Mathematics at Stepgates

At Stepgates, we are committed to providing a high-quality, inclusive mathematics curriculum that develops deep understanding, confidence and enjoyment, enabling every pupil to become a capable and resilient mathematician.

Our approach is rooted in the principles of teaching for mastery. We believe that all pupils can succeed in mathematics when they are given the time, teaching and support they need to develop secure understanding. We therefore maintain high expectations for every child and aim for all pupils to experience the same rich mathematical curriculum, with appropriate scaffolding and support where needed.

Our curriculum ensures that:

• Fluency, reasoning and problem-solving are developed together and are integral to mathematical learning.

• Learning is carefully sequenced, with new ideas introduced in small, connected steps and built upon over time.

• Pupils develop strong mathematical foundations, securing essential knowledge and understanding before moving on to more complex ideas.

• Key concepts are revisited and connected, helping pupils to recognise relationships between different areas of mathematics and use their knowledge flexibly.

• Pupils experience mathematics through concrete, pictorial and abstract representations, enabling them to develop a deep and connected understanding of mathematical ideas.

• Pupils are given opportunities to explore, explain, reason and make connections, rather than simply learn procedures or recall facts.

• Variation is used thoughtfully to highlight important mathematical structures, relationships and similarities and differences between examples.

• Pupils develop the confidence to apply their mathematical knowledge to unfamiliar problems and meaningful real-life contexts.

Our curriculum is supported by the White Rose Maths scheme and the NCETM Ready to Progress criteria, which help us to identify and prioritise the essential knowledge and understanding pupils need to make secure progress. We use these resources alongside professional judgement to ensure that teaching responds to the needs of our pupils rather than simply following a scheme.

Through high-quality daily mathematics teaching, careful assessment and opportunities for discussion and mathematical thinking, we identify and address misconceptions and provide appropriate support so that pupils can build on secure foundations. We value depth of understanding over simply moving through content, giving pupils opportunities to revisit, practise and apply important ideas in increasingly sophisticated ways.

We are committed to remove barriers to learning, reduce gaps in achievement and ensure that every pupil develops the knowledge, understanding, confidence and resilience needed to succeed in mathematics — both in their future learning and in everyday life.