At Mission Grove our aim for mathematics is to promote enjoyment and enthusiasm for learning through practical activity, exploration and discussion. We promote confidence and competence so that the children of Mission Grove are ‘proud to shine’ about their achievements. We also want the children in our school to understand the importance of mathematical skills in everyday life.
The teaching of maths at Mission Grove Primary provides opportunities for:
- Group work
- Paired work
- Whole class teaching
- Individual work
Pupils engage in:
- The development of mental strategies
- Written methods
- Practical work
- Investigational work
- Problem- solving
- Mathematical discussion
- Consolidation of basic skills and routines
Lessons generally follow a format consisting of a mental and oral starter, differentiated group activities and a plenary session.
We recognise the importance of establishing a secure foundation in mental calculation and recall of number facts before standard written methods are introduced. We emphasise the use of vocabulary when planning to help determine the appropriate vocabulary to use in our teaching, and children are expected to use it in their verbal and written explanations.
We endeavour to set work that is challenging, motivating and encourages the pupils to talk about what they have been doing.
We encourage the children to reguarly practise their times tables at home and they are then tested on these in school. By the end of year 4 all children are expected to know their times tables up to 12.
We use the X factor times tables approach to inspire the children to continue learning their tables. Each time a child successfully completes a times table they can then move onto the next stage in the 'competition'.
Times Tables Rock Stars
The school have a subscription to TT Rock Stars each of the children will have their own unique log in. The website can be accessed by this link https://play.ttrockstars.com/auth/school/student/4760 or by downloading the TT Rock Stars app. Your child's class teacher will allocate them the tables that they are currently working on. This app has been really successful with our children and they enjoy battling against each other.
Numicon has been available at Mission Grove since 2013. It is a resource which is to be accessed by children across different ages, children of different abilities and across a range of mathematical topics. Numicon’s imagery uses pattern to represent each numeral. Patterns are structured, so number relationships can be seen and experienced in a way not provided by written numerals. Numicon encourages an understanding of number and arithmetic relationships. Numicon is NOT strictly an SEN resource however Numicon’s multisensory approach is ideal for pupils with sensory and additional needs.