Maths
Intent
Our intent at Stanley High School is for students to develop a love for Mathematics. Students at our school are taught using a range of visual representations to support with conceptual understanding because we believe our students deserve to master concepts before moving on. Our carefully sequenced, ambitious curriculum prioritises mathematical fluency alongside the development of problem-solving skills and with regular, purposeful retrieval practice, we believe that all students can be successful in mastering Mathematics and can leave Stanley High School best equipped for life beyond year 11.
Implementation
In order to implement our curriculum, we strive to continuously improve on our carefully designed curriculum. Our specialist Mathematics team aim to prepare for and avoid misconceptions, encourage curiosity and share a passion for Mathematics with the students in our care. Within the department, we have five full-time Mathematics teachers and two part-time teachers.
Year 7 and 8 students have 6 hours of Mathematics per fortnight with this increasing to 7 hours per fortnight in years 9, 10 and 11. At KS3 (years 7,8 and 9), students are exposed to a broad and balanced curriculum with a particular focus on how each topic fits into the bigger picture. Students are taught in loose mixed-ability groups for the first four weeks of year 7 in which key areas of Mathematics are recapped to aid transition between KS2 and KS3. Students then sit an assessment and are grouped accordingly.
We appreciate that teaching for mastery encourages students to develop a deeper understanding for Mathematics. We have invested a significant amount of time into developing the way in which concepts are taught – for example, through the use of negative number counters for directed number and algebra tiles for collecting like terms, expanding brackets and solving equations. By engaging in high-quality CPD opportunities such as engagement with local Maths hubs, staff are committed to providing the highest quality of education for our young people.
At KS4, we follow the Pearson Edexcel Level 1/Level 2 GCSE (9-1) course. This course aims to develop fluent knowledge, skills and understanding of mathematical methods and concepts; acquire, select and apply mathematical techniques to solve problems; reason mathematically; make deductions and inferences; draw conclusions; comprehend, interpret and communicate mathematical information in a variety of forms appropriate to the information and context.
More information regarding our KS4 specification can be found at the following link: https://qualifications.pearson.com/en/qualifications/edexcel-gcses/mathematics-2015.html
Students with additional needs can expect in-class intervention with support from enthusiastic Teaching Assistants and support staff as well as class teachers. At KS3, we have Sparx support sessions to help students with retrieval homework. For KS4, we have form-time intervention sessions, targeted intervention, and ‘all welcome’ revision sessions after school.
All students have access to challenging opportunities as part of their regular classwork. For all year groups, homework is issued weekly via the Sparx Maths platform with independent learning, form time and subject class competitions taking place to promote completion. For students who may find the KS4 curriculum challenging or require some extra support to access the content, we offer Entry Level Mathematics in year 11.
We also offer AQA level 2 Further Mathematics as an extra qualification for students who show an exceptional talent for the subject. Any student who wishes to attempt this qualification should discuss their options with their Maths teacher. An increasing number of students are attempting this qualification with 100% of students entered securing a 5+ in the 22-23 academic year.
Impact
Student progress is monitored regularly through our Do Now tasks, which take place at the beginning of every lesson. We appreciate that retrieval practice is crucial for students knowing and remembering more, so we have introduced weekly retrieval quizzes for all groups. Teachers use these starters to inform their planning and adapt their lessons accordingly, regularly making connections to how content fits into the ‘bigger picture’. Students complete two assessments per half term – a skills check which assesses the basic skills that have been taught and also end-of-half-term assessments, which include a range of problem solving questions involving the skills acquired.
Suggested post-16 pathways and possible careers
Many of our students go on to study Mathematics and Further Mathematics at local colleges and then on to University to study Mathematical degrees.
Mathematics at sixth form or college could open many doors for future careers such as engineering, accountancy, medicine or teaching. Past students have gone on to study apprenticeships at BAE systems.
Additional Information
In addition to delivering the Mathematics curriculum up to GCSE, we also offer opportunities for our students to engage in extra-curricular activities such as Rocket Club, Puzzle Club, Edge Hill Maths Challenge competitions, STEM activity days and UKMT Maths Challenge events. We have recently engaged with the University of Liverpool Maths School to provide a weekly high-quality transition to A-level opportunities for our year 11 high achieving Mathematicians.
Our Maths department is actively involved with supporting other curriculum areas with the numeracy covered in their areas, which helps to ensure consistency with methods taught across the curriculum.
Useful websites
- Sparx Maths: https://www.sparxmaths.uk/
Students have their own individual login details for Sparx. Students struggling to log in can request a password reset via the login page or speak to their class teacher. Students can use Sparx to complete weekly homework, complete additional tasks via the ‘target’ or ‘XP boost’ sections or look up any KS3/KS4 topic to complete independent learning. Sparx uses artificial intelligence to adjust the difficulty level depending on student answers.
- Corbett Maths: https://corbettmaths.com/
Useful GCSE practice questions, ‘5 a day’ revision tasks, videos and past papers (with solutions).
- Mathsbot: https://mathsbot.com/
Useful question generators with solutions.
- 1st Class Maths: https://www.1stclassmaths.com/
Great for past papers and revision, as well as useful videos and ‘spicy questions’ (challenging high-level questions).
- OnMaths: https://www.onmaths.com/
Great for attempting online past papers and ‘demon questions’ (challenging questions), which are marked online upon submission.