Maths

Staff

KS3

Curriculum content and aims

The KS3 Curriculum has been developed to help build confidence in mathematics and prepare students for the new GCSE. At Little Ilford School we aim to cater for all attainment levels with differentiated student books. These books focus on problem-solving and mathematical reasoning skills. Students are given the opportunity to build on skills learnt at primary school and are kept informed of their progress through learning checks, regular assessment and formative feedback.

Details of studies per year

Students will be placed in maths sets at the beginning of Year 7 to allow them to work alongside peers of similar ability and help motivate them to achieve their maximum potential. KS3 students will focus on number, algebra, data handling, probability and geometry.

How are they assessed

We aim to support students' progress with regular unit tests and termly assessments. Each student will be aware of the topics they should be covering and the time it should take to complete each unit. Since the government initiative has been to focus on progress rather than attainment we have produced an innovative way to check progress without labelling students with levels. At the beginning of each unit students will have a Skills Tracker sheet stuck into their books. This sheet will provide a breakdown of that unit and the students will be given the opportunity to tick off each objective they have learnt over the course of the unit. Once the unit is complete students will be given a unit test.  Every half term pupils will undertake an assessment that covers every unit taught in that half term.  Alongside unit tests, these give us a good idea of whether pupils are on track or not and allow us to identify strengths/weaknesses that need addressing.

Home learning (frequency and expectations)

KS3 students are expected to complete a minimum of one homework per week for maths. This could be a written homework or online homework. Some of the online resources we have available for KS3 are Mathswatch and ActiveLearn.

Advantages of ActiveLearn:

• Pearson ActiveLearn books and online resources are endorsed for Edexcel which is the exam board students will be sitting their maths exams with in KS4.
• Students have access to ‘My Courses’ which allows students to interactively answer questions on the units they are studying and will get an instant summary of their attainment
• Students have online versions of the books they use in school. This allows students to do pre-learning for the topics they will be covering in the future which boosts progress.
• ActiveLearn books and online resources focus more on problem solving.
• There are online videos which show worked examples for students that need scaffolding

How parents/carers can support their child

• Parents can monitor student’s usage of Mathswatch and ActiveLearn using their online logins and passwords.
• Check your child’s books regularly and ensure expectations of neatness and effort are emphasised at home.
• Ask your child what homework they have received for maths each week and remind them to complete their homework early so that they do not miss the deadline.
• Praise your child for doing good work. Your child’s hard work should be recognised and praise is one of the most effective ways of doing this both at home and at school.

KS4

Curriculum content and aims

The programme of study follows the National Curriculum guidelines with the following topic areas: number; algebra; geometry and measures; ratio, proportion and rates of change; probability; statistics.

Both tiers of the GCSE mathematics syllabus feature elements of: applying standard techniques; reasoning and interpreting and solving maths problems in other contexts. The weighting of these assessment objectives in the final assessments is shown in table below.

Details of studies per year

Students study from the following text books:

Edexcel GCSE (9-1) Mathematics: Student Book (Higher) - ISBN 1447980204

Edexcel GCSE (9-1) Mathematics: Student Book (Lower) - ISBN 1447980190

Year 9 - Students cover Chapters 1-8

Foundation: number; algebra; graphs; fractions and percentages; equations; angles

Higher: number; algebra; interpreting and representing data; angles and trigonometry; graphs, area and volume, transformations and constructions.

Year 10 - Students cover Chapters 9-16

Foundation: graphs, transformations; ratio and proportion; right-angled triangles; probability; multiplicative reasoning; constructions; loci, bearings, quadratic equations and graphs

Higher: equations and inequalities; probability; multiplicative reasoning; similarity and congruence; advance trigonometry; advance statistics; equations and graphs; circle theorems.

Year 11 - Students cover Chapters 17-19

Foundation:  perimeter area and volume 2, fractions, indices and standard form, congruence, similarity and vectors, advance algebra

Higher: advance algebra; vectors and geometric proof; proportion and graphs.

How are they assessed

The assessment for each tier of entry consists of three externally-examined papers, all three must be from the same tier of entry. Students must complete all three papers in the same assessment series. Each paper carries 80 marks and is 1 hour 30 minutes in length. Paper 1 is non-calculator and Paper 2 and 3 are calculator papers.

Home learning (frequency and expectations)

Students are set homework once a week either on paper or online. Students are expected to spend a minimum of 1 hour a week on their maths work

How parents/carers can support their child

Ensure students are

• Completing online and written homework
• Encourage children to solve problems when at home
• Create a revision timetable and ensure that they adhere to it

Possible Careers

GCSE Mathematics course will provide excellent skills to continue studies in Mathematics to A Levels.

Examples of careers with Mathematics include:

• Engineer
• Doctor
• Accountant
• Investment analyst
• Lecturer/teacher
• Meteorologist
• Statistician
• Actuary
• Surveyors
• Astronomer

Useful Websites

https://www.pearsonactivelearn.com/

Access to online courses and textbook

Login: same as school login, Password: littleilford

https://vle.mathswatch.co.uk/vle/

Username: student school login followed by @littleilford, Password: littleilford

Mathswatch is an online programme which gives students access to videos and practise questions with answers for the full mathematics curriculum. Teachers are also able to set homework through Mathswatch

Mathswatch is an excellent resource for:

• Researching a topic before a lesson
• Reinforcing knowledge from class
• Revising for exams
• Catching up with work after absences

How parents or other members of other public can find out more about the curriculum/syllabus students are following:

Please visit the Edexcel website for more info

http://qualifications.pearson.com/en/qualifications/edexcel-gcses/mathematics-2015.html

Name of person in the Maths Department who parents can contact if they need more information about the syllabus.

Mr A Rahman (Head of Maths)
Mr P Singh (KS4 Coordinator)