Mathematics
At Pennyhill, we believe in teaching Mathematics through the principles of a ‘Mastery’ approach.
Pupils are exposed to the same curriculum content at the same pace, allowing them all full access to the curriculum by focusing on developing deep understanding and secure fluency with facts and procedures. Differentiation is achieved by offering pupils varied levels of challenge, giving them the flexibility to select their own learning level. By offering rapid support and intervention to address each individual pupil’s needs, we are able to support all learners to make progress in the mathematical skills they develop.
An approach based on mastery principles:
- makes use of mathematical representations that expose the underlying structure of the mathematics. For example, pupils are taught how to represent and solve a problem initially through the use of concrete materials such as base 10, cubes or any other materials which can be handled. They are then shown how this can be transferred to a pictorial representation, eg, through the use of drawings, jottings or most recently, bar modelling. These approaches in turn support pupils as they move towards abstract thinking, eg, working with written numbers and calculations. This approach is known as CPA
- helps children to make sense of concepts and achieve fluency through carefully structured questions, exercises and problems. This is known as ‘intelligent practice’. It is important to represent the same concept in a variety of forms in order for pupils to become fluent with both their understanding of the concept and the procedures required to solve problems.
- blends whole class discussion and precise questioning with intelligent practice and, where necessary, individual support.
As a school, we use a wide variety of resources to support and enrich pupils’ learning. These include: ‘Rising Stars Mathematics’, White Rose Maths Hubs guidance and schemes of learning, NRich and other resources from the NCETM.
