At George Grenville Academy, we believe that all children can achieve in mathematics if they are given the appropriate support. Our aim is for our pupils to become fluentin the fundamentals of mathematics, through varied and frequent practice with increasingly complex calculations and problems over time, so that pupils develop conceptual understanding and the ability to recall and apply knowledge rapidly and accurately. Children are encouraged to reason mathematicallyby following a line of enquiry and develop an argument, justification or proof using mathematical language confidently and accurately.
At George Grenville Academy, mathematics is timetabled daily and covers a broad and balanced curriculum including number, geometry, measures and statistics. Emphasis is placed on arithmetic to ensure skills become fluent and confidence is built upon. In addition to the main mathematics lessons, 10 to 15 minutes fluency practise is built into the school day to practise key facts that are identified by teacher assessments throughout the school year. Pupils are taught as a whole class and formative assessment is used to ensure all needs are planned for. Pre-teaching or small group focussed work is also used to plug gaps and provide extra opportunities for more individualised teaching or opportunities for further practise of key skills.
Click on the link to open the curriculum overview for mathematics
At George Grenville, we focus on the concept of number fluency. We believe developing fluency in this are is vital as it allows children to develop a better understanding of place value and the relationships between operations. Fluency is exploring both how and why in mathematics and is not about just practice on its own. Children who engage in a lot of practice without understanding what they are doing often forget, or remember incorrectly, those procedures. We therefore plan our fluency lessons carefully and adapt to suit the individual needs of the class.
At George Grenville Academy, we believe that developing fluency in multiplication tables provide a secure foundation for mathematics moving forward. We put a great deal of emphasis on learning multiplication tables and then applying this knowledge in day to day mathematics.
We begin in KS1 and lower KS2 by rolling our numbers. At the start of most mathematics lessons, the children will 'roll' the number sequence they are focusing on. This enables them to become faster and more accurate at their multiplication tables. As they call out each number, they put another finger up.
Click to to download the lyrics we use so you can practise rolling numbers with your child at home.
Pupils begin their journey on the 99 club in KS2. The aim is to raise standards in Maths through encouraging children to improve their mental calculations when attempting quick-fire multiplication and division problems. The idea is that, with repeated practice, the scheme will result in increased speed and confidence when tackling mental maths problems.
Click on the icon to download the sheet so your child can practise at home. Allow 5 minutes to complete the sheet.
Times Tables Rockstars
The school have also set up accounts for all of our children in KS1 and KS2 to access Times Tables Rockstars which is an online game that can be played at home and targets fluency in multiplication tables.
Click on the icon to visit the Times Tables Rockstars login page.
George Grenville Academy, Chandos Road, Buckingham, MK18 1AP. Email:firstname.lastname@example.org Tel 01280 813273