Maths

Our Whole School Approach to Mathematics

Children at Muscliff Primary School delight in their mathematics learning and thrive in a culture derived from our school values: aspiration, resilience, kindness, curiosity and responsibility.

We firmly believe in the transformative power of mathematics and its unique ability to change our view of the world and open pathways to success in later life.

When children engage in mathematics at Muscliff Primary, they master skills through creative exploration, varied practice, reasoning and articulation. Our expert teachers guide children to success through an adaptive approach to teaching which recognises the unique journey for each learner and the necessary support or challenge they need in order to achieve to their highest potential.

Why our pupils love mathematics:

“I enjoy learning at Muscliff because we get pushed to our limits. We are always exploring different methods and ways of thinking about problems.” Daniel

“Looking at real-life problems helps us to use maths in the world outside.” Aba

“I enjoy being supported by teachers and then becoming confident enough to solve problems by myself.” Lily

At Muscliff Primary, we follow a mastery approach to teaching and believe that all pupils, regardless of background or prior mathematical experience, can succeed.

By building on prior knowledge, children develop confidence through varied fluency practice, mathematical reasoning and problem solving. Our children are articulate learners who enjoy explaining their understanding, exploring new ways of solving problems, justifying their own approaches, understanding potential misconceptions and making links to other areas of learning or real-life situations. They acknowledge that mistakes are part of learning, and discover that they often provide some of our most valuable learning opportunities.

Pupils at Muscliff Primary take pride in their own successes and delight in the achievements of others. They recognise that they are on a learning journey together and support each other along the way.

Our staff engage with current academic research and regular professional development to support their dedicated approach to teaching. Teachers use carefully considered questioning techniques to elicit pupil understanding and model the inquisitive and open-minded approach to mathematics that we strive to develop in our pupils. Precise mathematical vocabulary is used to enable pupils to clearly demonstrate their understanding and make connections with previously taught skills or experience.  

Maths — No Problem!

As a school, we have chosen to implement the Maths — No Problem! scheme of learning to ensure full coverage of National Curriculum objectives, and the NCETM ready-to-progress criteria. Through careful research and consideration, we chose Maths — No Problem! as it aligns with our beliefs and approach towards successful mathematical teaching.

Maths — No Problem! is an award-winning primary mathematics education programme that combines proven learning theories with advanced mastery techniques. Maths – No Problem is based on the Singapore method, which synthesises 30 years of international research with painstaking craftsmanship.

In fact, we are delighted to be recognised as an accredited school for Maths — No Problem! and welcome teachers from other schools to see mathematics in action at Musciff Primary and learn from our approach.

The Maths — No Problem! approach ensures that inclusive activities are embedded so that all pupils are able to access mathematical concepts and feel successful. Lessons are rich with challenging components which stretch our most advanced learners. Additionally, pupils are provided with the opportunity to engage with challenge tasks in every lesson which encourages them to explore concepts in greater detail. This may take the form of problem solving, explaining and justifying their approach or identifying and correcting errors. Children will use their Maths Journals to delve into this wider mathematical exploration.

Where pupils are working significantly below age-related expectations, they will be supported to feel the same level of achievement as their peers. In lessons, they will benefit from scaffolding and targeted work which has been planned by their teacher as informed and agreed by the SENDco, parents and any outside agencies who may be involved. In addition to lesson time, pupils will benefit from carefully planned intervention, designed to support their progress and address any gaps in their learning.

Throughout their mathematics learning, pupils will engage with the CPA approach in which learning is initially developed through interaction with concrete resources, progressing onto a range of pictorial representations and finally evolving to the use of abstract mathematical symbols.

Mathematical Fluency

A key component of maths learning at Muscliff is developing a secure foundation on which children can deepen their mathematical understanding: maths fluency sits at the heart of this. In addition to daily maths lessons, pupils will develop their mathematical fluency through our robust approach which includes daily retrieval practice, the NCETM Mastering Number Programme, daily Number Sense times tables sessions, retrieval quizzes, and maths workshop sessions.

Please see our Maths Fluency Policy for more details:

Community

In addition to being an accredited school for Maths — No Problem! we work closely other schools in our local area and attend maths network meetings with local subject leaders to ensure that we are up to date with the latest developments in mathematical understanding and share best practice with colleagues.

Additionally, we work alongside the Jurassic Maths Hub and teachers from Muscliff Primary participate in work groups to engage in further professional development and analysis.

Calculation policy

Maths vocabulary by year group

Sequencing of Muscliff mathematics curriculum

Key Indicators

Please see below for a list of key indicators for each year group. These represent key skills which children will need to master to meet age-related expectations.

Teaching for Mastery at Muscliff

In order to achieve 'mastery' we teach maths using the Concrete-Pictorial-Abstract approach, underpinned by Bar Modelling.

This means you'll see lots of practical resources being used to support and deepen knowledge in every classroom. Have a look at what this means: