Maths

Why Teach Mathematics?

Mathematics has been developed over centuries, providing the solution to some of history’s most intriguing problems. It is essential to everyday life, critical to science, technology and engineering, and necessary for financial literacy and most forms of employment. A high-quality mathematics education therefore provides a foundation for understanding the world, the ability to reason mathematically, an appreciation of the beauty and power of mathematics, and a sense of enjoyment and curiosity about the subject.

Aims of the new national curriculum

The national curriculum for mathematics aims to ensure that all pupils:

Become fluent in the fundamentals of mathematics, including through varied and frequent practice 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.
Can 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.

The teaching of mathematics at St. Catherine’s School is aimed towards enabling each pupil to develop their learning. We endeavour to not only develop the mathematics skills and understanding required for later life, but also an enthusiasm and fascination about maths itself.

We aim to increase pupil confidence in maths so they are able to express themselves and their ideas using the language of maths with assurance.
We recognise the importance of developing factual, procedural and conceptual knowledge.

Information regarding TTRS and Numbots

TTRS

To recognise the progress our KS2 children make in mastering their times tables, Rock Status TT Rockstars certificates will be given to children. Once a child has demonstrated proficiency with several tables, they will be encouraged to achieve their Studio Speed and corresponding Rock Status. The Studio Speed is based on the average time from the last ten games, allowing children to return and improve whenever they wish.

Encouraging your child to practise regularly will not only aid in their development but will also build their confidence as they see their improvement. We believe that working together as a community will yield the best results for our children and help them develop a positive attitude towards mathematics.

TTRS Gone Green Certificates

TTRS ‘Gone Green’ certificates are given to children who have turned their heat map green. A totally green heatmap means that your child has consistently answered all facts in 4 seconds or less. Your child must answer each fact at least 10 times in any game mode (apart from Jamming) at 4 seconds or less before it will turn green on their heatmap. Your child will earn this certificate once only, when they have turned their heatmap totally green.

NumBots

Our Reception and Key Stage 1 children are able to use NumBots, this is an online learning platform that we use to support children’s understanding of number bonds and to help their addition and subtraction skills. These are the essential building blocks for higher-level maths concepts.

As the children progress through the levels in ‘Story Mode,’ the emphasis is on learning the ideas and concepts behind addition and subtraction so it features more diagrams, representations and question styles. Children earn coins and experience and then the questions become progressively harder. Later on, the children can use ‘Challenge Mode,’ the emphasis is more on speed of recall of key facts, like number bonds to 10, doubling small numbers or adding and taking away in their head.

In order to get the best out of NumBots, we recommend that children play regularly for short bursts at a time, aiming for three minutes a day, four times a week. Little and often practise is often more effective than very long sessions.

For more information, please watch the short video links

Introduction to NumBots video for children

Introduction to NumBots video for parents