Leaders have recently refined their mathematics curriculum to improve its impact on pupils’ learning. Pupils told me that mathematics is now taught much better. They say that the new curriculum helps them to understand more about mathematical ideas. Teachers plan learning in a logical way so that it builds on what pupils already know. Teachers use assessment information effectively to check what pupils know and remember. In the 2019 national assessment, pupils’ attainment in mathematics improved to be in line with the national average.

(Ofsted Report December 2019)

Maths Curriculum Intent

Thomlinson Junior School believes that every child should have the right to a curriculum that champions excellence; supporting pupils in achieving to the very best of their abilities. We understand the immense value Maths plays in supporting the whole school curriculum and in the day-to-day life of our school. Our intent is to provide children with a mathematics curriculum that will allow them to become confident individuals through developing their mathematical skills to their full potential. We also present maths as a challenging, exciting, creative and relevant subject in order to promote a positive and confident attitude.  

Maths Curriculum Implementation

As a school, we have chosen the White Rose Maths Scheme of Work from Year 3 to Year 6. The scheme of work supports our teachers in delivering fun and engaging lessons which help to raise standards and allow all pupils to achieve to their full potential. We are confident that the scheme of work more than adequately meets the national vision for Maths. It promotes kinaesthetic learning to ensure children acquire fluency of skills by introducing concepts in a practical/concrete way to progress to pictorial then abstract (C-P-A) and integrates with our own assessment procedures.  Furthermore, it gives excellent supporting material for less confident teachers.  Teachers also use online resources such as Master the Curriculum and Classroom Secrets, that support the WRM scheme of work, to personalise their lessons and ensure variety. 

Teaching for Mastery

White Rose Maths is designed to support a mastery approach to teaching and learning and have been designed to support the aims and objectives of the new National Curriculum. The units:

• have number at their heart.  A large proportion of time is spent reinforcing number to build competency.
• ensure teachers stay in the required key stage and support the ideal of depth before breadth.
• ensure students have the opportunity to stay together as they work through the schemes as a whole group.
• provide plenty of opportunities to build reasoning and problem solving elements into the curriculum.

Concrete – Pictorial – Abstract

We believe that all children, when introduced to a new concept, should have the opportunity to build competency by taking this approach.

Maths Curriculum Map

The following documents show what areas of mathematics we teach in each year group and when.  The small steps documents give greater detail as to what is specifically taught in each unit and, more importantly, the order in which they are taught.  

Maths Curriculum Impact

At Thomlinson Junior School, we aim for the children to:

• Become fluent in the fundamentals of mathematics, including through varied and frequent practise with increasingly complex problems over time, so that pupils develop conceptual understanding and the ability to recall and apply knowledge rapidly and accurately.
• Reason mathematically by following a line of enquiry, conjecturing relationships and generalisations, and developing an argument, justification or proof using mathematical language.
• Solve problems by applying their mathematics to a variety of routine and non-routine problems with increasing sophistication, including breaking down problems into a series of simpler steps and persevering in seeking solutions.

Inclusion in Maths

At Thomlinson Junior School, we aim to enable all children to achieve to their full potential. This includes children of all abilities, social and cultural backgrounds, those with disabilities, EAL speakers and children who receive funding through an Education Health Care Plan (EHCP)  We place particular emphasis on Maths being inclusive for all pupils to access learning opportunities, particularly pupils with SEN and disabilities. Within daily Maths lessons teachers will provide differentiated activities to support children and ensure all children are challenged and succeed at a level appropriate to their ability. 

TT Rockstars

At Thomlinson Junior School, we use Times Tables Rock Stars to help the children learn and practise their times tables.

Goal

When it comes to times tables, speed AND accuracy are important – the more facts your child remembers, the easier it is for them to do harder calculations.
Times Table Rock Stars is a fun and challenging programme designed to help students master the times tables!
To be a Times Table Rock Star you need to answer any multiplication fact up to 12×12 in less than 3 seconds!

Logging in

Type play.ttrockstars.com into your browser’s address bar or use the link in the pupil section on our school website.
Click Login! > School > Student.
Enter the School Name.
Enter your child’s username and password – this should be stuck into their Reading Record.

Game Modes

Single Player

Garage – the questions will only come from the times tables the teacher has set for the week. It will include multiplication and division questions.  As pupils start to answer questions, TT Rock Stars works out which facts they take longer on and will give them more of these questions to answer. The Garage is best for getting quicker at a few facts. Players get 10 coins per question.

Studio – the questions in the Studio can be anything from 1×1 up to 12×12.  TT Rock Stars calculates the mean response time from their last 10 games in the Studio and translates that time into a Rock Status.

• ≤ 1 sec/qu = Rock Hero
• ≤ 2 secs/qu = Rock Legend
• ≤ 3 secs/qu = Rock Star
• ≤ 4 secs/qu = Headliner
• ≤ 5 secs/qu = Support Act
• ≤ 6 secs/qu = Breakthrough Artist
• ≤ 7 secs/qu = Unsigned Act
• ≤ 8 secs/qu = Gigger
• ≤ 9 secs/qu = Busker
• ≤ 10 secs/qu = Garage Rocker
• >10 secs/qu = Wannabe

If you don’t play in the Studio you don’t get a Rock Status.

Players earn 1 coin per question and the Studio is the place for them to set their best time across all the tables.

Soundcheck – When you play Soundcheck, you get 20 questions each with a 5-second time limit. The questions are multiplication only and evenly weighted in terms of difficulty each time you play. Players earn 5 coins per correct answer.

Multiplayer

Rock Arena – The Arena allows players to compete against all other members of their Band (their Bandmates would need to join the same game in order to compete together).
A new Arena game starts every 15 seconds and once the clock starts they race to answer more questions than the others. In the Arena, questions will only come from the times tables the teacher has set for the week, similar to the Garage.  They earn 1 coin per correct answer.

Rock Festival – The Rock Festival games are open to players from around the world. Like the Arena, there is no limit to the number of players who can join a game; however, unlike the Arena, questions are selected at random from 1×1 to 12×12.  Pupils might choose the Rock Festival if they were playing at home (and therefore couldn’t easily synchronise playing against a classmate) or wanted to compete against others not in their Band. They earn 1 coin per correct answer.

Gig

• Gig games contain 100 questions (a baseline of 100 questions, starting with 10 questions on the 10s, followed by 10 questions on the 2s, 5s, 3s, 4s, 8s, 6s, 7s and 9s then 5 questions on the 11s and 12s)
• Gig games are limited to 5 minutes.
• If a player answers all 100 questions before 5 minutes is up, the game ends early.
• If a player doesn't answer all 100 questions before 5 minutes is up, the game ends.

Gigs are completed once per month to build up a steady pattern of their progress. 

As well as offering a baseline from which to assess progress, the results from the Gig also feed TTRS smart algorithm. Each pupil's Gig results combine with the results from other games they play and jump start their heatmap. This kicks off their learning journey by moving learners to the best point from which to continue in games like Garage. As they carry on answering questions, the evidence we have of their recall gets richer and richer which personalises the Garage and Arena games even further.
 

Stats

If you click on your avatar icon in the top right of the screen and then click My Stats, a heatmap like the one below will load. It shows how successful your child is at each of the facts.