Maths

At New Bridge we believe that a high-quality maths education develops functional maths skills, problem solving and reasoning skills and an understanding of the world that supports independent living and employment. We intend all pupils to experience a sense of enjoyment and curiosity in their study of this subject.

The maths curriculum aims to ensure that pupils are given the opportunity to:

• become fluent in the fundamentals of mathematics, 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
• 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

Pupils follow the White Rose Maths scheme at KS3. This is delivered through blocks of learning such as place value, addition and subtraction, multiplication and division. In every opportunity, maths is contextualised and a functional, practical is adopted. This approach ensures an engaging, fun curriculum which includes:

• concrete, pictorial and abstract learning
• fluency, reasoning and problem solving
• mathematical vocabulary
• fluent recall

Number is the priority for our pupils, with geometry interspersed throughout. We aim for each pupil to be confident in each objective and develop their ability to use this knowledge to develop a greater understanding to solve fluency problems as well as problem solving and reasoning questions.

Accreditation

At Key Stage 4 pupils follow the EDEXCEL maths Entry Level Functional Skills, Functional Skills Level 1 or GCSE syllabuses.