Faith & Maths

Maths is an important part of our curriculum at SSMJ. It helps us to meet our school’s distinctive vision in a different and innovative way.

Vision

The SSMJ School vision is for everyone in our family to be 'the best they can be' to feel equal, valued and prepared for life in modern British society. Our children will become independent and resilient learners in an inclusive, safe environment where spiritual fulfilment and success are our priorities.

Believe and Achieve!

"For nothing will be impossible with God." (Luke 1:37)

Mission

Serving God's Community

• In developing a greater understanding of Christianity and other faiths within the community, we seek to develop the character and ability for all, so that they know they have a place in God’s world and are stewards in the modern world.
• Dedicated to providing an outstanding education, we prepare our children to become global citizens who are able to accept, respect and live in harmony before God. It is crucial that in order to achieve this, pupils have an understanding of number as well as being able to problem solve. Skills that are crucial to live and thrive in 21st Century Britain.
• By developing the social, moral, cultural and spiritual dimensions of pupils in the school, we ensure they are confident to make a positive contribution to the community. Pupils need to reflect critically and creatively in order to resiliently solve problems related to Mathematics.
• In finding time to be still and reflect, we seek to foster spirituality and a deeper relationship with God. Reflection is an important skill that our pupils develop in order to take responsibility for their educational development.

How our Maths curriculum intent links with our School Vision and aims

Development of Maths skills at SSMJ RC Primary School is at the cornerstone of how pupils will be able to thrive as they grow into adulthood:

• In order for pupils to look after themselves and financially flourish as they live their lives, it is critical that pupils develop secure number and problem solving skills. Reasoning will help pupils make informed decisions related to their lives and future careers. It helps pupils to critically understand and assess issues surrounding mercy, equality and justice and make fair decisions to combat inequalities and injustices they identify.
• An effective Maths curriculum at SSMJ allows pupils to develop their resilience as learners and problem solvers, allowing them to ambitiously reach their potential.
• The ability to creatively solve problems and reason about Maths allows the children to development their sense of wonder and spirituality.
• Maths allows pupils to understand God’s work in action, allowing them to see how the world works.
• Each child has their own unique talents gifted by God; therefore, we strive to create a broad, creative, critical and inspirational Maths curriculum, so that our children flourish no matter what their background or ability.
• By ensuring our children are given a broad and inspirational Maths curriculum, appropriate to the modern world, we are not only enhancing their ability academically, but also spiritually.

SSMJ Primary School recognises that maths is both a key skill within school, and a life skill to be utilised through everyday experiences. It is also essential in order to successfully live out our school vision and its distinctly Catholic ethos. A high-quality maths education provides a firm foundation for understanding how maths is used in everyday life and activities, developing pupils’ ability to reason mathematically. As they become adults it allows pupils to identify and assess injustices and inequality and act mercifully to resolve them.

Through the teaching of maths, we aim to develop:

• A positive attitude towards maths and an awareness of the relevance of maths in the real world.
• A process of enquiry and experiment.
• An ability to solve problems and think logically in order to work systematically and accurately.
• An ability to work both independently and in cooperation with others.
• Competence and confidence in pupils’ maths knowledge, concepts and skills.
• An appreciation of the creative aspects of maths and an awareness of its aesthetic appeal.

How skills progression is implemented in our Maths Curriculum

The school teaches the National Curriculum for Maths, which focuses on a Maths Mastery approach for the pupils so that they:

• Become fluent in the fundamentals of mathematics (Know more and remember more), including varied and frequent practice with increasingly complex problems over time, so that pupils develop conceptual understanding and the ability to recall and apply knowledge rapidly and accurately;
• Reason mathematically by following a line of enquiry, conjecturing relationships and generalisations, and developing an argument, justification or proof using mathematical language;
• Can 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.

In order to achieve the above aims and our distinctive intent, our curriculum at SSMJ uses several different resources including White Rose Maths and NCETM Materials.