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Maths

We believe that mathematics is a key life skill to equip children with the skills and knowledge they will need in everyday life.

Early Years teachers work from the EYFS Statutory Framework and Development Matters document. Year 1 and 2 teachers work from the 2014 National Curriculum for England. All children have a daily maths lesson (following the White Rose Maths Scheme) as well as opportunities to use their skills in the context of other subjects across the curriculum.  Children also join in a daily 'Number Talk', a short (10min) daily exercise that aims at building number sense - the ability to play with numbers, visualise problem solving and perform calculations quickly and flexibly.

The principal focus of mathematics teaching in Key Stage 1 is to ensure that pupils develop confidence and mental fluency with whole numbers, counting and place value.  This involves working with numerals, words and practical resources to complete the four operations: adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing. 

We additionally support children to recognise, describe, draw, compare and sort different shapes and use the related vocabulary. Children also use a range of measures to describe and compare different quantities such as length, mass, capacity/volume, time and money. By the end of Year 2, children should know the number bonds to 20 and be precise in using and understanding place value. We place a great emphasis on practice at this early stage to aid fluency.


We aim for children to: 

  • 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 inquiry, conjecturing relationships and generalizations, and developing an argument, justification, or proof using mathematical language 

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

Children who grasp concepts rapidly are challenged with rich and sophisticated problems before any acceleration through new content.

Those who are not sufficiently fluent with basic skills are given opportunities to consolidate their understanding before moving on.

View our curriculum overview for maths and our calculation policy here;

KS1 Maths Curriculum Overview

Calculation Policy