SGOIL LIONAIL
Comhairle Nan Eilean Siar
Department of Education 

MATHEMATICS POLICY 

Introduction     Mathematics plays an important role in our lives.  The problems and enquiries with which our pupils engage will entail working with various kinds of information, such as drawing graphs and using computer software. This will often involve them in using numbers, sometimes in the form of approximations, and applying number in money and measurement. They will need to know about properties of shapes and ways of describing movement, and these 5-14 Mathematics attainment outcomes are described as problem-solving and enquiry skills and looking at concepts, facts and techniques.
 

Aims                Aims of Lionel School are subsumed in the Mathematics policy, for example to:

Provide a coherent, relevant, broad-based, balanced, differentiated bilingual curriculum, giving full consideration to national and local Mathematics guidelines.  The various elements of the courses are planned and taught in an appropriate sequence to meet the range of needs, abilities and aspirations of pupils, and to promote progression and continuity in pupils’ learning. Productive links are made with other curriculum areas or subjects eg Environmental Studies and ICT.

Provide a learning environment which is stimulating and challenging, where teaching plans provide concise and clear specifications of what pupils are expected to learn, how and when learning is to be undertaken, and where learning outcomes and assessment strategies are clearly stated.

Objectives        The Mathematics policy reflects ambitious, excellent local and national priorities for improvement, shows consistency with education authority aims, and focuses on improving standards of attainment and the quality of pupils’ learning experiences, as follows:

Inclusion          All pupils are entitled to a range of learning experiences in Mathematics.  When setting work to pupils with special needs, we refer to those pupils’ Individual Education Plans (IEPs).  We value and celebrate the diversity of our pupils and their families, and we appreciate the enrichment that this brings.
 

Attainment outcomes and targets       Mathematics components are described in terms of attainment outcomes for knowledge and understanding, skills and the development of informed attitudes. Consequently, their abilities in problem-solving and enquiry should involve: information handling; number, money and measurement; and shape, position and movement.
 

Learning and Teaching           The learning and teaching approaches used within Lionel School, together with coordinated planning, should enable pupils to study and understand the attainment outcomes and targets outlined within Mathematics, as follows:

Homework       The establishment of good study habits at an early age will contribute greatly towards the future educational success of pupils.  The most important support any parent can give to a student is to show a caring interest in the work done at home - provided the homework is not actually completed by the parent, the sharing of work can only be beneficial.  The school’s homework policy is complemented by advice from parentzonescotland.
 

Handbook       The Mathematics Handbook contains detailed information about the work of the department.
 

Review            This policy was prepared in 2005 and will be reviewed in 2008.

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