Maths at Red Hall

At Red Hall we aim to teach our children how to make sense of the world around them by developing their ability to calculate, reason and solve problems within Mathematics. We want our children to recognise and understand relationships and patterns in numbers in the world around them. We expect Mathematics to be utilised as a tool beyond the daily Mathematics lessons and beyond the classroom. After all, Maths is an essential skill for independence and making sense of the world around us. This can be in a number of ways, such as working out how much money is needed to make a purchase, or how to weigh the ingredients of a new recipe, or understanding time to ensure we can read public transport timetables and be punctual. Reasoning and problem solving skills developed enable us to solve a variety of problems, beyond the subject.

How do we teach Maths at Red Hall?

At Red Hall, we provide memorable Maths lessons, using a range of manipulatives to help develop a deepened understanding of mathematical concepts and make connections to life beyond the classroom. Objects, pictures, words, numbers and symbols are everywhere; the approach to mathematics we use here at Red Hall incorporates all of these, in order to enrich the learning experience and help children to explore and demonstrate their mathematical understanding.

We introduce concepts to our pupils through using a concrete, pictoral, abstract approach. We introduce children to concrete materials that irradiate mathematical structure, helping them to visualise the structure through images and drawings before progressing to recording the maths with abstract mathematical symbols. Vocabulary appropriate to concepts is introduced at the beginning of each lesson and is reviewed throughout, ensuring that new vocabulary is embedded within each lesson, with explicit links being made to previous vocabulary to develop a deeper understanding. We want our children to know more and remember more, through teaching key concepts and providing opportunities to revisit learning. One way we ensure we do this is through our Maths Wizard, which is a mental and oral starter that you will see at the beginning of every lesson across our school.

Children are encouraged to work in mixed ability pairs, as discussion is essential in our daily Maths lessons. Who children may work with will be dependent on progress made and their individual needs. Task types may vary, again depending on progress made that lesson, however we encourage children to challenge themselves to access problems solving and reasoning at least 3 times per week, so long as they are confident and the skills needed to complete the challenge are embedded. Investigative tasks are designed to allow pupils to follow lines of enquiry and develop their own ideas, justifying and proving their answers. Children work both collaboratively and independently solving problems, which require them to persevere and develop resilience. Resilience is a great focus in Maths and a quality we aim to instil in all of our pupils. Our staff use Growth Mindset language to develop resilience, encouraging children to enjoy seeking answers just as much as they enjoy finding them.

How do we plan your Maths lessons?

Staff are expected to use an S-Plan, to plan a whole concept over the course of 2-3 weeks. Within this plan, misconceptions which may arise are highlighted and teachers have a clear vision for how to overcome these, using quality questioning. Staff identify opportunities for explicit links to be made between a range of concepts in Mathematics, as well as opportunities for children to reason. A wide range of resources are factored into our planning, to ensure that children are exposed to a range of resources in order to facilitate the best possible outcomes. Mathematical vocabulary is clearly mapped on our S Plan, reinforced within every Maths lesson, and the children are exposed to a wide range of mathematical terminology from EYFS. We use sentence prompts in order to help the children structure their reasoning responses, at a level which is appropriate for their age group. At Red Hall, we do not follow one particular Maths scheme, however we do use resources from White Rose Maths, Maths No Problem and Classroom Secrets to support with introducing a new concept.

Times Tables Rock Stars

It is an expectation that children can recall all multiplication and division facts up to 12×12 by the end of Year 4. Recently, the Government introduced a Multiplication Check, which will assess the children’s ability to recall these facts at the end of this year group. Two years ago, we subscribed to TTRS (Times Tables Rock Stars) in the hope to develop rapid recall of multiplication and division facts. Teachers can set tables for particular individuals, meaning that the learning on this website is personal to them. Here are some comments from our children on TTRS:

It’s very cool and it has helped me get quicker at my multiplication. Oakley, Year 4
It’s a good way to find out what you are capable of in Maths and it is good to challenge other people to become better at time tables. Nicky, Year 6
I enjoy it because it teaches me how to do my times tables and I like to beat my time when we do our checks. Ava-Mae, Year 4
TTRS has helped me with my 9 times table and 12 times table and I am getting better at these now. Annalise, Year 5
It has helped m;, I have learnt my 7’s and I didn’t used to know them. I like to play on it at home. Daisy, Year 5

Key Information for Parents & Carers:

https://whiterosemaths.com/for-parents/parent-workbooks/

Key Websites:

Below are a range of websites which you may access at home, so that you can help your child as much as you can.