Mathematics at Ryton-on-Dunsmore

The basic skills of mathematics are vital for the life opportunities of our children. At Ryton-on-Dunsmore, Provost Williams CE Academy we follow White Rose Maths when teaching mathematics. This is a scheme that has a mastery approach to teaching Maths. This includes a belief that all children are capable of understanding and doing mathematics, given sufficient time.

White Rose Maths

This approach enables teachers to keep the children working together on the same area, whilst personalising for all children. White Rose provides teachers with blocked units, offering greater time frames to deliver and explore the objectives in. These blocks are further broken down into small steps, giving children the opportunity to take more time to develop their understanding. Lessons will promote fluency, reasoning and problem-solving with all children being given the opportunity to achieve and experience these. Children who grasp concepts and small steps rapidly will be further challenged through being offered rich reasoning and problem-solving challenges before any acceleration of new content.

Calculation and Concepts

To become competent with and to gain a deep understanding of new mathematical concepts, we follow a concrete-pictorial-abstract approach:

Concrete 

Children have opportunities to use concrete (practical) objects and manipulatives to help them understand what they are doing.

Pictorial

Alongside the concrete, children use pictorial representations (where they are exposed to a range of representations to help draw out mathematical structures). These representations then help children to reason and problem solve.

Abstract

Both concrete and pictorial representations support children’s understanding of abstract methods.  This approach contributes to children’s conceptual understanding and conceptual understanding supports retention, which is our ultimate goal.

Children who master mathematical concepts more rapidly are given the opportunity to deepen their understanding by attempting additional challenges. These activities are carefully designed challenges that encourage children to use and develop their mathematical skills.

Times Table Rockstars

Times Table Rockstars is a fun and competitive way for children to learn their times tables. Each child from Year 1 to Year 6 has a username and password so that they can develop their knowledge and recall of the times tables.