The LDA mathematics curriculum intends to ignite curiosity and prepare pupils for everyday life and future employment through a creative and ambitious mathematics programme of study.
Mathematics is essential to everyday life, critical to science, technology and engineering, and necessary for financial literacy and most forms of employment. A high-quality mathematics education therefore provides a foundation for understanding the world, the ability to reason mathematically, an appreciation of the beauty and power of mathematics, and a sense of enjoyment and curiosity about the subject.
The Mathematics curriculum at Lord Derby Academy (LDA) builds on the National Curriculum. We aim to develop fluency in the fundamentals of mathematics, including through varied and frequent “intelligent practice” with increasingly complex problems over time, so that pupils develop the ability to recall and apply knowledge rapidly and accurately as well as conceptual understanding.
We are also striving to allow pupils to reason mathematically by following a line of enquiry, conjecturing relationships and generalisations, developing mathematical arguments and proofs and making conclusions based on logical inferences. Our intention is for pupils to 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. As such, resilience is a crucial skill that we aim to cultivate. Equally important is our focus on developing pupils’ ability to verbalise their thoughts. We have imported from our visit to Shanghai classrooms the mantra: “the answer is only the beginning”, which, we believe, supports the development of talk and helps the teacher gain access to pupils’ reasoning.
Pupils also need to be able to utilise technology effectively, such as scientific calculators, to perform increasingly complex problems (as well as having strong written and mental mathematical skills, not instead of). As the repertoire of mathematical skills that pupils possess grows, they become more able to solve increasingly more complex problems. They are more able to apply mathematics to model real life situations. Nationally, there are huge shortfalls in job applicants with strong STEM skills. Occupations in the STEM sector are growing at a rate that is nearly double other sectors. Our intention is to develop pupils’ abilities sufficiently so that they are able to rise to the challenging opportunities this sector has to offer.
At key stage 3, we promote equity by working through the breadth of the curriculum with all pupils so that they can achieve regardless of their starting point. We run a number of KS3 Mathematics clubs and enrichment activities (Young engineers of the future club, LDA Kahoot Quizzes, financial skills workshops etc). We develop our pupils’ knowledge through depth and more challenging problem solving, rather than through acceleration of content. We intend for a high proportion of our pupils to go on and study or use mathematics in some form post-16; our key stage 4 offer is broad to cater for pupils who will go on to study maths at the highest level. Ultimately, the intention of our mathematics curriculum is to provide pupils with the necessary thinking skills and content to be successful in their next stage of life or education.
Click here to view the Mathematics Curriculum Pathway
Rationale: At the start of Year 7, pupils continue to build on KS2 knowledge and develop their own strategies for solving problems with or without ICT, pupils are able to check their results are reasonable by considering the context. Pupils are encouraged to look for patterns and relationships, presenting information and results in a clear and organised way, searching for a solution by trying out ideas of their own. Pupils use their understanding of place value to mentally multiply and divide whole numbers by powers of ten, trying out efficient strategies for addition, subtraction, multiplication and division and recognise approximate proportions of a whole. Pupils use simple fractions and percentages to describe proportion and begin to use simple formulae expressed in words. Pupils choose and use appropriate units and tools, interpreting, with appropriate accuracy, numbers on a range of measuring instruments. They will be able to find areas of simple and compound shapes. Pupils will generate and answer questions that require the collection of discrete data. They will understand and use an average and range to describe sets of data. Pupils will be able to construct and interpret simple line graphs.
Rationale: Pupils will explore mathematical situations, carry out tasks or tackle problems, they will identify the mathematical aspects and obtain necessary information in order to calculate accurately, using ICT where appropriate. They will demonstrate understanding of situations by describing them mathematically using symbols, words and diagrams and draw simple conclusions of their own whilst explaining their reasoning. Pupils will be able to solve simple problems involving ratio and direct proportion and will be able to calculate fractional or percentage parts of quantities and measurements, using a calculator where appropriate. Pupils will be able to measure and draw angles to the nearest degree and use language associated with angles. They will learn about the angle sum of a triangle and that of angles at a point. They understand and use the formula for the area of a rectangle to help them make connections to the are formulae of other 2D shapes. Pupils will understand and use the mean of discrete data when comparing two simple distributions using the range and one of the following: mode, median or mean. They will interpret graphs and diagrams, including pie charts, and draw conclusions. They will understand and use the probability scale from 0 to 1 and be able to find and justify probabilities and approximations to these by selecting and using methods based on equally likely outcomes and experimental evidence, as appropriate.
Rationale: In year 9 pupils will solve increasingly complex problems by independently and systematically breaking them down into smaller, more manageable tasks. They will interpret, discuss and synthesise information presented in a variety of mathematical forms, relating findings to the original context. Their written and spoken language will explain and inform their use of diagrams. Pupils will be encouraged to order and approximate decimals when solving numerical problems and equations, using trial and improvement methods. They will evaluate one number as a fraction or percentage of another and understand and use the equivalences between fractions, decimals and percentages to calculate ratios in appropriate situations. Pupils will find and describe in words the rule for the next term or nth term of a sequence where the rule is linear. They will formulate and solve linear equations with whole-number coefficients. Pupils will move on to representing mappings expressed algebraically and use Cartesian coordinates for graphical representation interpreting general features. Pupils will understand and use appropriate formulae for finding circumferences and areas of circles, areas of plane rectilinear figures and volumes of cuboids when solving problems. From a statistics point of view, pupils will be able to collect and record continuous data, choosing appropriate equal class intervals over a sensible range to create frequency tables. They will construct and interpret frequency diagrams, pie charts, scatter diagrams, and have a basic understanding of correlation. |
Click here to view the detailed overview of the mathematics curriculum content taught throughout Key Stage 3. Each modular overview provides information on the knowledge and skills taught at each stage within the intended curriculum.
Mr J Starkey: Faculty Leader, Mathematics
Miss E Pope: Assistant Headteacher, Teacher of Mathematics
Mr C Panther: Deputy Faculty Leader, Mathematics/TLR Responsibility for Ambassador for Pupil Leadership
Miss K Arends: Teacher of Mathematics, Leader of Numeracy
Mr G Whitby: Responsibility in Mathematics
Mrs G Capewell: Teacher of Mathematics
Miss O Fowler: Teacher of Mathematics
Miss A Kenworthy: Teacher of Mathematics
Miss R Coyle: Teacher of Mathematics
Miss E Stout: Teacher of Mathematics
Maths Genie: www.mathsgenie.co.uk
MathsWatch: https://www.mathswatch.co.uk/vle
Please click here for information on login details etc.