Maths is a core subject and from September 2022 mathematics and numeracy will be classified as one of the six Areas of Learning and Experience under the new Curriculum for Wales. For full details, please visit https://hwb.gov.wales/curriculum-for-wales/
Maths is given high priority within our school. It is taught on a daily basis. The reason for this is that mathematics and numeracy are vital for everyday living. We therefore need to be able to apply maths to solve problems in real-world contexts.
As well as mastering mathematical skills, we believe that in our school maths should be fun. It is important that mathematics and numeracy experiences are as engaging, exciting and accessible as possible for our learners, and that these experiences are geared towards ensuring that our learners develop mathematical resilience.
Every day, a morning lesson in every classroom is prioritised for the teaching and learning of mathematics and numeracy. Although this will look slightly different in the various age-related classes, the principles will remain the same: Engage the learner, excite the learner, make it accessible, challenge the learner, apply and link the experiences to real life contexts so that the learning becomes purposeful and meaningful.
Professional Schemes
At Pen-y-fai, we follow the Big Maths scheme. We use it to teach CLIC (basic skills) and SAFE (wider skills). Teachers use the online resource to plan their weekly lessons. Each area of learning is subdivided down into Steps. Therefore within SHAPE – 2D Shape – there are 28 steps to work through. Pupils will be challenged at their own level of ability and so, within the same class, pupils will be operating at different Steps. It makes sense therefore for teachers to group learners according to their level of ability. We also use the CLIC, SAFE and Learn It weekly assessments to assess the progress that leaners are making. Although not every week, these assessments are carried out on a regular basis. For full details on how Big Maths is used within the classroom, please see separate Big Maths Information for Teachers in Pen-y-fai.
At Pen-y-fai, we also use the online mymaths resource. Although not exclusively, this is mainly used by the older pupils for self-learning and homework.
Classroom Organisation
Classrooms are organised with a Numeracy area where pupils can access resources to support their independent learning. Every day, classrooms are set out with ICT equipment (laptops / ipads) so that groups of children can be developing their maths / numeracy skills through the use and application of their ICT skills. The environment should be stimulating and encourage, support and challenge mathematical thinking.
Teaching / Learning experiences
are encouraged to adopt a range of teaching / learning styles, activities and experiences which are taken from the Pen-y-fai toolkit. However, a typical everyday lesson is set out below as means of guidance:
A Typical lesson
Input: Mental starters. These will be taken from the basic skills section with a view to developing and improving mental recall or mental computations. It is designed to be fun, engaging, pacey and non-threatening. Games, whiteboards, powerpoints can all be well utilised to ensure that all learners are engaged during these sessions and that the teacher is receiving immediate feedback and responses. The teacher may also wish to include a teaching input for their ‘I can ………… ‘ statement. Alternatively, this could be left to their Bubble session.
Carousel
Station 1- Teacher’s Bubble: the teacher works with a group of children (quarter of class) to teach and introduce the main skills and concepts for this week. This group are given focussed attention by the teacher to support and challenge their learning. The lesson is geared towards the main ‘Step’ and is described in language that the children can understand. It is introduced as an ‘I can…..’ statement.
Station 2- Practise of Skills: This follows the Bubble session. A group of pupils (quarter of class) practise the skills and computations that have been taught. Pupils are encouraged to be independent.
Station 3 - LSO Bubble- The LSO works with a group of pupils to link and apply their learning to a real life context. They make good use of the outdoors e.g. find the area of the netball court. The main focus is making the learning purposeful and meaningful. How can we use this maths skill in a real life context?
Station 4- ICT: The skills are consolidated and challenged during this session. Sometimes, learners will use the mymaths resource to self-teach and take their learning further. Alternatively, this session may be used to consolidate learning. As well as online lessons, mymaths also provides investigations and problem solving tasks so that learners are given opportunities to apply and use their skills in real life contexts.
Please note that the Teacher and LSO can alternate their roles dependent upon when they teach groups. If group A is taught on Monday by LSO then the LSO will take on the role of the teacher to introduce the skill for the week. Similarly, if the teacher is teaching Group C on Wednesday, they can link the learning to real life contexts.
Assessment
Maths books are formatively marked by the teacher to move their learning forward. This will sometimes take the form of a phrase or question to challenge their thinking. Books are marked in blue pen.
CLIC, SAFE and Learn It assessment challenges are carried out on a regular basis.
Pupils have Big Maths CLIC and SAFE sheets in the front and back of their maths books which detail which skills and Steps they are presently working on. Learners and teachers use these as targets and a way to track progress through their mathematical learning.
At the end of each term, teachers assess pupils’ mathematical learning and update the SIMS assessment tracker in terms of Year expectations.
The National Tests for Procedural and Reasoning are completed in line with WAG guidelines, each year and the results are used formatively by teachers to support the learner. Results are also reported to parents.
Maths across the curriculum
Learners are actively encouraged to use and apply their maths and numeracy skills across the curriculum. Therefore, during afternoon sessions, when learners are involved in Missions, TAGs and mini-topic related work, pupils are given opportunities to use their skills within other subject areas e.g. order mountains in terms of their height and produce a bar graph to present findings or weigh out ingredients carefully when baking in the kitchen. In Foundation Phase pupils are encouraged to use their maths and numeracy skills when accessing missions independently throughout the day.
Big Maths
Planning
By logging in to Big Maths, teachers can use the planning section on the website to plan their weekly lessons.
Big Maths sets out the planning for each year on the online planning section of their website. Therefore, Year 4, Term 1 is set for BM13. This is the expected level for a pupil in Year 4 at Term 1. You will need to be aware that there will be pupils below and above this Big Maths level within your class.
Within each Big Maths level, there are two main areas of learning: Basic Skills (CLIC) and Wider Maths (SAFE). From here, teachers will need to choose which element to cover e.g. Amounts, and then which specific area of that element to cover e.g. Amounts of Time. By clicking on this specific area, all the Steps within that element are listed. This is a really important page for the teacher as it will help you to plan for all the different ability levels within your classroom. Each step is listed as an ‘I can……….’ statement.
By clicking on each step, you are taken onto a specific page which will include background notes and resources to help you plan relevant activities for your pupils. The resources include powerpoints as well as skill sheets to practise.
Teachers should plan to cover the majority of skills within each Big Maths level not just the skills that are included in the CLIC/SAFE weekly assessments.
Teaching / Learning
Big Maths was brought into our school to improve the basics especially in terms of the mental computations. Therefore, quality time should be given each day to developing these mental skills e.g. number bonds, additions / subtractions, table facts. The Learn It section of Big Maths is particularly helpful in this respect. The teacher should be creative in finding ways to keep these fun, engaging whilst at the same time making them challenging and supportive.
Teachers are free to make use of the resources that Big Maths provide but are encouraged to create and find their own resources that will further enrich the learning experience.
Within maths exercise books, learners should clearly title their work with the BM Step and the relevant ‘I can……’ statement.
This will help to show progress as the learner works through their book.
It should be clear within your classroom that these Big Maths skills are being taught. Displays may be instructive, supportive as well as being stimulating in order to encourage mathematical thinking and engage the learner.
Weekly Challenge Assessments – Beat That: CLIC, SAFE, Learn It
These can be printed off or completed online. They should take place on a regular basis within your classroom at the discretion of the teacher. These sessions should be non-threatening. Results are uploaded onto Big Maths and used for tracking progress. It is our practice to move learners on to the next BM Assessment if they achieve two 10/10 in a short-given period. However, teacher discretion is again required. For example, if a child scored 10/10, 9/10, 9,10, 9/10 they should be moved on to the next level.
Pupils include Big Maths CLIC and SAFE skill sheets in the front and back of their books at their respective level. They list all the ‘I can …..’ statements which pupils can highlight once met. They can use this for tracking progress as well as using for future targets. Once they move on, a new skills sheet should be placed over the previous one in their books.
Assessment
Their CLIC, SAFE and Learn It results are updated onto the Big Maths website on a weekly basis. From here, teachers can analyse their attainment against year expectations as well as tracking progress. Although this provides useful summative information, the majority of the assessment should be based on formative assessments i.e. finding out where the pupils are in terms of their learning and what they need to do in order to move forward.
At the end of each term, teachers update the SIMS tracker for Maths. The Big Maths assessments should clearly inform at what level the pupils are performing e.g. Above expected, below expected.
Maths is given high priority within our school. It is taught on a daily basis. The reason for this is that mathematics and numeracy are vital for everyday living. We therefore need to be able to apply maths to solve problems in real-world contexts.
As well as mastering mathematical skills, we believe that in our school maths should be fun. It is important that mathematics and numeracy experiences are as engaging, exciting and accessible as possible for our learners, and that these experiences are geared towards ensuring that our learners develop mathematical resilience.
Every day, a morning lesson in every classroom is prioritised for the teaching and learning of mathematics and numeracy. Although this will look slightly different in the various age-related classes, the principles will remain the same: Engage the learner, excite the learner, make it accessible, challenge the learner, apply and link the experiences to real life contexts so that the learning becomes purposeful and meaningful.
Professional Schemes
At Pen-y-fai, we follow the Big Maths scheme. We use it to teach CLIC (basic skills) and SAFE (wider skills). Teachers use the online resource to plan their weekly lessons. Each area of learning is subdivided down into Steps. Therefore within SHAPE – 2D Shape – there are 28 steps to work through. Pupils will be challenged at their own level of ability and so, within the same class, pupils will be operating at different Steps. It makes sense therefore for teachers to group learners according to their level of ability. We also use the CLIC, SAFE and Learn It weekly assessments to assess the progress that leaners are making. Although not every week, these assessments are carried out on a regular basis. For full details on how Big Maths is used within the classroom, please see separate Big Maths Information for Teachers in Pen-y-fai.
At Pen-y-fai, we also use the online mymaths resource. Although not exclusively, this is mainly used by the older pupils for self-learning and homework.
Classroom Organisation
Classrooms are organised with a Numeracy area where pupils can access resources to support their independent learning. Every day, classrooms are set out with ICT equipment (laptops / ipads) so that groups of children can be developing their maths / numeracy skills through the use and application of their ICT skills. The environment should be stimulating and encourage, support and challenge mathematical thinking.
Teaching / Learning experiences
are encouraged to adopt a range of teaching / learning styles, activities and experiences which are taken from the Pen-y-fai toolkit. However, a typical everyday lesson is set out below as means of guidance:
A Typical lesson
Input: Mental starters. These will be taken from the basic skills section with a view to developing and improving mental recall or mental computations. It is designed to be fun, engaging, pacey and non-threatening. Games, whiteboards, powerpoints can all be well utilised to ensure that all learners are engaged during these sessions and that the teacher is receiving immediate feedback and responses. The teacher may also wish to include a teaching input for their ‘I can ………… ‘ statement. Alternatively, this could be left to their Bubble session.
Carousel
Station 1- Teacher’s Bubble: the teacher works with a group of children (quarter of class) to teach and introduce the main skills and concepts for this week. This group are given focussed attention by the teacher to support and challenge their learning. The lesson is geared towards the main ‘Step’ and is described in language that the children can understand. It is introduced as an ‘I can…..’ statement.
Station 2- Practise of Skills: This follows the Bubble session. A group of pupils (quarter of class) practise the skills and computations that have been taught. Pupils are encouraged to be independent.
Station 3 - LSO Bubble- The LSO works with a group of pupils to link and apply their learning to a real life context. They make good use of the outdoors e.g. find the area of the netball court. The main focus is making the learning purposeful and meaningful. How can we use this maths skill in a real life context?
Station 4- ICT: The skills are consolidated and challenged during this session. Sometimes, learners will use the mymaths resource to self-teach and take their learning further. Alternatively, this session may be used to consolidate learning. As well as online lessons, mymaths also provides investigations and problem solving tasks so that learners are given opportunities to apply and use their skills in real life contexts.
Please note that the Teacher and LSO can alternate their roles dependent upon when they teach groups. If group A is taught on Monday by LSO then the LSO will take on the role of the teacher to introduce the skill for the week. Similarly, if the teacher is teaching Group C on Wednesday, they can link the learning to real life contexts.
Assessment
Maths books are formatively marked by the teacher to move their learning forward. This will sometimes take the form of a phrase or question to challenge their thinking. Books are marked in blue pen.
CLIC, SAFE and Learn It assessment challenges are carried out on a regular basis.
Pupils have Big Maths CLIC and SAFE sheets in the front and back of their maths books which detail which skills and Steps they are presently working on. Learners and teachers use these as targets and a way to track progress through their mathematical learning.
At the end of each term, teachers assess pupils’ mathematical learning and update the SIMS assessment tracker in terms of Year expectations.
The National Tests for Procedural and Reasoning are completed in line with WAG guidelines, each year and the results are used formatively by teachers to support the learner. Results are also reported to parents.
Maths across the curriculum
Learners are actively encouraged to use and apply their maths and numeracy skills across the curriculum. Therefore, during afternoon sessions, when learners are involved in Missions, TAGs and mini-topic related work, pupils are given opportunities to use their skills within other subject areas e.g. order mountains in terms of their height and produce a bar graph to present findings or weigh out ingredients carefully when baking in the kitchen. In Foundation Phase pupils are encouraged to use their maths and numeracy skills when accessing missions independently throughout the day.
Big Maths
Planning
By logging in to Big Maths, teachers can use the planning section on the website to plan their weekly lessons.
Big Maths sets out the planning for each year on the online planning section of their website. Therefore, Year 4, Term 1 is set for BM13. This is the expected level for a pupil in Year 4 at Term 1. You will need to be aware that there will be pupils below and above this Big Maths level within your class.
Within each Big Maths level, there are two main areas of learning: Basic Skills (CLIC) and Wider Maths (SAFE). From here, teachers will need to choose which element to cover e.g. Amounts, and then which specific area of that element to cover e.g. Amounts of Time. By clicking on this specific area, all the Steps within that element are listed. This is a really important page for the teacher as it will help you to plan for all the different ability levels within your classroom. Each step is listed as an ‘I can……….’ statement.
By clicking on each step, you are taken onto a specific page which will include background notes and resources to help you plan relevant activities for your pupils. The resources include powerpoints as well as skill sheets to practise.
Teachers should plan to cover the majority of skills within each Big Maths level not just the skills that are included in the CLIC/SAFE weekly assessments.
Teaching / Learning
Big Maths was brought into our school to improve the basics especially in terms of the mental computations. Therefore, quality time should be given each day to developing these mental skills e.g. number bonds, additions / subtractions, table facts. The Learn It section of Big Maths is particularly helpful in this respect. The teacher should be creative in finding ways to keep these fun, engaging whilst at the same time making them challenging and supportive.
Teachers are free to make use of the resources that Big Maths provide but are encouraged to create and find their own resources that will further enrich the learning experience.
Within maths exercise books, learners should clearly title their work with the BM Step and the relevant ‘I can……’ statement.
This will help to show progress as the learner works through their book.
It should be clear within your classroom that these Big Maths skills are being taught. Displays may be instructive, supportive as well as being stimulating in order to encourage mathematical thinking and engage the learner.
Weekly Challenge Assessments – Beat That: CLIC, SAFE, Learn It
These can be printed off or completed online. They should take place on a regular basis within your classroom at the discretion of the teacher. These sessions should be non-threatening. Results are uploaded onto Big Maths and used for tracking progress. It is our practice to move learners on to the next BM Assessment if they achieve two 10/10 in a short-given period. However, teacher discretion is again required. For example, if a child scored 10/10, 9/10, 9,10, 9/10 they should be moved on to the next level.
Pupils include Big Maths CLIC and SAFE skill sheets in the front and back of their books at their respective level. They list all the ‘I can …..’ statements which pupils can highlight once met. They can use this for tracking progress as well as using for future targets. Once they move on, a new skills sheet should be placed over the previous one in their books.
Assessment
Their CLIC, SAFE and Learn It results are updated onto the Big Maths website on a weekly basis. From here, teachers can analyse their attainment against year expectations as well as tracking progress. Although this provides useful summative information, the majority of the assessment should be based on formative assessments i.e. finding out where the pupils are in terms of their learning and what they need to do in order to move forward.
At the end of each term, teachers update the SIMS tracker for Maths. The Big Maths assessments should clearly inform at what level the pupils are performing e.g. Above expected, below expected.