Maths
Welcome to Maths at Burford!
At Burford School, we are committed to nurturing confident, deep-thinking mathematicians, who explore patterns and make connections.
Since 2017, we have adopted a Mastery approach to the teaching and learning of Maths and have benefited from having a Mastery Specialist lead and embed the approach across the school.
Our Mastery approach builds on the strong Growth Mindset ethos across the school and allows children to develop their 'Burford Body'. Children are able to use their 'mind', 'mouth' and 'ears' regularly during Maths lessons, when discussing and solving mathematical problems with their peers.
What is Teaching for Mastery?
Underlying the approach is the belief that all children can achieve and develop a deep mathematical understanding. The focus is on developing factual, procedural and conceptual fluency: what, how and why, enabling children to become fluent mathematicians who are able to reason and solve a variety of problems by applying what they have learned in a range of contexts. Conceptual understanding is developed through concrete, visual and structural representations and children are given opportunity to spot patterns, make connections and explain their reasoning on a daily basis.
For more information about a teaching for mastery approach and how this looks Burford School, please read through the presentation that we shared at our latest Curriculum Evening in February 2022.
Meeting the needs of all learners
Children are supported through carefully planned lessons that tackle concepts in small steps, which build on each other following a coherent path; carefully crafted scaffolding to prompt conceptual understanding; and, where necessary, specific planned interventions.
Once conceptual understanding has been mastered, children are supported and encouraged to think more deeply about the concepts. For more information, please read Mastery at Burford: Deeper Understanding.
For further information, please watch the video in the link below from Debbie Morgan, NCETM on teach maths using a mastery approach and its impact on differentiation and assessment:
https://mathsnoproblem.com/en/mastery/what-is-maths-mastery/
Developing Teaching for Mastery at Burford and across the Hub
We are an active member of the Bucks, Berks and Oxon Maths Hub (BBO) and as a school we host opening mornings and Teacher Research Groups for interested teachers, Maths Leads and Heads to observe our maths lessons and learn more about Teaching for Mastery.
For further information please explore the links below:
NCETM - Mastery Explained
https://www.ncetm.org.uk/teaching-for-mastery/mastery-explained/
BBO Maths Hub
Please find below calculation guidance to help parents understand how we are approaching maths calculations in class.
