Our intent is for every child to enjoy and succeed in mathematics. At Gilbert Colvin, our goal is to prepare pupils for the real world by ensuring that they develop the skills required to apply mathematics in everyday life. This includes teaching children the relevant vocabulary needed to explain their mathematical thinking and giving them the opportunity to link maths to real-world problem solving.
We aim for all pupils to:
- Develop a positive attitude towards mathematics.
- Harness enjoyment and curiosity about the subject.
- Become fluent in the fundamentals of mathematics so that they develop conceptual understanding and the ability to apply knowledge accurately and efficiently.
- Discuss their mathematical thinking using the correct vocabulary.
- Develop a range of skills to solve a variety of problems and to reason logically.
At Gilbert Colvin Primary, we adopt the mastery approach to teaching mathematics. This means that pupils acquire a deep, secure and adaptable understanding of maths. Key facts, such as addition facts and number bonds are learnt to automaticity, to avoid cognitive overload in the working memory and enable pupils to focus on new concepts. Significant time is spent developing deep knowledge of the key ideas that are needed to underpin future learning. Learning is sequenced through the CPA approach: concrete representations – the ‘doing’ stage (such as bead strings, cubes); pictorial – the ‘seeing’ stage (images) and abstract – the ‘symbolic’ stage (the written calculation) to develop a fuller conceptual understanding from Nursery to Year 6.
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Times Tables |
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Times tables play an important role in mathematics and we practise them daily. Fluency in time tables allow children to calculate efficiently and make connections between numbers, e.g. 7 x 8 = 56, therefore 7 x 80 = 560. Our children love practising their times tables, using the Times Tables Rockstars programme.
What our children think about Mathematics at Gilbert Colvin Primary School:
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| “Maths is challenging, which is good because it means you have to think deeply. I liked learning about ratio and proportion because I could relate it to things I had learnt about in fractions, decimals and percentages” – Year 6 child. |
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“I enjoyed learning how to count in 5s and I liked looking for the pattern of the number ending in 5 and 0”
– Year 1 child.
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| “I love counting - I have learnt how to count up to 50!” - Reception child. |
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“When we learnt about division, I knew how I could divide up my football stickers between my friends” – Year 4 child.
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| I like how our teacher explains things step-by-step. I have tried really hard to use the correct vocabulary when I am explaining my thinking” - Year 5 child. |
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“Maths will help me throughout life. I like our mental maths lessons and I have become more efficient with my times tables” - Year 3 child.
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“I liked using bead strings when we were learning about money. They helped us to add when bridging 10” – Year 2 child.
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