Curriculum Intent

We acknowledge that our learners come from a wide variety of backgrounds with varying exposure to mathematical concepts and experiences. We aim to develop children who have positive and enthusiastic attitudes towards maths. The aims of our maths teaching are aligned with the core aims of the National Curriculum both in the mathematics lessons and across the curriculum as a whole. We strive for our children to be successful and proficient mathematicians, who can apply their maths to other contexts, solve problems, fluently recall facts and reason mathematically, justifying their answers with confidence.

Implementation of our Maths curriculum

At Austin Farm Academy, we use Power Maths (recommend by the DFE) as a basis of our maths lesson from Foundation to Year 6. At the heart of this programme is the idea that all children can achieve and be successful mathematicians with the right growth mindset.  This mastery whole-class approach empowers every child to succeed and progress together through interactive lessons and practical activities, providing small, cumulative steps to build a solid foundation of deep mathematical understanding.

Power Maths adopts a unique lesson sequence which is designed to deepen knowledge by building fluency, conceptual understanding and confidence in using correct mathematical vocabulary. Children are encouraged to solve problems each day through the use of concrete resources, pictorial representations and abstract thinking.  

Concrete is the ‘doing’ stage, using concrete objects to solve problems. It brings concepts to life as children have the opportunity to be hands-on and use physical objects to aid them in developing their understanding. 

Pictorial is the ‘seeing’ stage, where representations of the objects are used to support learning.  This stage encourages children to make a mental connection between the physical object and abstract levels of understanding, by drawing or looking at pictures, circles, diagrams or models which represent the objects in the problem.

Abstract is the ‘symbolic’ stage, where children are able to use abstract symbols to model and solve maths problems.

    Concrete         Pictorial       Abstract

Each lesson is divided into sections that involve:

- plenty of ‘discovery’ to promote curiosity

- opportunities to ‘share’ methods,

- collaboration time to ‘think together’

- when ready practice independently

- time to reflect and evaluate their understanding of the key concept.  

With Power Maths, we promote five child-friendly characters, each with their own positive skillset, to inspire and motivate children.  These characters are:

Planning

At Austin Farm Academy we believe that the key to success with all learners is quality first teaching. Teachers follow the Power Maths scheme in preparing their lessons. Each lesson is planned using a generic lesson format to ensure consistency in approach, using the lesson sequence highlighted above. Teachers ensure the key images, questions and vocabulary are part of their teaching and these enable them to model key learning. This scheme is adapted to meet the needs of the children. Teachers skilfully highlight connection between mathematical topics.

Assessment

Through the explicit teaching of the Mathematical skills, both the teachers and the pupils assess their learning continuously throughout the lesson. At the end of the unit, assessment tasks are completed, where children have the opportunity to reflect on their knowledge and understanding. Formal assessment take place three times a year using Hodder PUMA assessments. Our assessment systems enable teachers to make informed judgements about the depth of their learning and the progress they have made over time.   

Impact of our Maths curriculum

Our pupils will be successful and proficient mathematicians, who can apply their maths to other contexts, solve problems, fluently recall facts and reason mathematically, justifying their answers with confidence.