Woodlane High School. Subject Policy: Mathematics

Transcription

1 Woodlane High School Helping pupils prepare for future life Du Cane Road London W12 0TN Tel: Fax: Headteacher: Claire Maynard EMPOWERMENT ACCESS OPPORTUNITY Woodlane High School Subject Policy: Mathematics Update: September 2015

2 1. Introduction 1.1 This policy is a statement of the aims, principles and practices of teaching and learning as they relate to mathematics teaching at Woodlane. This policy supports the aims of the school mission statement, SEN policy and the whole-school approach to teaching and learning 1.2 Mathematics teaching at Woodlane enables pupils to have a better understanding of the natural, conceptual and technological worlds they inhabit; that is, it helps to prepare them for future life as students, workers and responsible adults. 1.3 Pupils follow the National Curriculum for mathematics, supported by the National Literacy and Numeracy Strategies at both Key Stages as they apply. At KS4, pupils are entered for Entry Level Certificate examinations and GCSE (foundation level) using the Edexcel examination board for external accreditation. 1.4 Mathematics is viewed by many children as a difficult and frightening subject; this often leads to the lowering of the child s self-esteem and confidence. It is of paramount importance in this school, to endeavour to encourage pupils to feel safe, secure and at ease when studying and learning mathematics. 2. Aims & Objectives 2.1 Mathematics is used in daily life and it is an important life skill. The overall aim is to help pupils feel confident in using mathematical skills, equipping them for adult life. Mathematics is also used to help analyse and communicate information and ideas. It provides a means to tackle a broad range of real life problems and practical tasks. Mathematics, in terms of concepts and thinking, encourages initiative, flexible approaches, accurate, systematic, rigorous and logical thought. It is also a source of interest and fun. 2.2 The focus of the work is centred on the key areas provided by the National Curriculum and the National Numeracy Strategy. These being; Number Measurement Geometry Statistics 2.3 In mathematics, we consider that a meaningful education should enable pupils to; Work at an appropriate level in order to meet the needs of the National Curriculum and National Numeracy strategy, Make use of mathematical knowledge, skills, ideas and understanding in school and post-school life, Understand and use mathematical language and notation, Understand and use a variety of forms of mathematical communication, Use mental and written numeracy skills, Page 2 of 8

3 Solve problems that pose a challenge; consider different and alternate lines of enquiry, Have greater confidence in their own knowledge, skill and understanding of mathematics as it impinges on their future adult life, Ensure that pupils know, understand and have confidence with broad ranging mathematical concepts, Develop a pupil s mathematical skills for their usefulness and applicability in the real world, Develop their mathematical knowledge and oral, written and practical skill that encourages confidence and enjoyment, Provide pupils with techniques so that they can investigate and solve problems in school mathematics and other curricular areas, Develop and extend a pupil s ability to express themselves clearly; to reason logically and to be able to generalise. 3. Racial Equality Statement 3.1 Mathematics has always and will always be an area of human endeavour that crosses the boundaries of race, ethnicity, gender and country. It is a universal language and tool that has been developed and is still being developed, by all peoples from all cultures. The learning of mathematics essentially includes the basic human skills of communication, problem solving, sharing and developing thought, negotiating and extending concepts through language. Hence, all pupils have a right to equal access of a subject that is recognised as a shared cultural and technological endeavour in our modern multi-cultural society. 3.2 The mathematics department is firmly committed to the school policy of racial equality, creating an environment where the diversity, needs and achievement of all members of the school community are recognised, valued and celebrated. The department will use the School Incident Information Form to record and challenge any contraventions of this school policy. 4. Access and Inclusion 4.1 In mathematics, we believe that curriculum access is principally about entitlement, equal opportunity and equal value. 4.2 All pupils have full access to the mathematics curriculum. The content and mode of delivery of the curriculum will be modified to help support all pupils in accessing the curriculum offer. We aim to develop increasingly independent learners and provide opportunities for pupils to extend their experience and knowledge outside their immediate world experience to help support them in preparing for future life. Pupils progress will be carefully monitored to ensure their access to the curriculum is appropriately supported and, where necessary, modified to reflect changing circumstances. Page 3 of 8

4 4.3 The mathematics curriculum recognises that pupils have individual learning styles and interests; it aims to take into account pupils age, cognitive, social and emotional level of functioning in the design and delivery of the curriculum offer. 4.4 The mathematics curriculum aims to encourage a climate in which all pupils can learn to the best of their ability and where all pupils special educational needs are addressed positively and sensitively. 5. Equal Opportunities 5.1 We are determined to ensure that all pupils have an equal opportunity to learn and achieve success appropriate to their needs and abilities. We work to ensure that, wherever possible, all pupils have full access to the mathematics curriculum; this right is under constant review to ensure we do not discriminate against any individual pupil or group. In mathematics, to ensure all pupils have the opportunity to achieve their potential we; Use support in the classroom appropriately to prevent pupils with additional barriers to learning being disadvantaged, Establish a learning ethos that challenges discrimination, aggression, racism, gender bias or loss of opportunity and consistently celebrates all pupils achievements, Provide a curriculum that promotes independence and addresses issues of self-esteem and self-confidence, Consistently implement the school s Promoting Positive Behaviour Policy, Work with other professional s (e.g. Speech & Language therapy) to enable pupil s to access the maths curriculum more easily. 6. Health & Safety 6.1 Pupils are taught to use subject related materials, tools and equipment safely and sensibly and respect the learning environment in line with the school Health & Safety and Promoting Positive Behaviour policies 7. The structure of the lesson 7.1. The structure of a lesson follows the format outlined in the National Numeracy Strategy; Starter; involves mental numeracy for consolidation purposes and can involve a link to the main teaching activity. As well as building on basic computation skills using the four signs. Main Activity; can be linked to the starter, plenary, prior work or be stand alone. Plenary; used for consolidation of understanding, summery, questioning, reviewing and modelling applications. Page 4 of 8

5 7.2 ICT is used on a daily basis via the interactive whiteboard. This usage is being developed as an aid to interactive teaching. Students use calculators and other ICT resources appropriately and effectively to solve mathematical problems. 8. Schemes of work 8.1 The schemes of work in mathematics reflect the requirements of the National Curriculum 2014 for the delivery of mathematics in conjunction with the supportive National Numeracy Strategies publications. 8.2 Pupil progress in mathematics is closely monitored against learning objectives, and these are recorded on the B squared programme termly. This information is then used to assist in future planning and end of year levels. 9. Maintaining pupils folders and storing work 9.1 Pupil s work is marked either with a pupil on a one-on-one basis wherein formative discussion can take place, as a whole class, at the completion of work or completion of a set module of work. 9.2 Student work on the most current task is written and kept in an individual Maths book. On completion of a book, it is kept and available for students to recap prior learning in the classroom. 9.3 At the end of each year, the archived work is then stored on an individual cohort basis. 10. Record keeping 10.1 The teaching file contains the daily lesson plan and the most recent scheme of work Pupil s work is marked using the criterion as laid down in the scheme of work B Squared Connecting Steps assessment criteria are used to address the summative assessments of each pupil and record progress. In addition, pupils are expected to make an assessment of their own progress by completing self-assessment tasks and having individual discussions with the teacher about work they are completing Pupils are entered at the end of KS4, for the Maths GCSE (Edexcel) at foundation level and Entry Level Certificate in Mathematics (Edexcel) at appropriate levels. Work required for these entries must be stored and submitted according to the exam board criteria. 11. Mathematics & Cross-curricular Skills - Literacy Page 5 of 8

6 11.1 The mathematics curriculum reinforces the principles of the KS3 Strategy Literacy and works to ensure that pupils literacy development is supported and encouraged through; Identifying and reinforcing key technical words in each module of work, Teaching key words in context, Modelling and encouraging appropriate speaking and listening skills and encouraging pupils to interact with one another, extend and reflect on their responses, Encouraging focused questioning and discussion skills, Encouraging the learning and use of appropriate writing and recording skills including the use of ICT, Enabling group work, Developing pupil s presentational skills. 12. Mathematics & Cross-curricular Skills - Numeracy 12.1 The mathematics curriculum reinforces the principles of the KS3 Strategy - Numeracy and works to ensure that pupils numeracy development is supported and encouraged through; Improving pupils skills in interpreting graphs, charts and diagrams, Encouraging accuracy, particularly in calculations, measurement and graphical work, Improving pupils reasoning and problem solving skills, Use calculators and other ICT resources appropriately and effectively to solve problems, Collect data accurately, Using sequences of questions to foster conjecture, Using an open questioning style and encouraging collaboration, Allowing pupils to repeat and reprocess responses, including key vocabulary, Using visualisation exercises to help pupils create and talk about mental images using precise language, Exploring strategies to solve geometrical problems. 13. Mathematics & Cross-curricular Skills Computing 13.1 Through mathematics we aim to develop pupils ICT capability through; The use of computers to improve pupils presentation skills, Developing pupils skills in handling information effectively and using the internet appropriately as a learning tool to find things out, develop ideas and exchange and share information, The use of appropriate software to support pupil progress e.g. Clicker 5 and Communicate and Print, and familiarity with common computer software, e.g. Microsoft Word and PowerPoint. Page 6 of 8

7 13.2 MyMaths is a fully interactive, online mathematics learning solution for children of all ages and abilities. It helps pupils develop their understanding of maths through a variety of engaging activities, games and assessments Mathletics is a fun and interactive learning resource aligned to the National Curriculum. It includes targeted, adaptive and engaging content from KS1 to KS4, designed to meet the requirements of the curriculum, with reporting and assessments to match. Pupils compete with classmates and other schools to accumulate points and certificates. 14. Differentiation 14.1 Within Mathematics we aim to: Establish a classroom climate where all pupils feel that they can contribute, and which secures their motivation and concentration, Adopt teaching and organisational strategies to keep all pupils suitably challenged, while giving them maximum opportunity to interact with their teacher, Provide appropriate support, aids or interventions to give particular pupils access to the planned programme and to keep any who might fall behind in step with the rest of their class To enable all pupils to gain access to and make progress in the curriculum, the teacher is responsible for deploying the teaching assistant (TA) to support those pupils who may need additional help to access the curriculum offer. Initial TA support is identified on the daily lesson plan A range of differentiation strategies are used in the mathematics to enable all pupils to access the curriculum and to progress their understanding, these include differentiation by; Task - tasks will vary in difficulty and in style, materials may be varied or pupils allocated specific tasks within group work to ensure all pupils are able to access the learning opportunity in an appropriate way, Text - written texts may be differentiated for readability, text length, font size etc., Outcome - where teachers require pupils to undertake a common task, such tasks can often have an open-ended outcome in order to allow pupils to work at their own pace and level of attainment and yet provide opportunities for extension and challenge, Support - support may exist in many forms, but in mathematics includes reference materials, human resources (TA, peer group, teacher support), templates, step-by-step or small step instruction, display materials & learning environment, key words, model answers, Process - some pupils are very capable of following instructions to solve a problem; others are more comfortable drawing on strategies of their own. In mathematics, we recognise pupils learn in different ways and we encourage pupils to develop their meta-cognitive skills through helping them to share ideas about the ways in which they might solve problems, take risks, make Page 7 of 8

8 decisions, justify responses, use logical reasoning, explain a process and communicate mathematically using diagrams, charts and tables Grouping - in mathematics, progress in completing some tasks might be best achieved through different types of grouping, including: friendship groups, task groups, pairings, 1-1 support groups, mentoring, Questioning - in mathematics, differentiation can be achieved by means of the difficulty level and type of a question to the expected response both in oral and written work. This is also achieved by the classic mathematical teaching method of stepped sequencing of a task with a number of end points, each at different increased levels of difficulty, Re-visiting - in mathematics, differentiation can be achieved by going over concepts, with the aim of re-enforcement, at different levels of sophistication, Pacing - in mathematics, the time allocated to a task or idea can be varied In mathematics, the major responses to the individual needs of a pupil are via task and questioning as outlined above Further information on our whole school approach to differentiation is included in the Teaching and Learning policy. 15. Evaluation 15.1 This policy will be reviewed by the subject co-ordinator as part of an annual review of subject development in line with the school s Continuing Professional Development and Performance Management Review process. Last review date: September 29 th 2015 Reviewed by: S Patel Last SMT review: January 6 th 2016 Reviewed by: T Heapy Page 8 of 8