Maths
Intent Statement
By the time our pupils leave Year 6, they will be confident, fluent and resilient mathematicians who can apply their knowledge to a range of problems. They will demonstrate secure understanding across number (including place value and the four operations), fractions (including decimals and percentages), measurement, geometry (properties of shape and position and direction), and statistics. Pupils will recall key facts and use efficient mental and written methods, reason mathematically, explain their thinking using precise vocabulary, and solve problems by selecting appropriate strategies.
Through carefully structured learning, pupils will develop deep conceptual understanding alongside procedural fluency, making connections across different areas of mathematics. They will approach challenges with resilience and independence. By the end of Year 6, our pupils will see themselves as mathematicians—equipped with the knowledge, skills and confidence to succeed in secondary education and use mathematics in the wider world.
Policy
Content coming.
National Curriculum
Useful Websites
BBC Bitesize - Reception: https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/subjects/zhtf3j6
BBC Bitesize - Year 1: https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/subjects/z8x8h4j
BBC Bitesize - Year 2: https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/subjects/zqpqfdm
BBC Bitesize - Year 3: https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/subjects/zdtwnk7
BBC Bitesize - Year 4: https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/subjects/zxv6g2p
BBC Bitesize - Year 5: https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/subjects/zykvwsg
BBC Bitesize - Year 6: https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/subjects/z4mktcw
Oxford Owl - Maths at Home: https://home.oxfordowl.co.uk/kids-activities/fun-maths-games-and-activities/
University of Cambridge - nrich: https://nrich.maths.org/students/primary
Subject Progression Document
How can I help my child with this subject?
Maths helps children develop the skills and confidence to solve problems, recognise patterns and make sense of the world around them. Children learn about number, calculation, fractions, measurement, geometry and statistics, as well as how to explain their mathematical thinking. You can support your child by making maths part of everyday life through fun, practical activities at home.
Helping children in the Infants (Reception, Year 1 and Year 2)
At this stage, children are developing their understanding of numbers, counting, simple calculations, shapes and measurements.
You can help your child by:
Practising counting forwards and backwards together, starting from different numbers.
Looking for numbers in everyday life, such as house numbers, bus numbers, prices and number plates.
Playing board games, card games and dice games to practise counting and recognising numbers.
Counting objects around the home, such as toys, pieces of fruit or stairs.
Practising simple addition and subtraction using everyday objects.
Talking about shapes, patterns and positions when playing or walking outside.
Involving your child in cooking, shopping or setting the table to explore weighing, measuring, comparing quantities and sharing equally.
Asking questions such as, “How do you know?”, “Can you show me another way?” and “What do you notice?”
At this stage, children benefit from practical activities, repetition and talking about their mathematical thinking. Short, enjoyable activities can help build strong foundations for future learning.
Helping children in the Lower Juniors (Year 3 and Year 4)
At this stage, children develop their understanding of place value, the four operations, times tables, fractions, measurement and shape. They also begin to solve more complex problems and explain their reasoning.
You can help your child by:
Practising times tables regularly, particularly the 2, 3, 4, 5, 8 and 10 times tables, alongside the 6, 7, 9, 11 and 12 times tables as appropriate.
Encouraging quick recall of number facts, such as number bonds to 100 and multiplication facts.
Involving your child in shopping by comparing prices, calculating totals and working out change.
Encouraging them to read analogue and digital clocks and work out how long activities will take.
Using cooking and baking to practise weighing, measuring, doubling quantities and understanding fractions.
Looking for fractions in everyday life, such as sharing food equally or identifying halves, quarters and thirds.
Practising mental calculations and discussing different ways to solve a problem.
Asking questions such as, “Can you estimate the answer?”, “How could you check it?” and “Is there another way to solve this?”
At this stage, children benefit from regular practice, developing fluency with number facts and applying their skills to real-life problems.
Helping children in the Upper Juniors (Year 5 and Year 6)
At this stage, children develop greater confidence with larger numbers, fractions, decimals, percentages, ratio, measurement, geometry and statistics. They learn to solve multi-step problems, explain their reasoning and apply their knowledge to unfamiliar situations.
You can help your child by:
Practising times tables and related division facts to support quick, accurate calculations.
Involving them in budgeting, comparing prices, calculating discounts and working out percentages when shopping.
Exploring fractions, decimals and percentages in everyday situations, such as sharing quantities or comparing offers.
Encouraging them to measure objects, calculate distances and estimate lengths, weights and capacities.
Talking about timetables, journey times and the duration of everyday activities.
Looking at charts, graphs and tables in newspapers, books or online, and discussing what the information shows.
Encouraging your child to solve problems independently before discussing their approach together.
Asking questions such as, “What information do you know?”, “Which calculation would help?”, “Does your answer make sense?” and “How could you prove it?”
At this stage, children benefit from opportunities to apply their mathematical knowledge, explain their reasoning and develop the confidence needed for the transition to secondary school.
Supporting your child to enjoy Maths at any age
You can support maths learning at any age by:
Making maths part of everyday activities, such as shopping, cooking and travelling.
Playing games involving numbers, patterns, shapes and logical thinking.
Practising little and often rather than relying on long sessions.
Encouraging your child to explain how they reached an answer, rather than focusing only on whether it is correct.
Praising effort, perseverance and trying different approaches.
Showing that mistakes are a normal part of learning and a valuable opportunity to improve.
The most important thing you can do is help your child see that maths is useful, enjoyable and something they can get better at through practice. Building confidence with number facts and encouraging children to explain their thinking will support their progress throughout primary school.
Parent/Carer Information Guide
A mastery curriculum rejects the idea that a large proportion of people ‘just can’t do maths’ (NCETM 2016) and instead focuses on the idea that all pupils can achieve depth in their learning which can be accomplished by using key principles including:
- representation and structure (effective pedagogies for modelling, concrete-pictorial-abstract approaches, effective use of manipulatives and transition between them)
- coherence (curriculum design, progression of objectives, sequencing learning, small steps, contextualising learning between different areas of mathematics)
- mathematical thinking (effective questioning, identifying patterns and relationships, deep understanding through reasoning and problem solving, supporting children to achieve
deeper learning where appropriate)
- variation (progression through representations using conceptual variation, progression through questioning using procedural variation)
- fluency (efficiency, accuracy, flexibility, developing unconscious competence)
These elements of effective mathematics teaching are supported in both the National Curriculum and the Ofsted Inspection Framework.