We are all ‘Maths Magicians’
Maths at Pownall Hall fosters curiosity, problem solving, reasoning, explaining and a logical approach to learning. Our growth mindset ethos gives our children the confidence to, ‘have a go’, make mistakes and try again. Maths is mastered and applied, it is linked to everyday life and contextualised to promote natural curiosity. Maths is delivered by giving the children an understanding around a concept, not just a calculation process. Concepts are modelled with concrete resources, visual aids and everyday surroundings, both indoors and outdoors. All of us are Maths Magicians.
I am a young and aspiring Maths teacher, passionate about helping students build their confidence and develop a strong understanding of mathematics. I believe that every student learns differently, and I take pride in exploring various teaching approaches until each student fully grasps the concept.
By making maths engaging, accessible, and relevant to real-life situations, I aim to inspire students and show them the exciting role maths plays in the world around us. In my classroom, mistakes are opportunities to learn, and I create a supportive environment that encourages curiosity and growth. My goal is to help every student not only succeed in maths but also develop the confidence to approach problem-solving with enthusiasm.
Miss. Alisha Meakin, BA Hons, MSc
Our overarching aim is to help young children achieve the five Every Child Matters outcomes of staying safe, being healthy, enjoying and achieving, making a positive contribution and achieving economic well-being.
We understand that developing a strong grounding in number is essential, so that all children develop the necessary building blocks to excel mathematically. Our practitioners support children in learning to count confidently and develop a deep understanding of the numbers to 10, the relationship between them and the patterns within those numbers. By providing frequent and varied opportunities to practise and apply this understanding, children are supported to develop a secure base of knowledge and vocabulary.
Our curriculum includes rich opportunities for children to develop their spatial reasoning skills across all areas of mathematics, including shape, space and measure. We support our children to develop a positive attitude and interest in mathematics by encouraging them to ‘have a go’, talk about what they notice and not be afraid to make mistakes. Pupils are supported in developing their understanding of counting, understanding and using numbers, calculating simple addition and subtraction problems and describing shapes, spaces and measures.
Pre-prep maths builds on the strong foundation of number and shape, developed in EYFS. Pre-prep maths continues to promote curiosity, understanding, awe and wonder. Understanding and confidence underpins Pownall’s mathematical ethos. The children are surrounded by concrete resources including tens frames, Numicon, Base Ten Sets, Counters, Beads, to name but a few. By year 2, the concrete and visual understanding moves towards abstract understanding with more focus on recording and writing, whilst continuing to develop problem solving and reasoning skills.
Children are supported, stretched and challenged, extending into the year 3 objectives when appropriate.
The prep maths provision is accelerated further, whilst continuing to maintain our pedagogy of teaching maths through understanding and reasoning. All concepts are contextualised to give them meaning, and to promote the children’s curiosity and passion to want to learn. There is more focus in Prep on mental maths skills, teaching ‘tricks’ and shortcuts to develop pace and confidence. In years 5 and 6, problem solving and investigative skills are extended, and the children are taught to record their findings in a systematic and organised way, in order to see patterns and sequences. All of the maths primary curriculum is completed as the children reach the end of Form 5, allowing for specific 11+ preparation in year 6.
The children are prepared gently and gradually for the 11+ exams as they move through the Pownall Pathway. Completing the maths primary national curriculum by the end of form 5, allows us to focus on specific preparation for the 11+ exams during form 6 maths lessons, focusing on exam technique and giving the children experience of relevant past, and practise, papers. Our priority is that the children are happy and confident, which is the ethos that underpins every area of school life. We are lucky to have a large choice of 11+ schools in the area, with the majority of children moving on to their first choice 11+ school.
