At Forest, the intention of our curriculum is to implement a mastery approach to teaching and learning which will provide all children with full access to fluency, reasoning and problem solving. This will enable them to achieve confidence and competence in mathematics. We are committed to all children at all levels developing a curiosity in maths, enabling them to apply maths skills as a fundamental part of our everyday lives.
Teaching is underpinned by methodical curriculum design and supported by carefully crafted lessons and resources to foster deep conceptual and procedural knowledge. Please view our calculation policy to see this in action. With this is mind, mathematics is taught to whole classes, where the majority of pupils’ progress through the curriculum content at the same pace using the Maths Learning Journey. The Maths Learning Journey adopts the teaching backwards approach, allowing more opportunities for deeper learning, coinciding with the mastery 5 big ideas.
Underpinning the journey for our young mathematicians is practice and consolidation, taking into account children’s individual starting points. This journey plays a central role where learning is carefully designed to include variation, fluency development and key understanding of underlying mathematical concepts.
Impact and progress is assessed daily by the class teacher in which they will then decide what support or lessons the class or small groups of children will need to ensure all children achieve. Using our mastery approach, all children are exposed to opportunities for reasoning and problem solving, often through a multidimensional approach, where they become confident at using technical mathematical vocabulary and are able to think critically. This allows for debates and discussions around key concepts. Pupils are encouraged to coach others and take a collective responsibility for their learning. Real life learning is embedded in the curriculum which allows our children to understand the importance of their learning and relate this to their everyday lives.