Mathematics
At Riverside we are mathematicians!
Mathematics at Rochester Riverside
Our Vision
We are committed to enabling each member of our community to flourish. Our Learning is rooted in Character Education: the philosophy with which to develop essential, powerful and procedural knowledge (skills) alongside attributes in order to enable our children to flourish both in school and in the wider community to become forever Riverside. (See our school vision)
Mathematics (Intent) - what does mathematics look like at Riverside?
We teach the Mathematics National Curriculum, which ensures that the children are fluent in the fundamentals and have conceptual understanding so that they can reason mathematically. The intent of our curriculum is to allow children to flourish with their knowledge and understanding in mathematics throughout their school life, enriching their passion and enthusiasm for this subject. We believe giving all children a secure knowledge base will enable fluency across maths, science and technology, allowing them to be financially equipped for everyday life.
At Riverside we aim to create Mathematicians which are; problem solvers, resilient and explorers.
We teach a mastery curriculum (Intent) - what does that mean?
The Mastery learning model forms the basis of our approach to teaching maths. This means spending greater time going in to depth about a subject as opposed to racing through the concepts and knowledge pupils are expected to know by the end of each year group. Accelerating through content can lead to some children having large gaps in their knowledge because the concept is either too big or learnt too quickly. As a primary school, it is our duty to ensure that children have an absolutely solid, concrete understanding of subject knowledge and skills as well as being emotionally resilient for the next year of their education. Our intention is to take learning at a measured pace. This will better ensure no child is left behind as well as providing deeper and richer experiences for children who are grasping ideas quickly. Evidence shows that children need to be able to understand a concept, apply it in a range of situations and then be creative with it to really understand (or master) it. Simply going beyond the requirements of their age group does not guarantee they have fully understood something – just that they have heard it. At our school, the majority of children will be taught the content from their year group only. They will spend time becoming true masters of content, applying and being creative with new knowledge in multiple ways.
What does mastery look like at Riverside?
Mastering Number
Supporting pupils in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 to develop good number sense
This project aims to secure firm foundations in the development of good number sense for all children from Reception through to Year 1 and Year 2. The aim over time is that children will leave KS1 with fluency in calculation and a confidence and flexibility with number. Attention will be given to key knowledge and understanding needed in Reception classes, and progression through KS1 to support success in the future.
For more information about the Mastering Number programme please click the NCETM logo.
Pilgrim Progress (Implementation)
The Pilgrim Progress is a system we have created for the assessment of all subjects in year groups one to six. This system ensures effective tracking of progress and coverage of the Curriculum throughout these two key stages. The Pilgrim Progress will show you the expected outcomes for each year group (what they should know by the end of the year).
Find your child's Pilgrim Progress below:
What does The Pilgrim Progress (implementation) look like in school?
In-school formative assessment is the ongoing, day-to-day assessment which is carried out by adults and children. This assessment takes a variety of forms:
Lessons are planned using the ‘review, teach, practice, apply’ structure.
Understanding is assessed during a review activity to enable teachers to respond accurately to the learning needs of their class or an individual. Verbal and some written feedback is given so that children know how to improve their work and are aware of their next steps of learning. At the end of the lesson the Learning Objective will be marked with either a pink, yellow or green highlighter to indicate whether the individual is working at teach, practice or apply.
Apps and Websites
Numbots
This year we have invested in Numbots which is from the creators with Times Tables Rockstars (TTRS). Numbots is based on the 'mastery approach' and specifically focuses on the additional aid of teaching addition, subtraction and number bonds. This is fundamental and a key part of our learning in Key Stage 1. The children are loving this game and are always excited to show us how their Robot is changing!
Click the picture to log onto Numbots.
Times Tables Rockstars:
At Riverside we love playing Times Tables Rockstars.
In either paper form or online, Times Tables Rock Stars is a carefully sequenced programme of daily times tables practice. Each week concentrates on a different times table, with a recommended consolidation week for rehearsing the tables that have recently been practised every third week or so. This format has very successfully boosted times tables recall speed for hundreds of thousands of pupils over the last 8 years in over 14,000 schools - both primary and secondary - worldwide.
Click on the picture to log onto TTRS.
How fast should I be?
Year 1/2 - Children are just starting to begin their times tables journey - there should be no pressure on time but enjoy learning new facts!
Year 3 - Children be should starting to become familiar with their times tables facts and by the end of the year should be able to answer questions within 5 seconds.
Year 4 - By the end of year 4 children should be fluent with their times tables facts. They should be able to answer any question within 3 seconds.
Year 5 - Children should now be trying to improve their time - they should be able to answer any question within 2.8 seconds.
Year 6 - Children should now be trying to improve their time - they should be able to answer any question within 2.7 seconds.
Times tables songs we love in class
Other websites used in classes
https://www.topmarks.co.uk/Search.aspx?Subject=16https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/primary
Number Fluency at Riverside
Please have a look at some of the points which were addressed during the Maths day talk. It highlights the importance of number fluency and why playing number games regularly benefits our children.
number fluency presentation.pdf
What have you found helpful about today’s session?Learning the word subitising and the meaning of it.Parent- May 2024
What tips will you use when supporting your child’s mathematics at home?Picturing numbers rather than counting.Parent - May 2024
What have you found helpful about today’s session?Everything! I loved the enthusiasm and learnt so much about how to support my children's learning. I really want to try out the game on the video to practise my maths!Parent - May 2024
At The Riverside we love reading about mathematics too (Implementation)..
Here are some of our recommendations:
