It is vital that a positive attitude towards Mathematics is encouraged amongst all of our pupils in order to foster confidence and achievement in a skill that is essential in everyday life and will enable them to succeed in the future.
Through the implementation of White Rose Maths, a scheme that builds up mathematical concepts and processes, our aim is to make all students fluent in the fundamentals of Mathematics. Our approach uses varied and frequent practice to develop pupils’ conceptual understanding. It enables them to reason mathematically by following a line of enquiry, looking for relationships and making generalisations. It also enables them to solve problems by applying their mathematics to a variety of problems, persevering in seeking solutions and developing resilience.
We have adopted a Concrete-Pictorial-Abstract (C-P-A) approach which forms an integral part of the learning process. 'Concrete' is the ‘doing’ stage, using concrete objects to model problems. This brings concepts to life by allowing pupils to experience and handle physical objects themselves during problem-solving and group work. It ensures all pupils can access learning regardless of their abilities and needs.
'Pictorial' is the ‘seeing’ stage, using representations of the objects to model problems by drawing or looking at pictures, diagrams or models which represent the objects in the problem. 'Abstract' is the ‘symbolic’ stage, where pupils are able to use abstract symbols using only numbers, notation and mathematical symbols such as +. -, x, ÷.
Although CPA is shown as three distinct stages, teachers will go back and forth between each representation to reinforce concepts. Teachers adapt the scheme and future lessons in order to meet the needs of the pupils when necessary.
