Skip to content ↓

MATHEMATICS

CURRICULUM DESIGN

At Cranbury College, the Maths department strives to ensure that all students leave school with the skills and knowledge needed to apply maths in everyday life. We offer our students a range of qualifications, from Functional Skills to GCSE. Our flexible approach to selecting appropriate qualifications encourages stretch and challenge whilst helping our students develop resilience and self-belief. We aim to develop our student’s knowledge and skills in a range of areas, including number, reasoning, thinking logically and problem solving with resilience. Further to this, we encourage and promote higher order thinking skills and a critical approach to challenges and obstacles.

Upon entry to Cranbury College, students take baseline assessments, allowing us to produce justified and professionally predicted target grades as well as identifying current levels of attainment and gaps in knowledge. Whilst all will be working towards sitting and passing their Maths GCSE, we aim for all students to leave Cranbury College with a qualification that has stretched and challenged them according to their individual need and ability.

We work closely with schools in the area to ensure that in Maths we are providing our students with the necessary skills and knowledge to support transitions back to mainstream education.

We are fortunate enough to be flexible in our delivery of the curriculum, so can tailor a student’s personal learning journey to best support them as they prepare to return to mainstream education.

National curriculum in England: Mathematics Programmes of Study

KEY STAGE 3 

The design of the maths curriculum at KS3 is to give learners the confidence and core skills required to access the next step in their education. The focus is on numeracy and classroom confidence. By the end of KS3 we expect all learners to have achieved a functional skills entry level qualification. This gives them some exam experience and ensures they have the key skills they need to move on.

Assessment

Throughout the year we use retrieval tests to assess what our students have retained during each topic. This allows staff to be responsive, close gaps in learning, and offer bespoke learning journeys, so that transition to mainstream is as smooth as possible.

KEY STAGE 4  

The intent of the maths curriculum at KS4 is to give learners access to the best qualification they can achieve. We meet students where they are, with the clear goal of being ambitious and accessing Maths GCSE.

Assessment

Throughout the year we use retrieval tests to assess what our students have retained during each topic. This allows staff to be responsive, close gaps in learning, and offer bespoke learning journeys. In addition to this, pupils sit 3 sets of Mocks, which allows exposure to GCSE examinations, and accurate target setting.

In Maths, we also support all students to achieve a qualification appropriate to their ability and to excel from their individual starting points. Students can be assessed using GCSE examinations, Entry Level tests, as well as Functional Skills Level 1 and 2 examinations.

HOSPITAL 

Lessons are provided for both short-term and long-term patients and personalised learning journeys are created based on the needs of the students/patients. All curriculum plans are bespoke and are designed, taking into account the students' physical health, mental health and academic ability, in conjunction with the students' main registered school.

EXTERNAL ASSESSMENTs

Pearson Edexcel Level 1/Level 2 GCSE (9 to 1) in Mathematics – 1MA1 QN: 601/4700/3 

Externally assessed  
Availability: May/June and November 
Each paper is 33.33% of the total GCSE.
Written examination papers with a range of question types.
Each Paper is 1 hour and 30 minutes (both Foundation and Higher tier papers)  
Each Paper has 80 marks available 

Overview of Content:
Number  
Algebra
Ratio, proportion and rates of change
Geometry and measures  
Probability  
Statistics 

Paper 1: 1MA1/1F or 1MA1/1H - No calculator allowed  
Paper 2: 1MA1/2F or 1MA1/2H - Calculator allowed  
Paper 3: 1MA1/3F or 1MA1/3H - Calculator allowed 

Pearson Edexcel Functional Skills Qualification in Mathematics at Entry Level 1, 2 & 3 

Entry Level 1 QN: 603/4269/9 
Entry Level 2 QN: 603/4265/1 
Entry Level 3 QN: 603/4266/3 

Externally set, on-demand assessment, internally marked and externally verified. The qualification is graded Pass/Fail. 

Overview of Content:
Using numbers and the number system – whole numbers, fractions and decimals  
Using common measures, shape and space  
Handling information and data 

Entry 1 
Section A: Non-calculator 20 minutes 5 marks  
Section B: Calculator 60 minutes 15 marks  

Entry 2 
Section A: Non-calculator 25 minutes 7 marks  
Section B: Calculator 65 minutes 21 marks  

Entry 3 
Section A: Non-calculator 25 minutes 9 marks  
Section B: Calculator 75 minutes 27 marks  

Pearson Edexcel Functional Skills Qualification in Mathematics at Level 1 & 2 

Level 1 QN: 603/4267/5 
Level 2 QN: 603/4268/7 
Externally set, on-demand assessment. The qualification is graded Pass/Fail. 

Overview of Content:
Using numbers and the number system – whole numbers, fractions, decimals and  percentages  
Using common measures, shapes and space  
Handling information and data 

Level 1 
Section A: Non-calculator 25 minutes 14 marks 
Section B: Calculator 1 hour 30 minutes 42 marks 

Level 2 
Section A: Non-calculator 25 minutes 16 marks 
Section B: Calculator 1 hour 30 minutes 48 marks