Overview and Vision
Mathematics at Coal Clough Academy’s primary goal is to make mathematics enjoyable, exciting, and challenging for all of our students. Our aim is for students to develop the confidence to work individually, collaboratively and to apply logic and reasoning to mathematical problems. This will take place within an environment which is both supportive and inspires a curiosity for mathematics, which in turn builds resilience, confidence and fluency of practice.
Both in the classroom and in more formal assessments, relevant feedback is crucial to teaching and learning processes. With consistent practice, this improves confidence and fluency. All students are respected and challenged; they leave Coal Clough Academy with a love for mathematics alongside the knowledge they need to achieve their academic or occupational aspirations.
Curriculum
Coal Clough Academy’s mathematics curriculum is a 5-year programme that includes algebra, ratio, proportion, statistics, probability, geometry, and numerical operations. Critical thinking enables students to successfully remember learning because they can discuss, communicate, and apply logic to solve issues; continuous revisiting of topics through a well-structured curriculum assists students in gaining complex knowledge over time.
The curriculum has been carefully sequenced to ensure that knowledge and abilities obtained in KS3 are further enhanced in KS4. This gives students the opportunity to think and draw connections between topics. To encourage a full comprehension of all topics and to increase learners’ resilience in addressing complicated mathematical issues, an emphasis is put on problem solving, mastery, discovery, and investigative mathematics problems.
Pedagogy
A mastery approach ensures that students are engaged and that they can access the most difficult subject with adequate help. Teachers improve their practice by sharing best practices, participating in well-led CPD, and collaborating with colleagues from different departments through effective networking. Insightful assessment for learning techniques is used to examine, identify, and correct any knowledge gaps promptly. Mathematics classes at Coal Clough Academy include activities that allow students to study the beauty and practicality of the topic.
Assessment
Continuous assessment in the classroom enables teachers to frequently assess pupil learning and adapt the curriculum to ensure that all students have a firm grasp on each topic before progressing to more complex information. At KS3, students perform topic-based tests, incorporating a sample of questions from previously taught topics, to demonstrate they have grasped and retained important component knowledge of each topic. To ensure that students are adequately prepared for KS4, assessments are created to mimic GCSE examinations and administered every half term. In year 11, students complete two sets of practice exams that are just as difficult as their actual GCSE exams.
Curriculum End Point Documentation 2023-2024
Please note more detailed Curriculum Overviews are available on request and, in depth, ‘live’ curriculum thinking documents are held in school by teachers and continually reviewed.
