Vision
Our vision is to shape our students into able problem solvers and logical thinkers, enabling them to be numerically competent throughout their lives. This is a product of our inspirational and reflective teaching. Our dedicated department aims to share their knowledge by relating Mathematics to real life situations, adding value and positivity to the subject and dispelling negative concepts. We promote equality and diversity, cultivating students to give them the confidence to express their knowledge and increase their understanding of the practical application of mathematics.
Intent
All students follow the National Curriculum in developing the knowledge, skills and understanding in Number, Algebra, Ratio and Proportion, Geometry, Probability and Statistics in order for them to prepare for the Key Stage 4 GCSE course and beyond. Students are encouraged to develop fluency in their mental and written methods; reason mathematically to solve problems in a logical manner.
We promote the importance and value of learning Mathematics to support other subjects across the curriculum and emphasise the real life relevance of knowledge and skills acquired in Mathematics lessons. Our intent is to instil in students the practical skills that are transferable to all workplaces or further study, such as communicating mathematically, logical thinking and applying knowledge to unfamiliar situations.
Implementation
The implementation of the National Curriculum is embedded in our outstanding teaching strategies. This outstanding teaching is based on the firm foundations of the ‘Six Strategies for Effective Learning’ that entail; elaboration, retrieval practice, spaced practice, dual coding, interleaving and concrete examples.
The 5 core areas of Mathematics: Number, Algebra, Ratio and Proportion, Geometry, Probability and Statistics are taught throughout Key Stages 3 to 5, with an emphasis on revisiting topics frequently to build on, and extend, prior knowledge and skills.
Students start their GCSE course in Year 10; the course is designed to build on the core knowledge and understanding that has developed throughout Key stage 3. We follow the Edexcel GCSE exam specification and students will have the opportunity to sit either foundation or higher tier exam papers at the end of Year 11.
The A Level mathematics course comprises Pure Mathematics, Mechanics and Statistics. We follow the Edexcel A Level specification and students will sit their final exams at the end of Year 13.
Lessons are designed to challenge students of all abilities, with the appropriate support in place to ensure that the learning is accessible to all. Lessons are planned and implemented using our mastery fundamentals, which have been developed from strict adherence to pedagogy. These are: challenge, explanation, modelling, deliberate practice, questioning and feedback. In addition, Maths teachers constantly engage with pedagogy in meetings and through CPD to develop the very best practice and continually evolve our curriculum to support students’ needs.
Mathematics Curriculum Overview
Mathematics Age Related Expectations
Mathematics Assessment Journey
Mathematical Skills
Impact
Students use knowledge organisers as a core part of the curriculum, to support their learning of key words, mathematical facts, concepts and formulae. Daily retrieval practice and weekly homework are used to check learning and identify/address weaknesses.
Magna Academy, since opening in 2013, has pursued a policy of using online learning platforms to support Mathematics homework. Since 2022 we have been using Sparx. This both personalises weekly homework exactly to an individual students’ ability and yet follows the scheme of work conducted in class. A fuller explanation of how Sparx works can be found here:
In every lesson, formative assessment is constantly used to gauge the understanding of students and address misconceptions. A range of techniques are used, including targeted or whole class questioning, mini whiteboards, RAG cards, low stakes quizzes, homework and independent classwork.
Summative assessments include end of unit topic tests, knowledge tests, exam practice papers and end of year/mock exams using real GCSE/A Level past papers. From Year 7, all summative assessments make use of exam style questions to ensure that students become familiar with the format of external examinations.
This range of assessments allows teachers to make accurate judgments on student progress over time that will determine any additional intervention required in preparation for mock exams and final GCSE/ A Level examinations.