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28/03/24

A beautiful Easter service to celebrate the beginning of the Holy Week. Happy Easter everyone! pic.twitter.com/6yNXlbaBYD

28/03/24

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28/03/24

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28/03/24

Harpenden Academy’s annual Easter Service. pic.twitter.com/DtU6ALNRi9

27/03/24

The latest of our super presentations on celebrating difference: this week’s topic is anxiety and low self esteem. Delighted that each presentation contained book recommendations too! pic.twitter.com/oajopp0n8q

27/03/24

The latest of our super presentations on celebrating difference: this week’s topic is anxiety and low self esteem. So proud of all the children who have researched and presented about neurodiversity and anxiety this term. pic.twitter.com/Cp86ZfqPKj

27/03/24

Ladybirds have been on an Easter egg hunt with a difference today - we had to read the words and find the pictures on our checklist. We had such fun! pic.twitter.com/RkeNT2k8jw

26/03/24

Year 4 exploring the local environment to find different living things. We will be back in 4 weeks to see how the habitat has changed. pic.twitter.com/hSjtcqzs0Y

26/03/24

Incredibly proud of this team. Excellent results today against St.Nicolas a win and a draw. Sadly not all the team is present but it has been wonderful to see all the team grow. pic.twitter.com/k4h7mPEHTn

22/03/24

Heart dissection with Mark the science man in Y6 this afternoon! 👩‍⚕️ 👨‍⚕️ pic.twitter.com/vnHOYIM6bb

22/03/24

Heart dissection with Mark the science man in Y6 this afternoon! 👩‍⚕️ 👨‍⚕️ pic.twitter.com/48pHdZ3fov

22/03/24

Thank you Mark the science Man for spending the afternoon in Year 4. We have learnt how to drawn circuits using symbols. pic.twitter.com/2vShKIowVu

22/03/24

The Eco council have created an eco code for our school 🪴🌿🌱 pic.twitter.com/tUTi8konmk

21/03/24

Having a blast with Bikeability, Year 6 have continued to smile their way through the week, learning to navigate traffic flowing through major and minor roads. We are incredibly proud of their attitude, maturity and progress! pic.twitter.com/4OFmmWf7Nm

21/03/24

Having a blast with Bikeability, Year 6 have continued to smile their way through the week, learning to navigate traffic flowing through major and minor roads. We are incredibly proud of their attitude, maturity and progress! pic.twitter.com/DMQUWxXJzl

21/03/24

Having a blast with Bikeability, Year 6 have continued to smile their way through the week, learning to navigate traffic flowing through major and minor roads. We are incredibly proud of their attitude, maturity and progress! pic.twitter.com/Gq44AiqXyT

21/03/24

Having a blast with Bikeability, Year 6 have continued to smile their way through the week, learning to navigate traffic flowing through major and minor roads. We are incredibly proud of their attitude, maturity and progress! pic.twitter.com/tcKBY2roFe

21/03/24

This morning, Reception have been playing a maths game “7 or not 7?” with their partner. They represented their number using their fingers and used their super subitising skills to identify the number their friend was showing. pic.twitter.com/n6KkjFvYOP

21/03/24

Year 3 spent the morning in a workshop run by on Volcanoes. We loved looking at real artefacts and samples. pic.twitter.com/fQ7ywwI8Gl

21/03/24

Our talented musicians performing in their end of term concert with pic.twitter.com/6qyWQ8DgWW

20/03/24

Well done to our netball team. So much resilience shown and it has been a pleasure to see you grow. pic.twitter.com/tzxHKF7mY6

20/03/24

Ready for the concert! pic.twitter.com/akEegWB1sl

20/03/24

Enjoying being at Voices in a Million! pic.twitter.com/hnrgLO9TQp

20/03/24

Year six presentations on neurodiversity - so proud of these children for preparing and presenting completely independently to increase awareness and empathy in our class. pic.twitter.com/vx6W4lW1L4

20/03/24

Miss Alshamari taking the wonderful Team Dahl to do some riddle writing in the library!#English pic.twitter.com/fh9XjEungU

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Mathematics

Purpose and Aims

"The leadership of English and mathematics is strong. Leaders have excellent knowledge and understanding of these subjects. They have taken a wide range of suitable actions that have had a positive impact on improving the quality of teaching and outcomes in the school." Ofsted School Report, June 2019

Purpose

Mathematics is a creative and highly inter-connected discipline that has been developed over centuries, providing the solution to some of history’s most intriguing problems. It is essential to everyday life, critical to science, technology and engineering, and necessary for financial literacy and most forms of employment. A high-quality mathematics education therefore provides a foundation for understanding the world, the ability to reason, an appreciation of the beauty and power of mathematics, and a sense of enjoyment and curiosity about the subject. It allows children to gain resilience and develop a range of strategies to solve problems set before them, drawing on previous knowledge and applying this knowledge to support solving a range of problems.

Aims

We are committed to supporting all children at Harpenden Academy:

  • To develop a love of maths and an understanding that everyone can be successful in maths.
  • To become fluent in the fundamentals of mathematics, including through varied and frequent practice with increasingly complex problems over time, so that pupils develop conceptual understanding and the ability to recall and apply knowledge rapidly and accurately.
  • To reason mathematically by following a line of enquiry, conjecturing relationships and generalisations, and developing an argument, justification or proof using mathematical language.
  • To solve problems by applying their mathematics to a variety of routine and non-routine problems with increasing sophistication, including breaking down problems into a series of simpler steps and persevering in seeking solutions. Pupils are able to see connections between mathematical concepts to support their problem solving and can verbalise these findings.

Harpenden Academy Maths Curriculum

At Harpenden Academy, we follow a mastery approach in the teaching and learning of mathematics, which is inspired by teaching practices in South Asia. We use the Maths No Problem scheme, with additional reasoning and problem-solving activities selected from White Rose Maths and NRICH.

Maths no Problem

The principles underpinning mastery:

  • Go slow to go fast- concepts are built in small, logical steps and are explored through clear mathematical models and images
  • Go deep to build firm foundations- depth is simplicity, not complexity, so it is accessible for all
  • Whole class teaching- to maximise teaching input with adaptive teaching to meet the needs of all children

In order to develop mastery in mathematics, children at Harpenden Academy are taught in a way that enables them to develop fluency, which they are then able to apply to reason and problem solve.

Fluency in mathematics is about developing number sense and being able to choose the most appropriate method for the task at hand. If children are fluent, they should be able to apply a skill to multiple contexts. Fluency is developed through the concrete, pictorial, abstract approach.

Elise1

At Harpenden Academy, children take part in Early Bird Maths sessions in order to develop their fluency. This involves an extra 15-minute maths session at least three mornings per week. No new concepts are introduced during this time. Instead, it allows children to recap prior learning related to key areas of maths including: number, written and mental methods for the four operations, fractions, times tables and number bonds.

Maths2

We also set KIRFs (Key Instant Recall Facts) for home learning, again to support fluency.

Key Instant Recall Facts (KIRFs) - Maths Home Learning

Reasoning is the process of applying logical and critical thinking to a mathematical problem in order to work out the correct strategy to use.

Problem solving is about finding a way to apply knowledge and skills to answer unfamiliar types of problems, including those with real-world contexts. Problem solving develops skills including: following a line of enquiry; asking questions; representing and communicating; planning and implementing an approach; making connections; evaluating; generalising and justifying.

Slide 1 Maths

Assessment and reporting

After every unit of work, children at Harpenden Academy complete a short assessment. This enables teachers to identify further needs within the class, which can then be addressed through further whole-class lessons, Early Bird Maths or, in some cases, an intervention for a small group of pupils. At the end of every term, children from years 1-6 complete two assessment papers: an arithmetic paper and a reasoning paper. This enables teachers to report on the progress pupils are making, identify areas of need within the class and ensure that all children are on track to meet curriculum expectations. We believe that through short, regular, low-stakes assessment, our children develop the skills and confidence they need for future testing, including the SATS at the end of KS2. The mathematics subject leader is responsible for monitoring and analysing data at the end of each term to audit teacher judgements and provide support as needed.

World Maths Day - Thursday 23rd March 2023

Our Reception class looked at the work of Matisse and his piece of work that he called The Snail. He uses colours and squares to create the picture. Ladybirds made their own Matisse inspired art - colouring by numbers , measuring beanstalks , making doubles on our ladybirds , practising their number formation and sequencing how to grow a plant. We have been singing lots of number songs as well.

In Year 1 we have been investigating the fact that MATHS IS EVERYWHERE! We went on a maths hunt around our classroom and discovered Maths in places we didn't realise we would e.g on maps, at the bottom of pages in a book and even on our art display! We also read the book "How Many legs?" by Kes Gray and made animals to show the number of legs that would come to a party!

In Year 2 we have been creating pictures by cutting out 2D shapes. These were inspired by Henri Matisse.

Year 3 started their World Maths Day activities with some Maths themed jokes - Which tables do you not have to learn? Dinner tables. What's a swimmer's favourite type of Maths? Dive-ision. We have also created our own Maths board games linked to our recent learning on money and in the afternoon we looked at Maths in Art using Picasso as a stimulus. 

Year 4 demonstrated their musical talents by writing times table songs. We have also been inspired by Picasso to create our own cubism pieces of art. 

We love a challenge in Year 5! 'Mathdokus' are testing our resilience and perseverance! We also enjoyed some maths board games as part of World Maths Day!

Murder mystery in Year 6 - When Maths meets English!

Maths 2

Maths1

Maths Challenge

A huge well done to our fantastic Year 5 mathematicians who took part in the Abbott's Hill maths challenge on Monday. You really stretched yourselves and did us proud!

Maths2

Maths Fluency Workshop, September 2022

A huge thank you to all of you parents from EYFS to Y6 who attended the Maths and Reading Fluency workshop on Tuesday. It was lovely to see so many keen faces and to be able to share with you the importance of maths and reading; how we approach the teaching and learning of maths and reading in school; why we adopt these approaches; and most importantly how you can support at home with these key skills.

You can download the ppt from the session by clicking here

Maths Parent Workshop September 2022

Year 6, Tricky problems linked to subtraction

Super year 6 mathematicians working systematically to solve some tricky problems linked to subtraction. So impressed with their ability to formulate and test hypotheses.

Year 6

Year 1 Elmer Class, Part-Part Whole Method

Elmer have just started learning about the 'part-part-whole' method in Maths. Great partitioning Year 1!

Year 1

Year 3 Maths

Potter class mathematicians practised telling the time to 5 minute intervals by creating their own outdoor clocks.

Image 10

Year 1 Problem Solving

In Maths, Year 1 had to solve a tricky Christmas problem - how many different ways can you dress the elf? They were given 3 (or 4) items of clothing and had to be methodical to find all the different solutions.

Image 9

Year 3/4, Symmetry

Kerr class applied their knowledge of symmetry in order to make Christmas snowflake decorations.

Image 8

Year 1 Cookery

Elmer class made Christmas peppermint creams, applying their knowledge of number and measure.

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Year 3/4 Cookery

Kerr class made Christmas gingerbread biscuits, applying their maths knowledge of number, shape and measure.

Image 5

 

Year 3, Measuring

Magnificent measuring in Potter class! They had been learning to convert from metres and centimetres into centimetres. They measured each other’s heights and discussed their accuracy whilst getting outdoors!

Image 11

Year 1, Subtraction

Year 1 applied their knowledge of subtraction in a variety of ways.

Image 12

Year 3, Potter Class getting to grips with metres and centimetres

Maths potter

Maths Masterclass, Year 5

The group of year 5 children were extremely focused and engaged at the Maths masterclass yesterday hosted by Crabtree Junior School. They were praised for their participation, enthusiasm and tidy table at break time! They were investigating Euler diagrams. The next session will be run by Scientists from Rothamsted Research! Such a great opportunity for the children.

Maths masterclass

EYFS Math's Workshop, Parental Feedback

Img 5037

 

Img 5038Dinosaur Mania in Reception Class

We compared the lengths of dinosaur teeth by lining them up next to each other and then we put them in order from the shortest to the longest. After that, we measured the length of each tooth using cubes (non-standard units). Some children were able to say how much longer one tooth was than another - we were finding the difference! The children were fascinated by the giant ruler on the screen, we learnt how to measure in cm. Remember, one end of the item being measured must be lined up with the zero on the ruler!

Rec2

Rec1

Spotting and Explaining Patterns—Maths Masterclass

On Thursday a group of Year 6 mathematicians had a wonderful afternoon at the RI Maths Masterclass exploring Möbius bands - spotting and explaining patterns. Well done for showing excellent resilience and curiosity. Mrs Watson 

Maths1

Aslan Class, Year 1/Year 2

Aslan class has settled in well over the last few days and made many friends. We enjoyed practising our adding and counting in Maths by playing games and different adding activities.

  Image 4

Buried Treasure in Year 4

Arrrr...pirates have taken over year 4 and their Maths learning! This week we had an exciting workshop in which the children had to bury their hidden treasure and learn all about to co-ordinates to find it! So proud of our most 'fearless learner' being awarded a certificate too!

Maths

Maths Masterclass, Year 6

On Thursday a group of year six mathematicians attended a maths masterclass on polyhedra. They used their knowledge of angles, the properties of 3D shapes and algebra to design and create polyhedra. A very exciting session with lots of learning links to other areas of maths, not to mention some enquiry-based learning questions to investigate next week! Mrs Watson.

    Image 3

 

Maths Masterclass, Year 6

A group of Year 6 mathematicians took part in the January maths masterclass along with several other schools in Harpenden. 

The theme was money and they explored the concepts of trading, simple and compound interest and stock markets.  The session also covered risk, volatility, bell distribution and probability. The children were all fascinated and I could almost hear their brains growing as they puzzled new concepts in maths, physics and finance!

As always they were excellent ambassadors - showing curiosity and courage in equal measure to learn and try new things. 

 Image 2

Maths, Year 3, Weighing & Estimations

This week, Kipling class have been benefiting from Miss Harvey’s extra curricular Mathematics training. She spent the weekend preparing flour and sugar bags, ready to be weighed by our eager young people. It was a fantastic lesson, which incorporated active learning and exploration of number problems. The children had fun estimating how much each bag would weigh and then practised using the scales to accurately record their findings. Miss Harvey even teased them with her favourite savoury snack (crisps) but refused to share them out at the end of the fun filled lesson! 

The children extended their learning by linking it to their science lesson calling it “a great experiment!“ Some super smart children also designed their own weighing scales by using a ruler and pencil to balance the bags on. 

Whoever would of thought that Maths could be so much fun ! 

Year 3 ipling

Dinosaur Maths, Reception Ladybird Class

Today we had a maths investigation into how big a triceratops foot was. We compared it to our own feet and then we decided to see how many of our feet it took to fill up a triceratops’s footprint. Eventually we decided it took exactly 15 children’s feet, we counted in 2’s to discover that 15 children have 30 feet. We then spent the afternoon filling the dinosaur footprint with different objects, estimating each time.

Image 1

 

Go Club

Go club

Grow your Own £ Enterprise

Fantastic work for our first endeavour for a whole school enterprise project!

Grow your £1 Enterprise month officially ended on Saturday, 30th June.  This has been a wonderful event which has really shown the children (and parents) to be innovative, creative and competitive in their approach. 

Grow a

Happy Puzzle Company

Math’s week, October 2018 has been a really successful event which the children and staff have enjoyed.

The Happy Puzzle company started the week with plenty of interactive fun games for the   children to play and learn from.

Magical Maths entertained the children with their Maths Mysteries! Magical Maths are also hoping to start a Magical Math’s club at Harpenden Academy soon. We will keep you posted with any developments on this matter.

Finally we finished with wearing a pattern to school day today, which the children and staff embraced.

Mathsweek Mathsweek2 Mathsweek3
Mathsweek4 Mathsweek6 Mathsweek7
Mathsweek8 Mathsweek5  

 

As part of Maths Week, The Happy Puzzle Company came to Harpenden Academy in October 2017. The children worked in teams to solve problems. Back in the classroom, they continued the fun!

Maths 1

Harpenden Schools Maths Masterclass

Harpenden Schools Maths Masterclass, 1st December 2017

On Thursday afternoon eight mathematicians from year six took part in a Harpenden schools maths masterclass, learning about the maths and science  behind rainbows. They were extremely curious, engaged and enthusiastic throughout the activity - using compasses, protractors and set squares to draw the angles of incidence and refraction of the rainbow.


Well done mathematicians!

Schoolmasterclass Schoolmasterclass2

 

Maths Masterclass Thursday 25th January 2018

Year 6 had a mind-blowing Maths Masterclass run by the Royal Institute learning about magic maths - spotting patterns and generating rules linked to magic squares. They completed and investigated Magic Square 3 x 3 and 4 x 4 and even used algebra to solve a magic date number square!

“I was so proud of the children's engagement, perseverance, and ability to spot patterns and change their investigations based on these patterns, not to mention their confidence and eloquence when answering questions and sharing findings with the group.” - Mrs Watson

The lady from the Royal Institute complimented several of our children, for their 'mathematical spark', stating 'Hearing your mathematical explanation is like music to my ears'.

Here are some of the children’s comments reflecting their excellent thinking mathematically skills:

“I think there will be 81 possibilities because 9 x 9 = 81.” (V – Year 6 Pupil)

“Having the 6 in the middle can’t work because you couldn’t use the 10 in a number bond to 16. Let’s try 4 in the middle because that’s one less than 5.” (E – Year 6 Pupil)

“I’m wondering if those 4 total 34 as well.” (M – Year 6 Pupil)

“This one is different because it has two of some numbers.” (R – Year 6 Pupil)

Masterclass Masterclass1

 

Magical Maths Club

At Harpenden Academy, children have the opportunity to attend an exciting extra-curricular club after school.

Magical maths

Shape bingo with Magical Maths

Maths - No Problem!

Harpenden Academy teaches maths primarily through the concrete-abstract-pictorial approach. The children have really enjoyed the new approach to our maths lessons.

Pupil Voice:

“I like using the number bead lines in maths.” (Reception Pupil)

“I like maths because we become detectives and solve problems!” (Year 1 Pupil)

“I like maths because I enjoy the challenges.” (Year 2 Pupil)

“I love that there are many different methods in the Maths – No Problem books because if you’re stuck on one method, you can use another.” (Year 5 Pupil)

Live Learning

We completed a Live Learning maths lesson in Year 4. Parents had the opportunity to join us for a Maths No Problem lesson on converting fractions to decimals. The lesson had some positive feedback:

 

Year

(Number attending)

Subject

Most useful thing about the session?

How will home learning be impacted?

Future Subjects?

3 word summary

Year 4

(4)

Maths

(Converting fractions to decimal)

  • Working together
  • Seeing the structure of a “Math –No problem!” lesson
  • Seeing how maths is taught
  • Seeing how maths is taught which will make home learning easier
  • I will do more of it.
  • I now know more about what happens in the classroom so I can mirror it
  • Utilise techniques at home rather than my old way of doing things.
  • Using the same terminology at home
  • Science
  • Design
  • Art
  • English

Informative, interesting, fun, great insight

Workshops

Parent Workshop – Maths No Problem

Year 6 Maths Mastery

Year 6 maths mastery

World Cup 2018

July 2018, Year 6 have been busy solving World Cup 2018 and Wimbledon related maths problems. One activity involved them measuring the area and perimeter of our own football pitch as well as the circumference, diameter and radius of the centre circle. The children then used ratio to compare the size of our pitch to than of the full size pitches being played on at the World Cup.

Worldcup1 Worldcup2

 

Year 6 Ratio Topic

This week, 16 March 2018, in Year 6 we kicked off our ratio topic by making blackcurrant squash using one part cordial to nine parts water in a variety of measuring jugs with different capacities. To check we'd all got the ratio correct - we compared the colour of our juice at the end!

Ratio1 Ratio2

 

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