Our Scheme of Work in Mathematics

At Upham, our schemes of learning in Mathematics are drawn from the ‘White Rose’ materials. This organisation is used by schools across the country because of the quality of the resources and strengths in building small steps towards mastery in Mathematics. However, we have made the schemes our own and adapted them to how we want children to learn at Upham. We also have to ensure that in our mixed-age classes that wherever possible children in both year groups are learning the same area, such as learning about volume, but that at different levels due to year group expectations running in parallel. You will see from the overview documents below that the two year groups are aligned by subject area within Maths.

In addition to following ‘White Rose’, we joined the first year delivery of NCETM (National Centre for Excellence in the teaching of Maths) ‘Mastering Number’ initiative in 2021/22. This learning has been specifically designed to boost fluency in calculation and confidence and flexibility with number and in Years R, 1 and 2 and is delivered as separate, short sessions to the main maths lesson. This is designed to develop strong conceptual understanding, build a strong foundation for Maths learning and develop automaticity of response; immediate recall of associated facts meaning children only have to think about mathematical problems. On the overview below, this learning is also identified:

How Lessons are Delivered

Within the overviews there are periods of consolidation planned. During these weeks, teachers will plan content based on aspects of mathematics that might not have been learned securely or perhaps missed.

Children learn Maths throughout the week. Often these lessons are in the mornings when children are at their freshest and most able to apply energy and resilience to thinking, but not exclusively. Maths sessions also take place in the afternoon, it depends on how the whole curriculum has been timetabled.

Friday Maths

In order to build mastery in Maths; a deep, retained understanding, children need opportunities to revisit and apply understanding. We therefore use most Friday sessions in Classes 2, 3 and 4 as opportunities to solve written mathematical problems, drawn from learning from the week or revisiting prior learning. Children know these as ‘Friday Maths’ and enjoy the challenge the different subject areas bring.

Here are some links to find out more about 'Mastering Number' and 'White Rose Maths':