Mathematics

Our curriculum is not limited to teaching how to do maths (ie its functionality); to do so would do a disservice to our students and to the subject itself. Students at Harris Academy Peckham deserve to know maths for its inherent beauty and elegance.

The families we serve reflect a richly diverse community with fierce ambition, and as such our curriculum is grounded in the dedication and committed to the relentless pursuit of developing understanding.

Students are taught concepts with depth and relational understanding connecting to prior knowledge, so that they do not merely know the process but the diagrams, models and quantities behind the process, as this is what they deserve, to understand why this formula solves that equation.

We dedicate time to mastery of each topic so that students practice skills repeatedly until they are fluent, and that fluency means processes are automated, moving from the working memory into the long term, thus allowing for new learning of deeper concepts.

Within mastery of a concept and closing the feedback loop, students find joy, the spark of pleasure from solving a complex problem. Mathematics is not, to our learners, a task that you finish and pass to get a job, but a way of sharpening your mind, taking pleasure in problem solving and finding joy in the world’s universal language. Through the curriculum:

• Students experience a depth and mastery of subject specific knowledge and skills
• Students become lifelong and independent learners
• Students develop critical thinking and excellent communication skills

Literacy and numeracy are at the curriculum's core. Students are world ready and develop into global citizens. Harris Academy Peckham’s core mathematics skills are: procedural fluency, real-life applications and reasoning.

Further details of the curriculum can be downloaded below.