Overview

A working understanding of maths helps our students understand and interact with the world around them. It is important for performing countless functions in everyday life. Maths works into almost every part of our curriculum and we exploit every opportunity to make cross-curricular links. We support our learners to become as numerate as possible as they move towards adulthood. For some pupils, maths will be an essential part of everyday life and a key skill required in the workplace. For others it will be a means of engagement and continuing a love of learning. Our pupils enjoy mathematics across all of the Pathways; most benefit from hands-on and practical approaches. Learning is sequenced so that key concepts are grasped before new ones are introduced. Constant formative assessment takes place in class, with teachers and support staff capturing evidence of progress or picking up misunderstandings and revisiting topics. Assessment, parent/carer and student feedback tell us that our maths curriculum engages learners. It helps them achieve challenging EHCP outcomes and recognised qualifications. It prepares them for college, adult life and the workplace.

Sequencing

Teaching is sequenced and planned to ensure that key concepts are grasped before we move onto other areas. This is essential for all learners, but we recognise that our students require repeated over-learning more than young people without additional learning needs. Some of our students have significant problems with memory – in these cases we offer a wide variety of repeated key content. 

We prioritise the most essential building blocks of maths (eg. concept of number, the four functions) and continue moving through topics that will be most useful in the lives of our pupils. This may include topics such as money, time, shape etc.

We discuss maths with parents and carers in annual reviews to ensure that they understand and agree with our proposed focus for their child’s maths-related outcomes.

We take every opportunity to use and develop maths skills in all parts of the school day and encourage families to do the same outside of school.

Pathways

In the Blue Pathway, students learn in a highly sensory way; often through 1:1 interaction, music and games. We have chosen the topics most relevant  for these students - addition, subtraction, sizes, shapes and directions; these are functions they can comprehend and engage with and ones they may use in their daily lives.

Our Green Pathway develops a little further and is taught in a thematic way with links to topics and related books. This ties in with the whole of the Green curriculum. 

The Yellow Pathway covers a great deal of the mainstream mathematics curriculum – we place a large emphasis on functional maths for day to day living and employment. See below for more detailed information regarding different areas of maths.

Maths Annual Plan

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Impact

We know from Annual Review feedback, Evidence for Learning (our assessment system), lesson observations and comments from students and parents that learners in all Pathways have a more positive relationship with maths because of our approaches. Students often leave us able to understand and do more with maths than they and their parents or carers once thought possible.

Our maths curriculum has allowed students to:

  • Engage more with the world around them
  • Travel more independently because of an understanding of timetables and money
  • Successfully attend a place of work and carry out daily duties (eg. Professional Chef/Teaching Assistant)
  • Cook with support or independently, following recipes
  • Live with support or independently, understanding how to operate equipment with functions linked to maths (eg microwave/fridge/freezer)
  • Shop with support or independently, understanding percentages, discounts, offers, budgets, money

Qualifications

Our Year 10 and 11 Yellow Pathway students work towards Functional Skills qualifications from Entry Level 1 through to Level 1, delivered through Pearson/Edexcel. Pupils in our Green, Purple, and Blue Pathways from Year 10 onwards undertake the ASDAN Life Skills Challenge, building practical skills for independence and everyday life.