Maths Curriculum Intent Statement

We are committed to providing high quality Maths teaching for all students. We will help learners to secure the knowledge and skills they need for future success. Confidence and resilience are key to learners achieving academic standards of excellence.

Maths is all around us in everything that we do, from everyday activities such as buying sweets to playing our favourite computer game. Being able to do mental arithmetic helps us to spot if a number is wrong. It’s like having a safety net to catch you if you make a mistake. Understanding numbers is as fundamental as knowing how to read.

Students need procedural understanding – how something works, but they also need to understand why something works. Then they can apply this knowledge and formulate and solve problems, which is a key area of the new GCSE.

We follow a Mastery Curriculum at KS3. Teachers reinforce an expectation that all students are capable of achieving high standards in Maths. The large majority of pupils progress through the curriculum content at the same pace. Differentiation is achieved by exploring deeper and through individual support and intervention. Lessons are crafted to foster deep conceptual and procedural knowledge. Practice and consolidation play a central role. Questioning in class and regular assessment are used to test understanding and to identify those requiring intervention.

Understanding does not come immediately – it may take several years to understand a concept. That is why our KS4 Curriculum uses spiralling – the students come back to and reinforce their understanding of a concept each year.

We want our students to see that mathematics can help them better understand and describe the world around them. We encourage them to see maths as a way of thinking rather than a collection of facts.