INTENT

At Glade Academy, our intent is for every child to develop a passion for mathematics and to become confident, resilient and successful mathematicians. We believe that mathematics is essential to understanding the world, and we want pupils to recognise its value in their daily lives.

We aim for all children to develop deep, secure understanding of mathematical concepts through a mastery approach. This includes building strong number sense, achieving fluency in key facts, and being able to select efficient strategies when solving problems. Pupils will reason, justify and communicate their thinking using precise mathematical vocabulary.

We are committed to equity: all pupils will access age‑appropriate learning, with barriers removed through carefully designed support. Real‑life contexts — such as cooking, scheduling and measuring — help pupils make meaningful connections between mathematics and the world around them.

Mathematics at Glade also reflects our core values. We nurture respect for the subject and for one another, celebrate achievement, and promote resilience by recognising that struggle is a natural and valuable part of learning. Through collaboration and teamwork, pupils learn to explore ideas together, take turns, and support one another as mathematicians.

Our intent is to equip every child with the fluency, reasoning and problem‑solving skills they need for future learning and for life.

IMPLEMENTATION

We teach mathematics through a mastery approach, following the White Rose scheme of learning and supplementing it with NCETM Ready to Progress materials, Nrich tasks and other high-quality resources. This ensures coherent small-step progression and consistent coverage across the school.

Each class receives five mathematics lessons per week. Lessons are designed to develop fluency, reasoning and problem-solving, with a strong emphasis on mathematical vocabulary and structured talk.

We use a concrete–pictorial–abstract (CPA) approach to support conceptual understanding. Pupils begin with manipulatives such as dienes, multilink and place value counters, before moving to pictorial representations including bar models and part–part–whole diagrams. Once secure, pupils apply their understanding using abstract methods.

Variation is used across the school to deepen understanding. This includes conceptual variation (exploring different representations of the same idea) and procedural variation (carefully sequenced examples). This helps pupils recognise mathematical structures and select efficient strategies when solving problems.

To strengthen fluency, pupils take part in daily morning maths sessions and a weekly ‘Beat It’ challenge, providing regular opportunities to practise number facts and arithmetic within a timed setting.

IMPACT

The impact of our mathematics curriculum is that pupils at Glade develop secure understanding of key concepts, fluency in number facts and confidence in selecting efficient strategies. They can explain their thinking using precise mathematical vocabulary and apply their knowledge to solve problems in a range of contexts. Pupils show resilience when faced with challenge and demonstrate the ability to reason mathematically.

We gather evidence of this impact continually. In lessons, teachers assess pupils through mini‑whiteboard responses, flashback activities, mathematical games and pupils’ written work. These checks inform immediate next steps and ensure that misconceptions are addressed quickly.

Following lessons, the subject leader monitors the effectiveness of the curriculum through book looks, planning scrutiny, lesson observations and pupil perception interviews. Summative information, including PIXL assessments, multiplication tables check data and teacher judgements recorded on Pupil Asset, provides a broader picture of progress across the school.

Assessment information is used to adapt teaching, identify pupils who need additional support and ensure that all children keep up with the curriculum. This ongoing cycle of assessment, monitoring and responsive teaching ensures that pupils leave Glade as confident, fluent and enthusiastic mathematicians who are well prepared for the next stage of their education.