Our Values
KindnessCreating happiness
Friendship Showing patience Sharing encouraging words and our time Thoughtfulness |
CuriosityInquisitiveness
Exploration Discovery Asking questions Making connections |
UnderstandingWelcoming all
Celebrating difference Being inclusive Asking for help when we need it Being tolerant |
BraveryTaking risks
Being adventurous Trying new things Challenging one’s self Standing up for what is right |
ResponsibilityDoing the right thing
Being reliable Care for self, others and the environment Using our manners Taking ownership |
Intent
At Norbury Hall, we strive to deliver a curriculum that is ambitious, aspirational, and inspirational, empowering children to reach their fullest potential. Our inclusive approach ensures that every child feels both supported and challenged, while celebrating successes that foster enthusiasm, enjoyment, and a positive mindset towards maths. With a carefully planned and well-resourced curriculum, combined with high expectations from staff, children are provided with numerous opportunities to grow—academically, skillfully, and personally—equipping them with the confidence to excel in maths.
The maths curriculum is purposefully structured to help children build a solid foundation of knowledge and develop key skills, which they then apply across various contexts. Through the curriculum's design and accompanying long-term plans and calculation policies, essential concepts are revisited frequently to reinforce understanding and enable children to deepen their knowledge as they progress through the school. We intend for all children to experience fluency, reasoning, and problem solving in all lessons; this is pitched at an appropriate level to meet the needs of all learners, while ensuring that reasoning and problem-solving opportunities are accessible to all children, regardless of ability. Robust assessment systems, paired with teacher expertise and appropriate support at Norbury Hall, ensure that every maths lesson is tailored to meet the needs of all learners. This approach allows students to consolidate their prior learning and ensures they are secure in their understanding before moving on to new content.
At Norbury Hall, every child is supported and given the tools to succeed, regardless of their background. In maths, diverse contexts—both real-life and hypothetical—are incorporated into the application of skills, ensuring that children with varied life experiences can effectively engage with and apply their learning. For homework, the MyMaths website is used, with paper-based tasks available upon request to ensure equitable access for all families. Similarly, the Times Table app TTRockstars is encouraged for home learning, with opportunities provided at school for children who lack access to technology at home. Teachers also dedicate time to support any child facing challenges with their home learning, whether due to difficulties in understanding, access to technology, or a lack of support. This commitment ensures that all children, regardless of their circumstances, can experience success.
Regular assessments enable teachers, subject leaders, and Senior Leaders to pinpoint each child's learning needs accurately, ensuring targeted support is provided to address gaps and foster growth. For children with SEND, tailored support is integrated into maths lessons through differentiation, additional adult assistance, bespoke curriculums, specialized resources, interventions, or tutoring. Home learning for SEND students is carefully customized to ensure it aligns with their needs, making the tasks both meaningful and beneficial. The Senior Leadership Team closely monitors the curriculum offered to SEND learners, empowering teachers to provide the appropriate level of support. Additionally, Working Walls in every classroom serve as visual aids, offering prompts, key vocabulary, stem sentences, and examples that reinforce learning and help children succeed.
Implementation
Subject Knowledge / CPD
At Norbury Hall, our teachers possess strong subject knowledge in mathematics, continually enhanced through access to high-quality resources and professional development opportunities. Many staff members have attended external Maths CPD (Continuing Professional Development) sessions, equipping them with up-to-date strategies and insights for delivering a robust curriculum. Within the school, experienced and supportive leaders provide regular guidance and input, particularly during PPA (Planning, Preparation, and Assessment) sessions, fostering collaboration and sharing of best practices. Scheduled termly maths staff meetings further reinforce this support, focusing on signposting key resources, sharing effective pedagogical approaches, and outlining strategies to improve teaching. These initiatives ensure that teachers feel confident and empowered in their delivery of the curriculum.
Philosophy
The consistent, school-wide approach that we implement is grounded in a clear pedagogical philosophy: all children, regardless of ability, deserve equal exposure to fluency, reasoning, and problem-solving. These elements are not sequenced hierarchically based on perceived ability but are integrated into every child’s learning journey. Furthermore, key concepts are revisited regularly to strengthen understanding and retention. This is achieved through starter tasks, targeted ‘revisit’ activities, discrete skills lessons (e.g., arithmetic or mental maths sessions), and their integration into the teaching of new skills. Our approach not only challenges and supports learners but also fosters resilience as children encounter diverse problems and challenges across a wide range of mathematical topics.
Mental maths is a particular area of focus, with ongoing development to ensure our teaching strategies maximise opportunities for learning and skill acquisition. This comprehensive and inclusive approach underpins our Norbury Hall philosophy, ensuring that every child has opportunities to grow, achieve, and succeed in maths.
Knowledge, Recall and Retention
Knowledge and recall of key mathematical content is central to our curriculum design. Frequent revisiting of fundamental concepts helps embed knowledge and ensures it can be applied effectively:
Use of Assessment to Inform Planning
Rigorous assessment practices ensure that teachers have a clear understanding of each child’s progress and areas for development. Formative and summative assessments are conducted multiple times throughout the year to track learning against the curriculum. This process enables teachers to plan effectively for the next steps in each learner's journey.
Regular dialogue between teachers is encouraged, particularly during transitions between year groups, ensuring continuity in learning. The use of ‘rolling maths books’ further supports this, as they provide a comprehensive record of each child’s prior work, allowing teachers to assess and plan accordingly. Collaboration with support staff and other teachers ensures a unified approach to progression and next steps for all learners.
Resources
To enhance teaching and learning, Norbury Hall uses a variety of high-quality resources that cater to diverse learning needs and styles:
Developing Knowledge Over Time
Our maths curriculum is designed to build knowledge systematically and progressively over time:
Impact
Norbury Hall employs thorough and effective assessment systems to ensure that all children’s progress is closely monitored and any pupils who have not reached the expected attainment levels are quickly identified. This allows us to implement the necessary support promptly and address learning needs. Teacher assessments play a central role in this process, including judgements and observations during lessons, questioning, work in children’s books, and assessment activities. Additionally, regular book scrutinies, moderation, and observations by Senior Leadership Team (SLT) and SENDCO ensure a comprehensive overview of student progress.
Each teacher also updates a cohort tracker on a termly basis, which contributes to informed decision-making during termly Pupil Progress Meetings. These meetings allow for further identification of children who may require extra support. Our assessment protocols also serve to highlight children who are exceeding expectations or in need of additional challenge, ensuring that every child is supported at their level.
When necessary, interventions are implemented swiftly and in a variety of formats. These can range from in-lesson check-ins and additional home learning tasks to more targeted support, such as extra sessions, breakfast clubs, or closer communication with families. This holistic approach ensures that all students, whether they require additional support or further challenge, receive the intervention needed for continued success.
Quality of work
At Norbury Hall, we maintain high standards for the quality of work produced across all year groups. Children take great pride in their books and consistently strive to present their work to the best of their ability. Teachers ensure that their feedback is clear, constructive, and aligned with the school’s marking policy. Marking stickers are used to indicate the next steps for improvement, and children are actively encouraged to respond to the feedback, making corrections or encourages a sense of ownership and responsibility in students for their academic development.
Attitudes and EngagementThe positive attitudes that we foster towards maths, are evident in our children’s approach to both classwork and homework. Students demonstrate a genuine enjoyment of the subject, with many actively engaging in lessons and displaying a curiosity to solve problems. This enthusiasm is reflected in their work, as children consistently produce thoughtful and well-presented tasks.
Children take pride in their progress and show an eagerness to tackle new challenges, whether they are working independently or collaborating with peers. Their positive attitudes extend beyond the classroom, with homework completed diligently and with care. This willingness to engage with maths, both in and outside of lessons, showcases a growing love for the subject and an understanding of its relevance.
The strong attitudes to learning in maths are also supported by our teaching approach, which is designed to make the subject accessible, enjoyable, and meaningful. By encouraging perseverance and resilience, we help children develop a mindset that embraces challenges, which in turn enhances their overall enjoyment and success in mathematics.
Norbury Hall Approach to Teaching Maths
At Norbury Hall, we believe that mathematics is not only an essential life skill but also a subject to be enjoyed, explored, and mastered. Our carefully designed maths curriculum is tailored to challenge and support all children, helping them develop their confidence, resilience, and a genuine love for maths. By meeting each child at their level of ability, we ensure that every learner is both supported and stretched to reach their full potential.
Challenge
To ensure all children engage meaningfully with every lesson, our tasks are thoughtfully adapted to meet their individual needs. This approach allows us to provide an inclusive yet rigorous learning environment where every child can access the full spectrum of lesson content.
Each lesson is structured to include a clear progression:
Lesson Structure
To foster a deep and lasting understanding of mathematics, each lesson follows a consistent and research-backed structure:
Feedback and Marking
We place a strong emphasis on timely and constructive feedback, as it plays a vital role in the learning process. To support this, we use a marking system that provides clear and actionable guidance. Children are actively involved in reviewing and responding to ownership of their learning journey.
Feedback is categorised using marking stickers to indicate next steps:
EYFS
In Early Years mathematics, we take a play-based approach to exploring the curriculum and foundation stage, fostering a love for learning through engaging and interactive activities. Children are given opportunities to work in small groups, where they benefit from focused teaching sessions designed to support their individual needs and deepen their understanding of mathematical concepts. Alongside these focus activities, children are encouraged to apply their maths skills throughout the continuous provision, both indoors and outdoors, in a variety of meaningful, hands-on contexts. By embedding mathematics in everyday play and exploration, we help children see the relevance of maths in their world and encourage them to become confident, independent learners.
Our teaching places a strong emphasis on the breadth and depth of number, with a particular focus on numbers up to 10. Through this approach, children develop a thorough understanding of the composition of numbers, including key skills such as recognising quantities, partitioning, and combining numbers. These experiences provide children with a secure foundation in number knowledge, which is essential as they progress through their educational journey. Through building this strong mathematical foundation in the early years, we aim to equip children with the skills, they need to succeed in mathematics throughout their time at Norbury Hall and beyond.
Encouraging Independence
Developing independence is a key goal in our approach. We empower children to select and use resources, such as manipulatives or visual aids, independently during lessons. Additionally, we support the development of mental strategies, enabling children to apply these fluently when solving problems. This autonomy fosters self-confidence and reinforces their ability to tackle mathematical challenges on their own.
Engagement and Enthusiasm
Our ultimate aim is to nurture enthusiastic and engaged mathematicians who approach problems with curiosity and determination. Through our dynamic and supportive teaching methods, we strive to instil a positive attitude towards mathematics, showing children its relevance and importance in both academic contexts and everyday life.
By delivering a personalised and comprehensive maths curriculum, we aim to equip every child with the skills, confidence, and mindset needed to enjoy and excel in mathematics, both in the classroom and beyond
At Norbury Hall, we strive to deliver a curriculum that is ambitious, aspirational, and inspirational, empowering children to reach their fullest potential. Our inclusive approach ensures that every child feels both supported and challenged, while celebrating successes that foster enthusiasm, enjoyment, and a positive mindset towards maths. With a carefully planned and well-resourced curriculum, combined with high expectations from staff, children are provided with numerous opportunities to grow—academically, skillfully, and personally—equipping them with the confidence to excel in maths.
The maths curriculum is purposefully structured to help children build a solid foundation of knowledge and develop key skills, which they then apply across various contexts. Through the curriculum's design and accompanying long-term plans and calculation policies, essential concepts are revisited frequently to reinforce understanding and enable children to deepen their knowledge as they progress through the school. We intend for all children to experience fluency, reasoning, and problem solving in all lessons; this is pitched at an appropriate level to meet the needs of all learners, while ensuring that reasoning and problem-solving opportunities are accessible to all children, regardless of ability. Robust assessment systems, paired with teacher expertise and appropriate support at Norbury Hall, ensure that every maths lesson is tailored to meet the needs of all learners. This approach allows students to consolidate their prior learning and ensures they are secure in their understanding before moving on to new content.
At Norbury Hall, every child is supported and given the tools to succeed, regardless of their background. In maths, diverse contexts—both real-life and hypothetical—are incorporated into the application of skills, ensuring that children with varied life experiences can effectively engage with and apply their learning. For homework, the MyMaths website is used, with paper-based tasks available upon request to ensure equitable access for all families. Similarly, the Times Table app TTRockstars is encouraged for home learning, with opportunities provided at school for children who lack access to technology at home. Teachers also dedicate time to support any child facing challenges with their home learning, whether due to difficulties in understanding, access to technology, or a lack of support. This commitment ensures that all children, regardless of their circumstances, can experience success.
Regular assessments enable teachers, subject leaders, and Senior Leaders to pinpoint each child's learning needs accurately, ensuring targeted support is provided to address gaps and foster growth. For children with SEND, tailored support is integrated into maths lessons through differentiation, additional adult assistance, bespoke curriculums, specialized resources, interventions, or tutoring. Home learning for SEND students is carefully customized to ensure it aligns with their needs, making the tasks both meaningful and beneficial. The Senior Leadership Team closely monitors the curriculum offered to SEND learners, empowering teachers to provide the appropriate level of support. Additionally, Working Walls in every classroom serve as visual aids, offering prompts, key vocabulary, stem sentences, and examples that reinforce learning and help children succeed.
Implementation
Subject Knowledge / CPD
At Norbury Hall, our teachers possess strong subject knowledge in mathematics, continually enhanced through access to high-quality resources and professional development opportunities. Many staff members have attended external Maths CPD (Continuing Professional Development) sessions, equipping them with up-to-date strategies and insights for delivering a robust curriculum. Within the school, experienced and supportive leaders provide regular guidance and input, particularly during PPA (Planning, Preparation, and Assessment) sessions, fostering collaboration and sharing of best practices. Scheduled termly maths staff meetings further reinforce this support, focusing on signposting key resources, sharing effective pedagogical approaches, and outlining strategies to improve teaching. These initiatives ensure that teachers feel confident and empowered in their delivery of the curriculum.
Philosophy
The consistent, school-wide approach that we implement is grounded in a clear pedagogical philosophy: all children, regardless of ability, deserve equal exposure to fluency, reasoning, and problem-solving. These elements are not sequenced hierarchically based on perceived ability but are integrated into every child’s learning journey. Furthermore, key concepts are revisited regularly to strengthen understanding and retention. This is achieved through starter tasks, targeted ‘revisit’ activities, discrete skills lessons (e.g., arithmetic or mental maths sessions), and their integration into the teaching of new skills. Our approach not only challenges and supports learners but also fosters resilience as children encounter diverse problems and challenges across a wide range of mathematical topics.
Mental maths is a particular area of focus, with ongoing development to ensure our teaching strategies maximise opportunities for learning and skill acquisition. This comprehensive and inclusive approach underpins our Norbury Hall philosophy, ensuring that every child has opportunities to grow, achieve, and succeed in maths.
Knowledge, Recall and Retention
Knowledge and recall of key mathematical content is central to our curriculum design. Frequent revisiting of fundamental concepts helps embed knowledge and ensures it can be applied effectively:
- Starter Tasks and Mental Maths: Activities designed to consolidate prior learning and enhance recall.
- Arithmetic Practice: Structured opportunities to refine core numerical skills, ensuring fluency and confidence.
- Times Tables Mastery: A strong emphasis on times tables reflects their relevance across multiple areas of the maths curriculum, including operations, fractions, decimals, percentages (FDP), ratio, area, and algebra.
By prioritising these strategies, we build a solid foundation of knowledge draw upon as they progress.
Use of Assessment to Inform Planning
Rigorous assessment practices ensure that teachers have a clear understanding of each child’s progress and areas for development. Formative and summative assessments are conducted multiple times throughout the year to track learning against the curriculum. This process enables teachers to plan effectively for the next steps in each learner's journey.
Regular dialogue between teachers is encouraged, particularly during transitions between year groups, ensuring continuity in learning. The use of ‘rolling maths books’ further supports this, as they provide a comprehensive record of each child’s prior work, allowing teachers to assess and plan accordingly. Collaboration with support staff and other teachers ensures a unified approach to progression and next steps for all learners.
Resources
To enhance teaching and learning, Norbury Hall uses a variety of high-quality resources that cater to diverse learning needs and styles:
- Manipulatives: Hands-on tools to help children visualise and explore mathematical concepts.
- ‘Build a Sequence’ Toolkit: Supporting structured planning and delivery of the curriculum.
- Working Walls: Classroom displays that provide visual prompts and reference points for ongoing learning.
- Digital Tools: Platforms such as MyMaths, TT Rockstars, and Daily 10 engage learners and support practice beyond the classroom.
- TestBase: A resource for creating targeted assessments to inform teaching.
These resources ensure that lessons are interactive, engaging, and effective in meeting the learners. - White Rose Premium: This provides CPD, a range of suitable resources to be used at various points throughout any lesson, and interactive teaching aids to support all staff/learners.
Developing Knowledge Over Time
Our maths curriculum is designed to build knowledge systematically and progressively over time:
- Cyclical Curriculum: Concepts are revisited regularly, allowing learners to deepen their understanding and build on pre-existing knowledge.
- Skills and Knowledge Progression: Guided by policies such as the Calculation Policy, learners advance through a clear progression of skills tailored to their individual needs, informed by both formative and summative assessments.
- Positive Attitudes and Enthusiasm: Our aim is to cultivate a love for mathematics by making it accessible, enjoyable, and relevant to real life.
- Interventions: Addressing gaps in understanding at their root ensures lasting progress rather than superficial fixes.
By embedding frequent opportunities to revisit and apply key concepts, we ensure that children develop a secure and lasting understanding of mathematics, setting them up for success in future learning and beyond.
Impact
Norbury Hall employs thorough and effective assessment systems to ensure that all children’s progress is closely monitored and any pupils who have not reached the expected attainment levels are quickly identified. This allows us to implement the necessary support promptly and address learning needs. Teacher assessments play a central role in this process, including judgements and observations during lessons, questioning, work in children’s books, and assessment activities. Additionally, regular book scrutinies, moderation, and observations by Senior Leadership Team (SLT) and SENDCO ensure a comprehensive overview of student progress.
Each teacher also updates a cohort tracker on a termly basis, which contributes to informed decision-making during termly Pupil Progress Meetings. These meetings allow for further identification of children who may require extra support. Our assessment protocols also serve to highlight children who are exceeding expectations or in need of additional challenge, ensuring that every child is supported at their level.
When necessary, interventions are implemented swiftly and in a variety of formats. These can range from in-lesson check-ins and additional home learning tasks to more targeted support, such as extra sessions, breakfast clubs, or closer communication with families. This holistic approach ensures that all students, whether they require additional support or further challenge, receive the intervention needed for continued success.
Quality of work
At Norbury Hall, we maintain high standards for the quality of work produced across all year groups. Children take great pride in their books and consistently strive to present their work to the best of their ability. Teachers ensure that their feedback is clear, constructive, and aligned with the school’s marking policy. Marking stickers are used to indicate the next steps for improvement, and children are actively encouraged to respond to the feedback, making corrections or encourages a sense of ownership and responsibility in students for their academic development.
Attitudes and EngagementThe positive attitudes that we foster towards maths, are evident in our children’s approach to both classwork and homework. Students demonstrate a genuine enjoyment of the subject, with many actively engaging in lessons and displaying a curiosity to solve problems. This enthusiasm is reflected in their work, as children consistently produce thoughtful and well-presented tasks.
Children take pride in their progress and show an eagerness to tackle new challenges, whether they are working independently or collaborating with peers. Their positive attitudes extend beyond the classroom, with homework completed diligently and with care. This willingness to engage with maths, both in and outside of lessons, showcases a growing love for the subject and an understanding of its relevance.
The strong attitudes to learning in maths are also supported by our teaching approach, which is designed to make the subject accessible, enjoyable, and meaningful. By encouraging perseverance and resilience, we help children develop a mindset that embraces challenges, which in turn enhances their overall enjoyment and success in mathematics.
Norbury Hall Approach to Teaching Maths
At Norbury Hall, we believe that mathematics is not only an essential life skill but also a subject to be enjoyed, explored, and mastered. Our carefully designed maths curriculum is tailored to challenge and support all children, helping them develop their confidence, resilience, and a genuine love for maths. By meeting each child at their level of ability, we ensure that every learner is both supported and stretched to reach their full potential.
Challenge
To ensure all children engage meaningfully with every lesson, our tasks are thoughtfully adapted to meet their individual needs. This approach allows us to provide an inclusive yet rigorous learning environment where every child can access the full spectrum of lesson content.
Each lesson is structured to include a clear progression:
- Fluency Tasks: Developing core mathematical skills through practice and repetition, enabling children to gain speed and accuracy.
- Reasoning Activities: Encouraging children to think critically, make connections, and understanding.
- Problem-Solving Tasks: Providing opportunities to apply their skills in creative and complex ways, preparing them for real-life applications of mathematics.
We believe that regardless of their starting point, all children benefit from exposure to reasoning and problem-solving. These elements are integral to our curriculum and are designed to support not just academic achievement but also the practical application of maths in daily life.
Lesson Structure
To foster a deep and lasting understanding of mathematics, each lesson follows a consistent and research-backed structure:
- Retrieval Practice: Lessons begin with activities aimed at revisiting and consolidating prior learning. This helps children strengthen their retention of key concepts and build connections between different areas of maths.
- Fluency Work: Following this, children rehearse and refine essential mathematical skills, focusing on precision, speed, and confidence in their calculations and methods.
- Reasoning and Problem Solving: In the final phase of the lesson, children are challenged to apply their learning to more complex problems. This phase develops their logical reasoning, critical thinking, and ability to work systematically towards solutions.
Feedback and Marking
We place a strong emphasis on timely and constructive feedback, as it plays a vital role in the learning process. To support this, we use a marking system that provides clear and actionable guidance. Children are actively involved in reviewing and responding to ownership of their learning journey.
Feedback is categorised using marking stickers to indicate next steps:
- Consolidate: Focus on revisiting specific concepts to deepen understanding.
- Check: Reassess and correct any errors or misconceptions in their work.
- Continue: Recognise success and build on confidence to maintain progress.
- Challenge: Take on more advanced tasks that extend and deepen their learning.
Children are familiar with these categories and are encouraged to reflect on their feedback, using it as a tool to guide and improve their work.
EYFS
In Early Years mathematics, we take a play-based approach to exploring the curriculum and foundation stage, fostering a love for learning through engaging and interactive activities. Children are given opportunities to work in small groups, where they benefit from focused teaching sessions designed to support their individual needs and deepen their understanding of mathematical concepts. Alongside these focus activities, children are encouraged to apply their maths skills throughout the continuous provision, both indoors and outdoors, in a variety of meaningful, hands-on contexts. By embedding mathematics in everyday play and exploration, we help children see the relevance of maths in their world and encourage them to become confident, independent learners.
Our teaching places a strong emphasis on the breadth and depth of number, with a particular focus on numbers up to 10. Through this approach, children develop a thorough understanding of the composition of numbers, including key skills such as recognising quantities, partitioning, and combining numbers. These experiences provide children with a secure foundation in number knowledge, which is essential as they progress through their educational journey. Through building this strong mathematical foundation in the early years, we aim to equip children with the skills, they need to succeed in mathematics throughout their time at Norbury Hall and beyond.
Encouraging Independence
Developing independence is a key goal in our approach. We empower children to select and use resources, such as manipulatives or visual aids, independently during lessons. Additionally, we support the development of mental strategies, enabling children to apply these fluently when solving problems. This autonomy fosters self-confidence and reinforces their ability to tackle mathematical challenges on their own.
Engagement and Enthusiasm
Our ultimate aim is to nurture enthusiastic and engaged mathematicians who approach problems with curiosity and determination. Through our dynamic and supportive teaching methods, we strive to instil a positive attitude towards mathematics, showing children its relevance and importance in both academic contexts and everyday life.
By delivering a personalised and comprehensive maths curriculum, we aim to equip every child with the skills, confidence, and mindset needed to enjoy and excel in mathematics, both in the classroom and beyond
