Numeracy

At St. Luke's we believe that every child has the potential to succeed in mathematics and our curriculum design is intended to foster enjoyment of Maths and develop successful learning by developing the necessary skills to become confident and fluent mathematicians.

Our aim is to ensure that children are not only given the tools and knowledge to develop a strong conceptual understanding in Mathematics but are also given the gift of enjoyment in the subject for life. We believe that a high quality mathematics education is essential.  Our Maths curriculum aims to develop children’s ability to calculate, reason, problem solve and have a good understanding of the basic fundamentals in every year group.

What Mathematics at St Luke's looks like:

Mathematics in EYFS

In Foundation Stage it is vital that children learn to enjoy and play with mathematics for its own sake and use it in multiple, real-life contexts, developing a deep understanding of number, shapes, space and measures. This is implemented through planned, purposeful play and through a mix of adult-led and child-initiated activity.

In Nursery, Maths is taught primarily through provision. Adults will provide opportunities for exploration of shape, space and measure, opportunities to engage imaginatively with mathematical ideas, number rhymes, books and stories linking, symbols, patterns, and fingers. Children will play games, use big Maths outdoors, provide opportunities for Maths in daily routines and familiarity with investigation mathematical tools. Children can choose their own mathematical interests, low floor, high ceiling problems to solve creatively. Mathematical language is used and represented daily. Staff in the early years will be playful with mathematical ideas and promote sustained shared thinking with children e.g. what if… ongoing observations of the children will support assessment and reflective practice in the early years.

In Reception, we have focused daily taught sessions as well as opportunities for real mathematical experiences throughout the setting. Fluency and number sense are also developed thorough at least three times weekly sessions from the ‘Mastering Number’ programme.

Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2

 At St Luke's, we follow the National Curriculum (2014) for Numeracy across Key Stage 1 and 2. The National Curriculum (2014) has three main aims. These are to ensure that all pupils will:

•  be fluent in the fundamentals of mathematics. Pupils have a solid understanding of increasingly complex mathematical problems and are able to solve them quickly and accurately.
•  reason mathematically. Pupils can identify mathematical relationships and connections for themselves and justify their decision-making.
•  solve problems. Pupils can apply their skills and approach problems systematically, breaking them down into smaller steps where necessary.

The national curriculum for Mathematics aims to ensure that all pupils:

Become fluent in the fundamentals of mathematics, including through varied and frequent practice with increasingly complex problems over time, so that pupils develop conceptual understanding and the ability to recall and apply knowledge rapidly and accurately.

Reason mathematically by following a line of enquiry, conjecturing relationships and generalisations, and developing an argument, justification or proof using mathematical language.

Can solve problems by applying their mathematics to a variety of routine and nonroutine problems with increasing sophistication, including breaking down problems into a series of simpler steps and persevering in seeking solutions.

Key Stage 1 (Years 1 and 2)

The main focus of mathematics teaching in Years 1 and 2 is to make sure that pupils develop a confident and fluent understanding of whole numbers, counting and place value. At this stage, children use a range of measures to describe and compare different quantities such as length, weight, capacity/volume, time and money. The children’s conceptual understanding of numbers is developed through the use of images, numerals, words and physical objects such as coins, watches and shapes.

*By the end of Year 2, pupils should know all number bonds to twenty and understand place value in preparation for applying these skills in Key Stage 2.

Lower Key Stage 2 (Years 3 and 4)

The main focus of mathematics teaching in Years 3 and 4 is to ensure that pupils are fluent in dealing with whole numbers and their interactions with the four numeric operations (addition, subtraction, multiplication and division). The emphasis is on pupils developing efficient methods of calculation, both mental and written, and confidence when working with increasingly large numbers.

At this stage, pupils are developing their ability to solve a variety of problems, including simple fractions and understanding decimal place values. In addition, pupils should be analysing shapes and their respective properties, confidently describing the relationships between these shapes, and using measuring instruments with accuracy.

*By the end of Year 4, times tables up to 12x12 should be memorised. Additionally, Year 4 pupils will be required to undertake a Multiplications Tables Check from 2020 onwards. Read more about the Multiplication Tables Check here.

Upper Key Stage 2 (Years 5 and 6)

The main focus of mathematics teaching in Years 5 and 6 is to ensure that pupils extend their understanding of the number system and place value to include larger integers (whole numbers). This, in turn, influences the pupils’ application of their multiplication and division knowledge to more complex problems involving fractions, decimals, percentages and ratio.

At this stage, pupils should develop their ability to solve a wider range of problems, including problems demanding efficient written and mental methods of calculation. Building on the foundations laid in Years 1 to 4, children are introduced to the language of algebra as a means to solve problems. Teaching also builds upon the children’s existing knowledge of geometry (shape and space), allowing pupils to classify shapes with increasingly complex geometric properties.

*By the end of Year 6, pupils should be fluent in written methods for all four operations, including long multiplication and division, and in working with fractions, decimals and percentages.

Our Approach:

To support the approach we have outlined above, we organise our curriculum according to the White Rose scheme of learning, using many of the resources available to ensure that we have balanced coverage, a clear progression of skills throughout the school and a focus on mastery, ensuring that all pupils achieve to their maximum potential. We supplement White Rose resources from a wide variety of sources, including Hamilton, Twinkl, Classroom Secrets and other high-quality resource providers. We also use the widely-acclaimed TimesTables RockStars to support the learning of times tables - a vital component of the children's learning in Maths. 

How you can help your child with Mathematics at home: