Mathematics at Notton House Academy

We have moved away from a year by year approach to curriculum design in mathematics. Every individual pupil at Notton is working at an agreed Step in their learning.  This step is used to identify the best Stage for them to begin their learning in maths for each new academic year.

As a result, every pupil will follow a scheme of work designed to move them through the key concepts in maths at a pace and level of challenge that is right for them.  These schemes of work are based on a model of progression which is part of a wider picture. They are designed to be used according to the prior attainment of pupils.

‘Key concepts’ are taken from the DfE National Curriculum Programme of Study (Stages 1 to 6) and DfE GCSE Subject Content and Assessment Objectives (Stages 7 to 11). Statements have been grouped to create units for the medium-term plans. Progression maps have been built to show the big picture from Years 1 to 11.

To see the connections to previous and future learning, ‘progression maps’ for each defined area of mathematics can be used to develop personalised learning journeys for pupils that can identify gaps quickly and equip teachers with the knowledge to fill these gaps to enable more rapid progress.

13 ‘Build a Mathematician (BAM)’ indicators for each year are chosen to represent the minimum expected outcomes by the end of the stage, critical in developing conceptual understanding and essential for pupils to make progress to the next stage. Each pupil has their performance in these BAM indicators recorded to ensure they are ready to progress to the next stage.

Possible themes identified that describe the big ideas to be explored in this unit are provided within each scheme of work.  Possible key learning points identified that describe the process of learning are also included to help teachers identify the best strategy for any given pupil. These could also be thought of as learning objectives.

Prerequisites for the suggested key learning points are always identified to support pupils to recap and improve/develop recall. This will also support pupils who have had breaks in their schooling.  The mathematical language section includes key vocabulary for the unit and information about the notation that students need to understand.  This vocab is explicitly taught at Notton where Literacy across the curriculum is a major focus area.

Pedagogical notes are relevant for all, but particularly beneficial for non-specialists and inexperienced teachers.   Possible misconceptions highlight some incorrect thinking that students might demonstrate (not mistakes). Thought should be given as to how to exploit these.

Reasoning opportunities and probing questions utilise question stems suggested as particularly effective following research by John Mason and Anne Watson.  Lessons will make use of up to date training and research around the Mastery approach to teaching maths using resources and CPD from NCETM.

For more information, please contact Paul Kearley, Deputy Headteacher

Qualifications

The following qualifications are available:

• Entry Level Maths 1, 2, 3
• Functional Skills Level 1
• Functional Skills Level 2
• GCSE Foundation Maths
• GCSE Higher Maths

Please click on the links below for more information about each of the KS4 routes.

GCSE Maths

http://qualifications.pearson.com/en/qualifications/edexcel-gcses/mathematics-2015.html

Functional Skills Maths

http://qualifications.pearson.com/en/qualifications/edexcel-functional-skills/Maths.html

Entry Level Maths

https://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/mathematics/elc/mathematics-5930