Mathematics is the means of looking at the patterns that make up our world and the intricate and beautiful ways in which they are constructed and realised. Numeracy is the means of making that knowledge useful. Mathematics transcends cultural boundaries and its importance is universally recognised. Mathematics helps us to understand and change the world. At Whitelands Academy, every student will be given these opportunities to become outstanding Mathematicians – to help build a better world for future generations to come.
At Whitelands Academy, our intention is to create the very best Mathematicians. They will learn how to follow a chain of reasoning to a logical conclusion and are able to make informed predictions about new situations. They will also learn how to solve problems by approaching an unknown situation in a conceptual way. Throughout their learning, they will start to enjoy solving puzzles and persevering with problems; finding the beauty in abstract processes and seemingly unrelated concepts.
Our curriculum is academic and ambitious:
The use of internal baseline assessments at the start of the academic year will ensure that every new student joining Whitelands Academy has the opportunity to develop their Mathematical knowledge and skills at the appropriate pace to suit their learning capabilities. Our ambitions are the same for all of our students, so independent of the ability group students are placed into, students will be learning the same objectives. Students who are unable to access KS3 Mathematics are taught in a transitional KS2 group, where their knowledge of KS2 Mathematics are mastered before learning the necessary knowledge and skills from year 7 Mathematics to seamlessly transition back into the classroom for year 8.
Our curriculum is broad and enriching:
Our curriculum goes far beyond what is taught in lessons, for whilst we want students to achieve the very best examination results possible, we believe our curriculum goes beyond what is examinable. The Mathematics Department offer opportunities for individual and team competition through the UKMT in KS3 and eventually KS4. We also offer opportunities to model Mathematics in everyday life and embed the knowledge and skills in other subjects, such as Science, Geography and Technology.
Students will have the opportunity to extend their knowledge beyond the curriculum by having participating in UKMT events. An example of this will be when several students in the year group will have the opportunity to sit the Junior Maths Challenge, as well as participate in team events, competing against other schools. There will be a UKMT club during lunchtimes to help accommodate this, as well as using particular UKMT problem solving questions in lessons when deemed appropriate.
Our curriculum promotes core literacy skills:
Tier 3 vocabulary is promoted in all Mathematical lessons. Students are introduced to the vocabulary using dual coding. Students are challenged to be able to solve mathematical concepts from both expressions and paragraphs. We therefore practice the numeracy skill from expressions to then extend the comprehension of written problems.
We offer a values-based education:
Every lesson is linked to OuR TRAIT at Whitelands Academy. We discuss in every lesson the importance of being ambitious and resilient when solving challenging questions. We discuss the use of teamwork and tolerance when supporting others in the class and we discuss respect when listening to other student’s solutions.
Our curriculum is knowledge rich:
Our curriculum is a mastery curriculum. We utilise strategies such as DNA’s, home learning quizzes and spaced learning to ensure that students retain the knowledge of what they have learnt in their lessons so that they can build on it further in future lessons.
The five main areas of number, algebra, ratio, geometry and data handling are taught in a cycle so that they can constantly be retrieved and built upon further. We ensure the level of challenge is high enough for the most able, with scaffold and support available for students who need it.
With the use of knowledge organisers, the key skills learnt are modelled to students. Students use their knowledge organisers in both class and home learning to support their memory retention, retrieval and mastery of skills learnt in lessons.