers, measures, shape and space and data handling with competence and confidence in a range of contexts.
To develop children’s skills in mental calculation by ensuring they have a repertoire of known facts and strategies to draw upon.
To develop an enjoyment of Mathematics.
Leadership & Management
The Headteacher will:
Set high expectations and monitor teaching and progress;
Encourage a whole school approach, keeping parents, governors and all support staff well informed of any changes in teaching policy;
Support the Mathematics leader, leadership team and individual teachers.
Regularly conduct learning walks and monitoring activities to ensure standards are maintained and understood.
The Governors will:
Be well informed through the leadership of the Headteacher, Mathematics leader, leadership team and Numeracy Governor and at the annual data evening
Support the staff in implementing the school's policy for Mathematics;
Monitor and review progress on the Self-Evaluation Improvement Plan.
The Mathematics Leader will:
Lead by example showing a thorough understanding of the subject;
Offer support to teachers in planning, teaching and assessment;
Offer support and advice to parents by leading Numeracy presentation evenings.
Work alongside the Headteacher to monitor and evaluate teaching and progress and develop the subject;
Identify INSET needs, plan and deliver INSET.
Monitor progress of cohorts/individuals
Inform the Numeracy governor/governing body of developments in the subject
Teaching & Learning
Teachers will:
Provide Mathematics lessons sharing clear learning intentions/objectives/outcomes with the children; giving high regard to effective learning strategies.
Use a range of teaching styles to incorporate:
direct teaching
a high proportion of whole class oral/mental sessions
group/paired work
individual work;
give children extensive opportunities to share/discuss and demonstrate
Use the school’s Curriculum for medium term planning in association with the new Primary Mathematics curriculum.
Ensure that planning covers the foundation of learning, and challenge to more able pupils and include a full mental Maths session weekly,along with a regular review.
Adopt the school’s procedures and practice for Assessment/Calculations/Investigation/ Teaching and learning.
Give homework activities in line with the school policy,e.g. learning tables, age appropriate tasks.
In the daily Mathematics lesson teachers will:
Share clear learning objectives and top tips with the children
Define/explain and use accurate Mathematical vocabulary
Provide daily practise of mental skills including counting, rapid recall, newly learned facts and calculation strategies (where appropriate)
Review key skills needed for the day’s learning
Maintain good pace and use effective questioning
Engage pupils in challenging differentiated activities using a range of resources, including ICT
Ensure learning progresses throughout the lesson by scaffolding and structuring of objectives
Give opportunities for self selected differentiation
Allow children opportunities to work with a partner/group (where appropriate)
Give children extensive opportunities to interact/discuss and share
Ensure teaching assistants are utilised effectively for target group teaching
In Foundation Stage staff will ensure that there are suitable child initiated, adult initiated and adult led activities to ensure children’s learning progresses well.
The SENCO will:
Support the Mathematics leaders and teachers in supporting children with special needs and encourage whole class inclusion
Use the detailed objectives in the Framework when preparing individual education plans
Use data collected in National assessments and the school’s key skills assessmentsto support the Mathematics Co-ordinator in identifying children with special needs and gifted/talented children
Ensure any IEP provision in Mathematics is effective.
Children will be encouraged to:
Enjoy Mathematics and see its relevance in real life
Understand exactly what is expected of them on a day-to-day basis
Develop mental calculation strategies so that their first reaction to a question is ‘Can I do that in my head?’
Use Mathematical vocabulary with confidence
Find links between Mathematical concepts
Use their knowledge to solve problems, see patterns, make predictions, present information clearly, interpret data
Give oral explanations of their methods
Share/discuss/reason with their Mathematics partner
Confidently model/demonstrate explain to their peers
Reflect upon their understanding/learning within lesson
Support staff will:
Be included in staff training for Mathematics where appropriate
Have a clear understanding of their role in each part of the lesson
Share the learning objectives for each lesson and know the key vocabulary to be developed
Fulfil the expectations of the schools teaching and learning practices
Parents in Partnership
Parents will:
Be encouraged to develop positive attitudes to Mathematics and actively support their children when homework is given
Be well informed of their children’s progress through annual reports, and parent’s evenings
Monitoring and Review
There is an annual review of this policy by the Mathematics Leader and the Governors’ Curriculum Committee. For Mathematics developments within our school see the School Development Plan.
End of document