As there is so much in the media about learning in schools, new initiatives and a new curriculum, we thought we would take the time to share what this looks like at our school. This week we are starting with Mathematics.

While there has been a lot said about significant shifts and less-than-desirable national results in Mathematics, we are proud of our consistently strong student results over the years. We have continued to build upon our effective practices that were strong, strategically integrating new curriculum resources to enrich our already robust programme rather than replacing what was working well. 

All learning is carefully aligned to the new curriculum’s learning statement for the year group of that child. There are times when ākonga (students) need targeted intervention or extension so teachers tailor learning to meet the needs of their learners. It's important to note a potential shift in benchmarks within the new curriculum. This may mean that ākonga who were achieving at an expected level previously may now not be at the expected level. 

Our mathematics curriculum is structured around number areas – addition/subtraction, multiplication/division, fractions/percentages, algebraic thinking, and number structure – and strand areas – geometry, measurement, statistics, probability, and financial literacy. These areas are covered throughout the year, often integrated to show the interconnectedness of mathematical concepts, for example, combining measurement and addition.

Teaching and learning in mathematics can be taught as a whole class at times and in groups at other depending on the needs of the learners within the class. It is often based on authentic contexts where maths is grounded in real-life examples. Learning is captured in various ways, including in maths books, on devices, whiteboards and modelling books.

The resource that we have chosen to receive this year is Numicon. It provides manipulatives for all of our classes and we believe it best supplements what was already happening well in classes as opposed to replacing the programme. 

The are targeted maths groups in classes for ākonga who may need some extra support or to build their confidence. Assessment of mathematical understanding is done in a range of ways with PAT tests from Years 3-6 and use of the curriculum learning statements to make overall teacher judgements (OTJs) to figure out achievement levels and next learning steps. Assessments are moderated across classes and year levels to make sure levelling is as accurate as possible.