The Mathematics department is made up of 11 dedicated and enthusiastic teachers. The Director of Learning leads the department with invaluable support from the Deputy Directors of Learning. The department also benefits from having 3 specialist Lead Practitioners to help improve the quality of teaching and learning. Furthermore, the department is fully supported by a HLTA. All teachers in the department follow up-to-date and detailed schemes of work which include online resources such as Sparx maths. 

Maths Intent

The intent of the mathematics curriculum is to enable students to develop the numeracy, reasoning and problem-solving skills to make sense of, and be successful in, an ever-evolving world.

A solid understanding of mathematics maximizes the range of possible opportunities available in their next stages of life. By planning opportunities for students to achieve success at all levels, we foster a sense of enjoyment and curiosity beyond direct study of the subject. Through building a solid understanding of fundamental principles, making rich connections between them and applying them to progressively challenging and novel situations, we develop students that can think deeply and logically to solve real world problems.

Basically, we want every school leaver to achieve a strong foundation in mathematics, with no student left behind. Our aim is for all students to be able to choose the next stage of their journey with no door closed to them; from entering the world of employment, completing apprenticeships or other vocational courses, to studying A-level and degree level science, technology, engineering and mathematics related subjects.

What a lesson looks like

A typical Mathematics lesson is made up of a ‘Do Now’ task, which a student will do on their own immediately on entry and may be based on prior learning or pre-requisite skills for the lesson.  Then there will be new input; the teacher will explain a concept through an 'I do' (worked example), followed by a “We Do”; an opportunity to practice the skill together in a low-stakes environment. The ‘You Do’ is then where students develop their resilience and aim to deepen their of understanding of a particular concept. This practice may involve a mixture of individual learning, paired work or groupwork. The teacher will constantly be assessing the students’ understanding throughout each of the three phases of learning and will provide additional challenge, or support, to maximise student progress.

The Curriculum

Key Stage 3

In Years 7and 8, students receive eight lessons a fortnight, and seven lessons per fortnight in year 9.  Students follow a spiralling mathematics curriculum that interleaves previously learned knowledge and links it to new learning.  The curriculum has problem solving at the heart; it plans to support the retention of previous learning and build the resilience and independent skills required for students to solve multi-step problems, encouraging the use of mathematical language to promote accurate explanations and justification. 

Key Stage 4

In Year 10 students receive nine lessons per fortnight in mathematics. Students study the curriculum areas of number, algebra, ratio, geometry, statistics and probability in line with the new GCSE requirements.  They aim towards either the Higher Tier (grade 9-5) or Foundation Tier (grade 5-1) GCSE examinations. 

In Year 11, students also receive nine lessons per fortnight in mathematics. Students will have covered all new course content by the end of the first term. From January onwards, teaching will become bespoke to each class based on the outcomes of practice examinations. The teacher will find remaining gaps in student knowledge through assessment and re-teach any topics/subject areas where outcomes could be improved. Students will also receive individual breakdowns of their assessments each fortnight, with bespoke question level feedback, and guidance on where to find resources to do additional independent learning. The approach to GCSEs is geared towards examination preparation, examination confidence and examination technique.

Learning beyond the classroom

Each week pupils are set Maths homework on the Sparx website. Sparx provides personalized homework to each child, with questions that are challenging yet achievable, and tailored to their learning needs.  Much of each homework is based on recently learnt topics, but also includes some questions from previous topics to help reinforce their learning. Students are not judged solely on the outcomes of their homework (i.e. the completion percentage each week, or their scores), but rather are rewarded for their effort; Have they attempted all the questions? Have they watched the supporting videos when necessary? Have they spent sufficiently long attempting the work? etc. For further details on homework expectations, rewards and sanctions, please see the letter attached in the link. 

Assessment and setting

Although formal summative assessments are a key part of academic process, there is much more to assessment than simply doing tests. Our curriculum is designed with opportunities for assessment built in daily, weekly, each unit (roughly every 2 weeks) and each half-term (roughly every 7 weeks). Our teachers plan for assessment at every stage of each lesson and adapt their practise to meet the emerging needs of students in real time; from specifically selected skills in a Do Now to check prior knowledge, Assessment for Learning techniques used during the We Do (such as cold calling, or the use of mini white boards), to challenging questions where students have to apply the skills learned in increasing difficulty and novel situations during the You Do.

Every week, students are assessed via homework and receive real-time feedback.

Each unit contains an end of unit reflection; a low stakes check of their understanding of the key skills taught. There are no scores, students can use their books if needed, and they are given feedback and directed to resources for additional independent learning.

Each half term there is a summative assessment covering all the units taught since the previous test. This is used to monitor students’ progress over time.

Students are initially set in Year 7 based on data from KS2. We believe in adapting to meet the emerging needs of students, which is why we employ a ‘fluid’ setting system within maths. Following each half-termly test, students are ranked purely on attainment initially. This is then reviewed as a department by the teachers, who know the students’ strengths, weaknesses and personalities best. A single good/bad result does not necessarily result in a student moving up/down. If a student is consistently performing well, they may be moved up a set, where they can be offered more challenge. If a student is consistently finding the work difficult, they may move down, where the pace is slightly slower, and they can be offered more support. If a student has been moved up, it is rare that they will be moved back down in the next assessment window (regardless of their scores) as we like to give students time to adapt to the new class. Ultimately, we set fluidly with the aim of each student being in a class where the can have enough success to develop their mathematical confidence whilst encountering enough challenge to drive their continual improvement.

Options subjects

GCSE Statistics and Further Mathematics can be selected as an option at GCSE.  The statistics qualification gives students the opportunity to broaden their knowledge in a key component of maths that is relevant to everyday life. They’ll develop a core statistical grounding, as well as transferable skills and understanding that is applicable to a range of other subjects. It will also benefit those progressing to other A-level subjects such as the Sciences, Geography and Psychology.

The Further Mathematics course offers the opportunity for stretch and challenge that builds on the Key Stage 4 curriculum and is intended as an additional qualification to the Mathematics GCSE. The course is not strictly a CGSE, but rather a Level 2 certificate which is equivalent. On this course students develop their higher order mathematical skills in greater depth, particularly in algebraic reasoning, and are introduced to areas such as Calculus and Matrices, thus preparing them fully to maximise their potential in further studies at Level 3.

The Further Mathematics course is linked with the Statistics course; you cannot choose Statistics on its own.

However, if you do not want to take statistics as an option but do want to do Further Mathematics, we also run an extra-curricular course. This is specifically for those that have a passion for mathematics, are expected to achieve grades 7, 8 or 9 in GCSE mathematics, and are interested in progressing to A-Level study in Mathematics. The course is completed entirely in extra-curricular time (after school) and only those committed to the course will be entered for the qualification.

 

Before/After School Clubs

The mathematics department runs several after school activities:

• Achieve (Monday after school)
• Homework drop-in
• Maths Circle
• Further Mathematics

Revision

Formal intervention and revision sessions are provided throughout Year 11.  These include pre-school and after-school targeted intervention sessions as well as general after-school revision sessions. There will also be additional revision sessions taking place in half-term and Saturday mornings as we get closer to the exams.

Enrichment

Selected students in Years 7 and 8 are entered into the UKMT Junior Challenge and in Years 9, 10 and 11 selected students are entered into the UKMT Intermediate Challenge.

There will also be a Cross-MAT competition, “Best of the Best”, where students from Whitcliffe can compete against students from Trust schools in a series of team events.

Useful Links

Sprax Maths – www.sparxmaths.uk

Studymaths – www.studymaths.co.uk

Corbettmaths – www.corbettmaths.co.uk

Maths Chase - https://www.mathschase.com/ 

Please click the links below to view our curriculum plans.