Harbour PRU
Maths Policy
Harbour: March 2014
Chair of Management Committee: ……………………………………..
Headteacher: ……………………………………….
Policy produced: …………………………………..
Minuted/policy adopted by Management Committee: 29/04/14
Policy: Review March 2015
HARBOUR PRU LOWESTOFT
Numeracy Policy
General Statement
Numeracy is a life skill and is important in everyday living.
 It is a proficiency which involves confidence and competence with
numbers and measures.
 It requires an understanding of the number system, a repertoire of
computational skills and an inclination and ability to solve number
problems in a variety of contexts.
 It also demands practical understanding of the ways in which
information is gathered by counting and measuring, and is
presented in graphs, diagrams, charts and tables.
(National Framework for Teaching Mathematics (1999)
At Harbour our students are full-time or dual registered, and all have
experienced difficulties in their mainstream education. Our aim is to
prepare them for a successful return to mainstream education, or the
next phase of their education. During this time we will help them acquire
the skills necessary to become numerate and confident mathematicians by
developing their knowledge and understanding of mathematics.
Aims
We aim to achieve this by:
 Helping students develop a positive attitude towards mathematics;
 Developing students’ confidence in the use of number;
 Supporting the premise that, “A student is more likely to succeed
if they are not afraid of failure”, by creating a sufficiently safe
environment to encourage risk taking, acknowledging that we can
learn from making errors;
 Encouraging talk and discussion to explore ideas and enabling
students to learn from each other;
 Developing students’ mathematical vocabulary;
 Using games to present mathematics in a fun and engaging way ;
 Setting challenging targets with high expectations for all pupils;
 Offering a variety of approaches to teaching and learning to
engage and motivate pupils and demand their active participation;
 Enabling students to apply their mathematical knowledge and skills
to other areas of the curriculum by making cross curricular links
explicit.
Teacher/PRU/Staff Handbook/Curriculum Policies
Teaching and Learning
 Full-time students receive a minimum of three Maths lessons
per week, each of 50 minutes duration.
 All dual registered students receive one Maths lesson per week
of 50 minutes duration.
 Each maths lesson includes the three part structure of
mental/oral activity, main activity and a plenary.
 Learning outcomes are displayed, explained and referred to
throughout the lesson.
 A variety of teaching and learning styles are used.
 Lessons are differentiated to meet individuals’ needs.
 Emphasis is placed on developing mental calculations.
Curriculum content
The full-time groups at Harbour usually consist of all KS2 or all KS3
students. The planned programme for these groups therefore
incorporate learning objectives from both the framework for primary and
secondary mathematics and, when possible, is planned in conjunction with
schemes of work from their mainstream school.
The main aims of the maths lessons for part-time groups are to help
students develop a positive attitude towards mathematics and develop
their confidence in the use of number. We aim to achieve this by using a
variety of different games to engage students in a fun way which also
helps them develop and improve social skills.
Assessment, Monitoring and Evaluation
The Maths Subject Leader is responsible for:
 Reviewing Numeracy Policy;
 Overseeing long and medium planning of teachers;
 Some teaching of Maths for full-time students;
 Monitoring standards of planning, teaching and learning;
 Ensuring Assessing and Monitoring of full-time students individual
progress working closely with SENCo and the BSA with
responsibility for Assessment ;
 Supporting colleagues in their teaching of Maths.
 Liaising with students’ mainstream schools to inform planning.
Teacher/PRU/Staff Handbook/Curriculum Policies
All full-time students are formally assessed on entry using the Progress
in Maths (GL assessment). These are a series of 11 tests which provide
ongoing assessment in maths for 4-14 year olds. These assessments
provide an overall attainment in mathematics. Pupils’ levels are recorded
on their individual assessment profile and the next test in the series is
carried out the following term to monitor progress. Assessing Pupil
Progress is then ongoing throughout every lesson and monitored through
the use of APP grids.
All students work towards achieving Harbour Unit Awards. Each unit
identifies the intended learning objectives and outcomes, as well as being
a record of pupil progress and achievement. Units include programmes of
work from all four attainment targets.
Policy reviewed and updated: March 2014
Policy to be reviewed March 2015
Teacher/PRU/Staff Handbook/Curriculum Policies