Curriculum Intent Faculty of Mathematics

The Skegness Academy curriculum for mathematics aims to ensure that all pupils:

• Become fluent in the fundamentals of mathematics, including through 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 Key Stage 3 students will be taught to:

Develop fluency

By consolidating numerical and mathematical capability from key stage 2 and extend understanding of the number system and place value to include decimals, fractions, powers and roots.

Students will be able to select and using appropriate calculation strategies to solve increasingly complex problems.

Students will be confident in using algebra to generalise the structure of arithmetic, including to formulate mathematical relationships substitute values in expressions, rearrange and simplify expressions, and solve equations.

Students will be able to move freely between different numerical, algebraic, graphical and diagrammatic representations of, equivalent fractions, fractions and decimals, and equations and graphs.

Students will be developing algebraic and graphical fluency, including understanding linear and simple quadratic functions.

Students will also be able to use language and properties precisely to analyse numbers, algebraic expressions, 2-D and 3-D shapes, probability and statistics.

Reason mathematically

By extending understanding of the number system; make connections between number relationships, and their algebraic and graphical representations.

Students will extend and formalise their knowledge of ratio and proportion in working with measures and geometry, and in formulating proportional relations algebraically.

Students will be able to identify variables and express relations between variables algebraically and graphically.

Students will be confident at making and testing conjectures about patterns and relationships; look for proofs or counterexamples.

Students will begin to reason deductively in geometry, number and algebra, including using geometrical constructions.

Students will be confident at interpreting when the structure of a numerical problem requires additive, multiplicative or proportional reasoning.

Students will will be able to explore what can and cannot be inferred in statistical and probabilistic settings, and begin to express their arguments formally. 

Solve problems

By developing mathematical knowledge, through solving problems and evaluating the outcomes, including multi-step problems.

Students will be able to develop their use of formal mathematical knowledge to interpret and solve problems, including in financial mathematics.

Students will begin to model situations mathematically and express the results using a range of formal mathematical representations.

Students will also be able to select appropriate concepts, methods and techniques to apply to unfamiliar and non-routine problems.

In Key Stage 4 students will be taught to:

Develop fluency

By consolidating numerical and mathematical capability from key stage 3, students will extend their understanding of the number system to include powers, roots and fractional indices.

Students will be able to select and use appropriate calculation strategies to solve increasingly complex problems, including exact calculations involving multiples of π and surds, use of standard form and its applications and interpretation of limits of accuracy.

Students will be consolidating their algebraic capability from key stage 3 and extending their understanding of algebraic simplification and manipulation to include quadratic expressions, and expressions involving surds and algebraic fractions.

Students will also be extending fluency with expressions and equations from key stage 3, to include quadratic equations, simultaneous equations and inequalities.

Students will be able to move freely between different numerical, algebraic, graphical and diagrammatic representations, including of linear, quadratic, reciprocal, exponential and trigonometric functions. This will include using mathematical language and properties precisely.

Reason mathematically

By extending and formalising their knowledge of ratio and proportion, including trigonometric ratios, in working with measures and geometry, and in working with proportional relations algebraically and graphically students will become more proficient at reasoning mathematically.

Students will extend their ability to identify variables and express relations between variables algebraically and graphically.

Students will make and test conjectures about the generalisations that underlie patterns and relationships.

Students will be able to look for proofs or counter-examples and begin to use algebra to support and construct arguments and proofs.

Students will also be proficient in reasoning deductively in geometry, number and algebra, including using geometrical constructions.

Students shall also be able to  interpret when the structure of a numerical problem requires additive, multiplicative or proportional reasoning.

Students will also be capable to explore what can and cannot be inferred in statistical and probability settings, and express their arguments formally assessing the validity of an argument and the accuracy of a given way of presenting information.

Solve problems

By developing their mathematical knowledge, through solving problems and evaluating the outcomes, including multi-step problems students will become a better problem solver.

Students will be able to develop their use of formal mathematical knowledge to interpret and solve problems, including in financial contexts.

Students will be proficient in making and using connections between different parts of mathematics to solve problems, modelling situations mathematically and expressing the results using a range of formal mathematical representations.

Students will be reflective on how their solutions may have been affected by any modelling assumptions, selecting appropriate concepts, methods and techniques to apply to unfamiliar and non-routine problems. Students will also be able to interpret their solutions in the context of the given problem.

Information on the GCSE OCR Examination

Assessments

• GCSE Mathematics has a Foundation tier (grades 1 – 5) and a Higher tier (grades 3 – 9). 
  • Paper 1 – Calculator (100 marks)
  • Paper 2 – Non Calculator (100 marks)
  • Paper 3 – Calculator (100 marks)

Subject Content

Topic Area                                 Foundation Tier (%)               Higher Tier (%)

Number                                           25                                            15

Algebra                                            20                                            30

Ratio                                                25                                             20

Geometry                                       15                                             20

Probability and statistics              15                                             15

(combined)

GCSE Statistics

In Key stage 4 students will study statistics as part of their GCSE mathematics curriculum. The GCSE mathematics scheme of work at SKA also includes all topics from the GCSE EDEXCEL statistics, foundation and higher curriculum.

Qualification aims and objectives of GCSE Statistics

The aims and objectives of this qualification are to enable students to develop statistical fluency and understanding through: 

• The use of statistical techniques in a variety of authentic investigations, using real-world data in contexts such as, but not limited to, populations, climate, sales etc. 
• Identifying trends through carrying out appropriate calculations and data visualisation techniques 
• The application of statistical techniques across the curriculum, in subjects such as the sciences, social sciences, computing, geography, business and economics, and outside the classroom in the world in general 
• Critically evaluating data, calculations and evaluations that would be commonly encountered in their studies and in everyday life 
• Understanding how technology has enabled the collection, visualisation and analysis of large quantities of data to inform decision-making processes in public, commercial and academic sectors, including how technology can be used to generate diagrams and visualisations to represent data. 
• Understand ways that data can be organised, processed and presented, including statistical measures to compare data, understanding the advantages of using technology to automate processing.
• Applying appropriate mathematical and statistical formulae, and building on prior knowledge.

At Key Stage 5 there is the opportunity for some students to resit their GCSE mathematics (OCR).

Numeracy Policy

Skegness Academy is committed to raising the standards of numeracy of all of its students across all key stages. This will enable our students to develop their skills resulting in them being able to access the numeracy across the Academy curriculum, and also preparing them for the demands of further education, employment and adult life.