At Ryton Junior School we are committed to building upon the strong foundation of mathematical learning at Ryton Infant School. We continue to place a high emphasis on fostering children’s enthusiasm so they continue to develop positive self-esteem as learners and feel confidence to express their ideas. We continue to ensure that children develop confidence and mental fluency with whole numbers, counting and place value. Children will work a range of with practical resources such as place value counters, Diennes equipment, bead strings and Rekenreks.

Our pupils have a daily maths lesson which uses a carefully sequenced curriculum to build a sound understanding of mathematical concepts. Mathematical flexibility is encouraged by adopting a varied fluency approach, and problem solving and reasoning activities are incorporated into each lesson. We adapt the resources used in class to meet the needs of all learners. In each lesson there are explicit links to previous learning and daily recall tasks which ensure learning is embedded.

Examples, representations and models are carefully selected to expose the structure of mathematical concepts and emphasise connections, enabling pupils to develop a deep knowledge of mathematics.

Procedural fluency and conceptual understanding are developed in tandem because each supports the development of the other.

It is recognised that practice is a vital part of learning, but the practice must be designed to both reinforce pupils’ procedural fluency and develop their conceptual understanding.

Pupils are taught through whole-class interactive teaching, enabling all to master the concepts necessary for the next part of the curriculum sequence.

In a typical lesson, the teacher leads back and forth interaction, including questioning, short tasks, explanation, demonstration, and discussion, enabling pupils to think, reason and apply their knowledge to solve problems.

Use of precise mathematical language enables all pupils to communicate their reasoning and thinking effectively.

If a pupil fails to grasp a concept or procedure, this is identified quickly, and gaps in understanding are addressed systematically to prevent them falling behind.

Significant time is spent developing deep understanding of the key ideas that are needed to underpin future learning.

Key number facts are learnt to automaticity, and other key mathematical facts are learned deeply and practised regularly, to avoid cognitive overload in working memory and enable pupils to focus on new learning