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Maths

Subject Intent

Here at Bywell, we want all our pupils to experience deep, sustained understanding so that they become happy and confident mathematicians, throughout their learning and into their adult life. Through a positive, caring environment, we nurture confidence and a love of mathematics, to enable every child to reach their full potential. We promote a ‘can do’ attitude to maths without a fear of making mistakes. Children will be given time, support and resources to develop a depth of understanding in maths, because we believe that every child is entitled to a good mathematical education.

When teaching mathematics at Bywell, we intend to provide a curriculum which caters for the needs of all individuals. We incorporate sustained levels of challenge through varied and high- quality collaborative activities with a focus on fluency, reasoning and problem solving. This reinforces that at Bywell we are learning together and growing together. Pupils are required to explore maths in depth, using mathematical vocabulary to reason and are questioned carefully in every lesson. A wide range of mathematical resources are used by all and pupils are taught to show their workings in a concrete fashion, before establishing ways of pictorially and formally representing their understanding. We encourage endurance and acceptance that struggle is often a necessary step in learning. We want pupils to build a deep conceptual understanding of concepts which will enable them to apply their learning in different situations.

We follow the Whiterose maths scheme which enables us to confidently ensure that our children develop a Mastery in Mathematics. Maths is a journey and long-term goal, achieved through exploration, clarification, practice and application over time. At each stage of learning, children should be able to demonstrate a deep, conceptual understanding of the topic and be able to build on this over time.

Maths Implementation

Children at Bywell will receive quality first teaching of mathematics 5 days a week, incorporating daily Flash Back 4’s to revisit and embed previous learning. Teacher AFL is used in each lesson to support children who require additional support.
Each step is broken down into 2 lessons – lesson one is pure fluency and lesson 2 is problem solving and reasoning. This ensures that concepts are embedded and all children are exposed to fluency, reasoning and problem solving during the maths lessons.
Lessons are planned and resourced using the small steps identified in the White rose medium term plan, reflecting on lost learning and linking to the ready to progress criteria.
All children are taught by the class teacher, with activities to support SEND planned appropriately. A pre-fluency task has been introduced as a step prior to the fluency task to further scaffold learning for some children, making it easier to access the fluency task.
Opportunities for children to use concrete, pictorial and formal methods to explore different mathematical concepts.
Staff are supported to embed mastery into their daily planning and teaching of mathematics and fluency. This is done via staff training sessions aswell as support during PPA.
Children in years 3, 4 and 5 access discrete timetables teaching and testing each week, using a year group display to monitor their progress.

Maths Impact 2025

In January, we introduced stand-alone fluency lessons, followed by dedicated problem solving and reasoning sessions. This approach allowed teachers sufficient time to teach each component in depth without the pressure of rushing through the content.

Once the revised method was established and trialed in Year 5, I delivered a staff meeting to share both the structure and the rationale behind the approach. During this session, I introduced the planning format and supporting resources, including White Rose Maths and Classroom Secrets. Following the meeting, I joined each year group’s PPA sessions to provide guidance and support with the planning process.

Subsequent book scrutinies and lesson observations demonstrated clear improvements in teaching and learning. All three aspects of the maths curriculum—fluency, problem solving, and reasoning—were delivered more effectively, with teachers having the time to explore each component in greater depth. As a result, pupils were better able to access and complete all tasks applying their learning more confidently. The impact of this strategy is evident in the Summer term assessments, where many pupils demonstrated significant progress since their Spring assessments.

We also received fantastic SATs results- 7 children were disapplied.

KS2 SATs results

School Nationals Kirklees

Maths EXS+: 85.6% 73.4% 74%

Maths GDS: 35.1% 26% 26%

Following a review of teacher feedback, it was identified that the Year 6 team valued the approach but found it challenging to implement due to time constraints and the demands of SATs preparation. In response, adjustments were made: from September, the Year 6 team will deliver all three aspects within one lesson, with follow-up sessions to support any pupils who do not meet the objective.

To support the wider staff, I will continue to provide additional training and PPA support. This will focus on how to combine objectives effectively to ensure all subject content is covered while maintaining high-quality teaching. This approach has already been trialed successfully with the Year 5 team and has shown promising results.

Additionally, the use of marking stations has proved effective. Specific pupils have been able to independently review and mark their work, allowing them to take greater ownership of their learning and progress through tasks more efficiently.

Next Steps 25/26

From September, the Year 6 team will deliver all three aspects within one lesson, with follow-up sessions to support any pupils who do not meet the objective. This will ensure the cover all the relevant curriculum ready for the SATS assessments in May.
To support the wider staff, I will continue to provide additional training and PPA support. This will focus on how to combine objectives effectively to ensure all subject content is covered while maintaining high-quality teaching. This approach has already been trialled successfully with the Year 5 team and has shown promising results.
Continue to collect pupil and Staff voice about maths and how the changes are impacting learning.
Challenge teachers to spend more time in lessons supporting those children who struggle the most rather than being supported by the ETA.

November 2025 Update

Times tables

As part of our SDP, we are aiming to embed a consistent, progressive approach to teaching Times Tables across the school building on previous successes. A training session took place to share resources on effective times tables teaching, including worksheets and games, especially to support lower-attaining or SEN pupils.
An overview was created showing which times tables are taught in each year group and the order, with expectations for teaching sequence- 20 mins to be built in weekly for times table practise which needs to be highlighted on class timetables.
Times table trackers were set up for each class to track progress and highlight any areas of concern.
Visual Times table trackers have been set up in each class so children are able to see themselves progressing up the ladder to increase pupil engagement and ownership.
A focus on Strengthening Home-School Partnerships to support Times Tables practice at home by Sharing information to parents through Ping- highlighting successes and the next x table that the pupil is required to practise. All teachers are set up on Ping so they are able to send messages to parents. A bank of Ping messages have been saved for teachers to access/adapt when sending their own messages.

Number Stacks Intervention

Staff INSET day on introducing Number Stacks and the principles behind the intervention.
Teachers created timetables for the intervention to take place- 4x 25 min sessions. This intervention was focused on children who were just below age related expectations for maths. Teachers selected children from their class who they felt may benefit from this intervention.
ETAs were then given the same training as the teachers.
Resources were ordered for individual ETAs which allows more flexibility and efficiency.
Folders were set up for each ETA with the relevant documentation and given a model of how to organise their files and what information to collect.
ETAs then undertook the assessments for the highlighted children and SLT grouped the children depending on their outcomes and allocated the children to an adult who would lead the intervention. The group will have a maximum of 4 children and would be from across the year group.
Sessions have now begun and SLT are supporting by dropping into intervention sessions to answer any queries and provide further support.

Next Steps November 2025