Well-Ordered Safe Environment
At The Grange School, we want our students to experience mathematics as connected knowledge; to understand and enjoy the subject for its true value.
As a department, we have carefully considered the sequence of our curriculum and the environment in which we deliver it.
- Our curriculum takes small steps that build on prior knowledge. This allows students to make connections and deepens their understanding of mathematics as a coherent structure.
• We adopt a mastery approach to teaching that assumes everyone can learn and enjoy mathematics. This means ensuring students are secure in their understanding of a topic before moving onto new content.
• Mathematics is a communication subject. Our classrooms are spaces in which students can confidently participate in mathematical discussion and talk openly about misconceptions.
• Practice is fundamental to consolidate learning. Through well-designed classwork and homework, students embed new skills with fluency practice and move on to more complex problem-solving tasks.
For more information about curriculum content by Key Stage, please view our Learning Journeys.
Enriching Curriculum
As a mathematics department, we want our students to understand mathematics is far more than calculations in a classroom.
The value of mathematics only begins with numeracy. To be a mathematician is to be a problem solver – a much sought-after skill. As part of our curriculum, we ensure that students practise applying new mathematical skills to a range of problems, differing in complexity and structure. By encountering mathematics as problem-solving, students develop strategies and make connections across the curriculum and beyond.
At The Grange School, we celebrate our students’ successes in mathematical thinking and problem solving by participating in the UK Maths Trust Challenges. Students compete on a national and international stage at both the Junior and Intermediate level. These challenges inspire our students to see mathematics as an enriching and valuable activity which goes further than simple calculations.
Community at the Heart of the School
Mathematics is not an isolated discipline. It has applications across many different subjects in school and beyond. It is also a discipline which is evolving pedagogically and across the key stages of education.
As a department, we work with our cross-curricular colleagues to ensure that the teaching of relevant skills is timed to support student learning in other subjects. Whether this be standard form for Physics or data handling skills for Geography. By being explicit in this teaching, we encourage students to make links across subjects.
As teachers who want the best outcomes for our students, we understand that we can always do things better. To ensure our students experience continuity and consistency we work closely with our colleagues at feeder schools to understand how mathematics is taught at the primary stage. At secondary level, we continue to develop our practice by leveraging the expertise of the local NCETM MathsHub community.
Academic Achievement for All
At The Grange School, we believe Mathematics is a subject that everyone can learn and enjoy, no matter their prior experiences of it.
Our mastery approach to teaching involves using multiple representations of mathematical concepts. This often includes concrete, pictorial and abstract representations which allows students to access knowledge in different ways. We have consulted with local primary schools and our local NCETM MathsHub to ensure students have access to familiar manipulatives to aid their learning.
Retrieval practice is essential to support all students’ progress. As a department, we build retrieval tasks into our lessons so students can regularly practice recalling and using prior learning. This supports students with their long-term memory and flexibility of knowledge.
Homework for all students is set via Sparx Maths. Sparx is an online platform that uses artificial intelligence to create personalised tasks for every student. While the topics will be consistent, the questions students answer are targeted to their level. Sparx also builds in retrieval practice (and times table practice for KS3) to support with consolidation of learning.
New Horizons (linked to pathways, careers etc)
Mathematics is essential to everyday life in the ‘real’ world. Whatever their next steps, students should finish their mathematical journey at The Grange School confident in their ability to navigate them.
Our Key Stage 3 and Key Stage 4 curriculum aims to give students a deep conceptual understanding of mathematics. This prepares students well for the rigorous academic requirements of A Level Mathematics and Further Mathematics. Students will have secure statistical and mathematical skills which will support them in Key Stage 5 courses such as A Level Psychology, Sociology or Applied Sciences (BTEC).
At Key Stage 5, we offer A Level Mathematics. The most popular A level course in the UK, A Level Mathematics is beneficial for developing problem-solving skills, enhancing analytical thinking, and opening doors to a wide range of university courses and careers
Whatever their choices for Key Stage 5, we want all students to leave The Grange School with the understanding that mathematics has value in everyday life. Whether it be in employment, financial decision making or critical thinking, numeracy and mathematical strategies are vital skills. Our aim is to ensure our students leave us confident and competent in mathematics and with an appreciation of its true value.