Maths

Maths at Killisick

At Killisick we are passionate about developing numerate children who have a love and understanding of maths. As a school we encourage a relentless pursuit of mathematical understanding and skill in order to help our pupils to become inquisitive and confident mathematicians. Over the last few years we have been working to embed the idea of Mastery within our Maths teaching- encouraging children to develop a deeper understanding of mathematical concepts.

We use Power Maths. This scheme uses the Concrete, Pictorial, Abstract approach to encourage children to think mathematically, building in lots of opportunities for mathematical discussion and encouraging the use of manipulatives.. Teachers have the flexibility to adapt the ideas in and  Power Maths and some lessons will be designed from scratch if teachers feel there is a more effective approach to teaching a concept. Our learning for each half term has been put into a 6 week framework to show the flow of learning and teachers have considered carefully the best time to teach each concept. As a result of the publication of the Ready To Progress Criteria we have also been able to identify key content within each year group. This content is already part of our Maths curriculum but is highlighted within planning so staff are aware of its importance.

Other aspects of Maths

Daily Arithmetic Practice

Children have the opportunity to practise arithmetic regularly through 5  in 5 . 5  in 5 is a set of 10 questions which the children have 5 minutes to answer. The questions are carefully chosen to cover:

• Recent/Current teaching
• End of Year expectations
• Ready to Progress Criteria

This gives the children the opportunity to practise key mathematical skills throughout the year and encourages regular revisiting of concepts.

Times Tables

As a school we use Times Table Rockstars as a way to practise Times Table knowledge, both in preparation for the MTC at the end of Year 4 and to contribute towards children’s fluency in mathematical facts.

• All children from  have access to TTRS online and can use it to practise their tables at home.
• We do daily times tables practise in the form of a 2-minute quiz consisting of 40 multiplication and division problems.
• Year 3 and 4 also do daily times tables on Purple Mash in preparation for the Multiplication Tables Check (MTC)