KS3

In KS3, students have 8 maths lessons a fortnight and cover topics from all the main strands of mathematics outlined by the National Curriculum. This give students a broad and balanced view of the subject and ensure that they have the key skills required to succeed in their mathematics GCSE, as well as function numerically after they leave education.

Mastery Mathematics

Our KS3 curriculum focuses on a Mastery approach to ensure that all students have the foundational knowledge required to for KS4. Mastery Mathematics is about ensuring pupils really understand the key concepts for each topic rather than just memorising methods and learning Mathematics by rote. We believe that this emphasis on the deeper mathematical understanding of key concepts ensures that students are fluent in core skills, and we can then start to deepen their understanding of these areas. The outcome of this is that students have more tools to reason mathematically and solve problems as they move into KS4 and beyond. We also have an emphasis on careers and real-life applications of the topics covered as we feel that it is important for students to understand the importance of the mathematics they will encounter in everyday life.

Literacy and Communication

Key mathematical words form a part of all our lessons at KS3 and we ensure that students are speaking precisely and mathematically when giving answers either written or verbally. This ensures that our students have a wide mathematical vocabulary they can draw on so they can effectively communicate their ideas in lessons. We are also planning to introduce literacy activities into all KS3 lessons which will work to increase student’s confidence with spelling, definitions, and using these words regularly.

Monitoring Progress

Each half term there will be between two assessments which will review students’ understanding of the topics we have just covered and allow us to identify and address any misconceptions that have been revealed. Student progress will also be monitored continuously throughout lessons by the class teacher through live marking and feedback being given as students complete independent work.

Homework

There are two types of homework that are set for maths: online Sparx homework and paper interleaving homework in maths. Sparx is as interactive platform that tailors homework to a student’s level and speed of working to aim to give everyone work that will be suitable for their age and ability. This will always cover topics that have been recently learnt in lessons with a proportion also dedicated to previous topics and times table practice to ensure that key ideas are being constantly reviewed and recalled. Teachers are then able to view the class’s progress and use questions generated by Sparx to ensure that any misconceptions identified through this homework are addressed.

The paper-based interleaving homeworks are specially designed to review learning from the previous term. This has been implemented to ensure that students are frequently recalling and retrieving key knowledge to help these ideas fully embed and allow them to build on these skills as they progress through the school.

Entry Level and Numeracy and Measures Award

Some students follow a different scheme of work at KS3 as they have been identified as needing more support on their core numeracy skills before they are able to fully access the rest of the KS3 curriculum. These students will still cover the full breadth of topics throughout their time at TBS, but they will be delivered at a pace and level more appropriate to them. This scheme seeks to build the key skills and confidence of the individuals taking part in it and the end goal is that these students will have the essential numeracy skills required to functional mathematically in the wider world and ensure that they are ready to engage with GCSE content as they move from KS3 to KS4.

In Years 7 and 8 these students will follow the Edexcel Entry Level Certificate scheme of work which focuses on developing and strengthening their number, geometry, and data skills. As they move into Year 9, they will prepare for and take the Edexcel Numeracy and Measures award which will provide them with a recognised qualification in maths and continue in preparing them for the transition to KS4.

Curriculum Overviews

If they are not following the Entry Level or Numeracy and Measures scheme of work, students will follow a bespoke scheme of work designed to allow students to develop fluency in key mathematical concepts and begin to deepen their understand of these ideas to prepare them for the transition to KS4.

Equipment

We recommend that students use a Casio scientific calculator fx-83GT CW (battery powered) or fx-85GT CW (solar powered) for KS3 as they have several useful functions and tools to help students with their mathematical understanding. These are the calculators we also recommend for KS4 so one of these calculators will last them through from Year 7 to Year 11. In addition to a scientific calculator, we also recommend that students bring a ruler, pencil, pair of compasses and a protractor to every lesson to ensure they are prepared for all aspects of maths.