Maths
Maths is a core part of the National Curriculum which helps to prepare our children for their future education and life beyond. Through mathematics, children are taught to reason logically, solve problems and think in abstract ways. These skills are hugely important and integral aspects of everyday life and we are therefore committed to developing positive and enthusiastic attitudes towards maths at Priors Field.
The National Curriculum for mathematics aims to ensure that all children:
-
become fluent in the fundamentals of mathematics, including through varied and frequent practice with increasingly complex problems over time, so that pupils have conceptual understanding and are able to recall and apply their knowledge rapidly and accurately to problems
-
reason mathematically by following a line of enquiry, conjecturing relationships and generalisations, and developing an argument, justification or proof using mathematical language
-
can solve problems by applying their mathematics to a variety of routine and non-routine problems with increasing sophistication, including breaking down problems into a series of simpler steps and persevering in seeking solutions.
Please follow the link here for more specific details on what pupils are taught.
At Priors Field, we take into account the ‘Concrete – Pictorial – Abstract’ concept of learning maths, developed by American psychologist Jerome Bruner. The ‘Concrete’ stage of learning is the ‘doing’ stage whereby children are physically counting objects and using materials to represent calculations. In the ‘Pictorial’ stage, visual representations of problems and calculations are created, such as bar models and ‘part-whole’ models. The ‘Abstract’ stage is what most adults associate with maths, whereby values and calculations are represented through a range of mathematical symbols. These phases are not a one-way journey and we ensure that pupils of all ages are given sufficient opportunities to learn maths within each of these phases.
Finally, through daily teaching of mathematics at Priors Field we offer a great opportunity for pupils to develop their ‘Growth Mindset’ and put into practice many key parts of the school’s vision, such as being resilient, determined, aspirational, explorers, investigators, proud, life-long learners.
