Our Curriculum Story

As a school, we aim to promote the enjoyment of learning Mathematics through practical activity, exploration and discussion. We aim for children to become fluent in the fundamentals of mathematics through varied and frequent practice. We aspire for our children to develop conceptual understanding and the ability to recall number facts and apply knowledge quickly and accurately.

Our curriculum is made up of three key strands:

Fluency: To promote confidence and develop fluency with number and the number system e.g. a firm grasp of number bonds, times tables and place value.

Problem solving: To develop the ability to solve different types of problems in new and unfamiliar contexts and to make connections between mathematical topics.

Reasoning: To promote the use of mathematical language in order for the children to explain their mathematical thinking clearly, to justify, to prove and to generalise.

Developing our children’s understanding of mathematical concepts and their confidence with Maths is important. Children are encouraged to have a go, to persevere when things are difficult and to be resilient if things go wrong. The mindset that ‘mistakes show we are learning’, is embedded across the school. We endeavour to provide a ‘high challenge, low threat’ learning environment.

For each new concept introduced, children are encouraged to use concrete manipulatives before moving on to pictorial representations before finally moving to an abstract approach using numbers and key concepts with confidence. We recognise the importance of establishing a secure foundation in mental calculations, and recall of number facts, before standard written methods are introduced. 

With young children it is important to see Maths as something which is incorporated into everyday activities, games and conversations e.g. board games, card games, dice games, routines which provide opportunities for counting, comparing, telling the time, sharing.