Maths Department
Intent
At Notre Dame we aim to provide high quality mathematics education that provides a foundation for understanding the world, the ability to reason mathematically, and a sense of enjoyment and curiosity about the subject.
- In KS3 we have high expectations of our students to fully engage in math’s mastery. Math’s mastery means that pupils develop a “deep, long-term, secure and adaptable” understanding of the subject, mastering one topic securely enough to move on and build on it with another more advanced topic. It means students are expected to learn some maths to automaticity (such as times tables) to avoid cognitive overload.
- Achieving ‘mastery’ means students acquiring a solid enough understanding of the maths that’s been taught to enable them to move on to more advanced material. In KS4 we hope to continue to build and develop the foundations by moving students into the Higher curriculum, but will look at revisiting topics at the Foundation curriculum for those that have struggled to build enough knowledge.
IMPLEMENTATION
After baseline testing and analysis we will begin teaching the pupils in year 7 starting at different points on the learning ladder in recognition that not all students are at the same point in their maths education. They will be challenged in the classroom to talk, discuss and develop their math’s skills and be regularly tested to check understanding of topics covered. Pupils will be expected to mark their own work and communicate with the teacher through their books to develop a learning dialogue and recognise their strengths and areas to work on in private study. All pupils will need to complete the year’s work before moving on to the next layer of work to avoid gaps in their education. Once KS3 is complete they will do a formal assessment to see if they can move onto the Higher curriculum or need to do the Foundation curriculum to revisit areas. In KS4 they will develop their skills further looking at connecting the skills taught at KS3 and combining them to help them understand and develop an in depth knowledge of the curriculum preparing them for further educational journeys.
IMPACT
We aim to raise the understanding of maths beyond the drilling of basic skills and develop a curiosity of maths amongst the pupils. This curiosity will encourage them to take on mathematics or related areas with the confidence that they are equipped with the knowledge and tools to overcome future challenges in this field. We want our pupils to be confident and curious about the world of mathematics and to take that out into the world when they leave.
Curriculum Map
Key Stage 3
Students follow the new GCSE Curriculum the programmes of study which covers number, ratio and proportion, algebra, geometry, measures, statistics and probability.
They are expected to make connections across mathematical ideas to develop fluency, mathematical reasoning and competence in solving problems.
All new students will be taught using a new Singapore maths style where students are taught core principals and develop from that point onwards and are set challenging questions that test their understanding of the topic not just their skills in answering basic questions.
Key Stage 4
Students follow the EDEXCEL linear GCSE exam course.
Students follow the new GCSE Curriculum the programmes of study which covers number, ratio and proportion, algebra, geometry, measures, statistics and probability.
This qualification has two tiers Foundation and Higher.
A student who is studying Foundation will be able to get a grade 1 to 5 and a student who is studying Higher will be able to get a grade 3 to 9.
For a student to be selected for Higher they must be able to achieve a grade 3M or better at the end of KS3 to be able to access the work from the Higher tier as it starts at Grade 4 upwards.
Students who are unable to access the curriculum for GCSE will be entered for EDEXCEL entry level awards Level 1 2 3.
This qualification requires students to:
- Use their knowledge and understanding to make connections between mathematical concepts.
- Apply the functional elements of mathematics in everyday and real-life situations.
- Students will be taught grade appropriate topics dependent upon their maths set, which is decided by their previous assessed grades and their target grade. The scheme of work will ensure only pupils who are capable of top end work in either the Foundation or Higher strands.
Expectations
In the Maths department we encourage pupils to reflect on their own progress, they can take more responsibility for their achievements, gaining a greater grasp of their own strengths while identifying areas for improvement.
The student will:
- Mark their books in green pen by the end of every lesson.
- Analyse their tests and write down their areas for improvement.
- Respond to teachers’ written or verbal feedback (in green pen).
- Peer mark work and give feedback in green pen.
- Complete home learning set on Sparxmaths & Mathswatch requesting help when needed.
The Teacher will:
- Mark all chapter/unit tests in red pen.
- Regularly review the pupil books to help the student make progress noting areas to improve the student’s grade in red pen or by labels.
- Regularly review Sparxmaths & MathsWatch and look for and respond to requests for help from students in class or individually.
- Check retention and progress termly with a mid-term learning check.
- Check in class progress through a variety of strategies such as
- Review work from previous lessons/terms.
- Starters to check initial understanding
- Progress checks throughout the lesson
- Use of exit tickets to check final understanding and inform future teaching when needed.
How to support your daughter in making progress:
- Encourage your daughter to review her end of chapter tests. Revise on areas in need of improvement.
- Encourage the use of the Kerboodle, google classroom, Sparxmaths & Mathswatch, online websites for further practice.
- Ensure homework tasks are completed regularly to a high standard.
- Encourage your daughters to use the independent learning link on Sparxmaths to help get ahead or catch up with work missed by absence.
