At Oakfield, we are committed to nurturing good mathematicians and believe that following a Mastery approach is the best way to do this. This approach is in line with our school ethos of all learners having a growth mindset towards their potential to progress and achieve.

What is Teaching for Mastery?

Underlying the approach is the belief that all children can achieve and develop a deep mathematical understanding. The focus is on developing factual, procedural and conceptual fluency: what, how and why, enabling children to become fluent mathematicians who are able to reason and solve a variety of problems by applying what they have learned in a range of contexts. Conceptual understanding is developed through concrete, visual and structural representations and children are given the opportunity to spot patterns, make connections and explain their reasoning on a daily basis.

Meeting the needs of all learners

Children are supported through carefully planned lessons that tackle concepts in small steps, which build on each other following a coherent path; carefully crafted scaffolding to prompt conceptual understanding; and, where necessary, specific planned interventions. Once a conceptual understanding has been mastered, children are supported and encouraged to think more deeply about the concepts. We provide support and scaffolding for children that are struggling to understand a concept, and challenge those who are confident by giving opportunities to go deeper and apply their understanding to a range of problems and contexts.

Implementation

Oakfield use the DfE approved scheme ‘Power Maths’, alongside other high quality resources from the National Centre of Excellence in the Teaching of Mathematics, and White Rose. We are confident that this scheme meets all the criteria for high quality textbooks to support a mastery approach, where all children believe they can succeed by working hard and progress together by working as a whole class on the same concepts, at the same time.

Mastering Number

In addition to Maths lessons, children in Foundation and Key Stage 1 also take part in daily Mastering Number sessions. This project aims to secure firm foundations in the development of good number sense for all children from Foundation through to Year 1 and Year 2. The aim over time is that children will leave KS1 with fluency in calculation and a confidence and flexibility with number. More information can be found in the document attached.