The importance of Mathematics

Mathematics is about understanding and making connections between numbers, shapes and patterns. It is creative and has provided the solution to some of history’s most intriguing problems! It is essential to everyday life, critical to science, technology and engineering, and necessary for financial literacy and most forms of employment.

Therefore, at Parkview, we are committed to providing a high-quality mathematics education so children have the foundation for understanding the world, the ability to reason mathematically, an appreciation of the beauty and power of mathematics, and a sense of enjoyment and curiosity about the subject! Our Maths curriculum aims to ensure that all children are fluent in the fundamentals of mathematics, can mathematically reason and solve problems by applying their maths skills. 

Our curriculum programme of study:

Foundation Stage

The programme of study for the Foundation stage is set out in the Early Years Foundation Stage Framework. Mathematics involves providing children with opportunities to develop and improve their skills in counting, understanding and using numbers, calculating simple addition and subtraction problems; and to describe shape, spaces and measures.

The use of practical activities and equipment, gives young children materials to manipulate to aid their understanding and lay the foundations for visual images that represent numbers.

We use the Counting Collections approach to support this. Counting Collections is an early mathematics approach to teaching young children about number. It is designed to develop children’s number sense (their understanding of number and quantity). It aims to support children’s counting, subitising, comparison of numbers and composition of number as well as their abilities to estimate and represent number (including understanding numerals). 

In partnership with Early Years Practitioner Partners, NRICH have developed some resources to support you in developing the initial building blocks for mathematical thinking, reasoning and problem solving with your children. These are great resources to use at home with your child.  These building blocks are crucial to children's later success in mathematics. All these resources link to the Early Years Foundation Stage Framework. Have a look using the link below: 

https://nrich.maths.org/early-years-old

Key Stage 1 and 2

We follow the White Rose programmes of study. This is to ensure progression through year groups and within years and national curriculum coverage. It also ensures we develop mathematical fluency and reasoning and problem solving skills. We provide children with concrete, pictorial and abstract examples wherever possible to embed learning further.

The White Rose programmes are supplemented with Active Maths strategies to provide purpose and a hands-on approach to mathematics. We also use My Maths to develop pupils’ confidence and fluency in maths.

Mastering Number

We use the Mastering Number approach to ensure children fully understand numbers and the relationship between numbers and can work with them fluently. The short videos below give a flavour of Mastering Number happening with different age groups. 

Multiplication Tables Check

The multiplication tables check (MTC) is statutory for all year 4 pupils registered at state-funded maintained schools, special schools or academies (including free schools) in England.

The purpose of the MTC is to determine whether pupils can recall their times tables fluently, which is essential for future success in mathematics. It will help schools to identify pupils who have not yet mastered their times tables, so that additional support can be provided.

In England, children will be expected to know the following in each year at primary school:

• Year 1: count in multiples of 2, 5 and 10.
• Year 2: be able to remember and use multiplication and division facts for the 2, 5 and 10 multiplication tables, including recognising odd and even numbers.
• Year 3: be able to remember and use multiplication and division facts for the 3, 4 and 8 multiplication tables, including recognising odd and even numbers.
• Year 4: be able to remember and use multiplication and division facts for the multiplication tables up to 12 x 12.
• Year 5: revision of all multiplication and division facts for the multiplication tables up to 12 x 12
• Year 6: revision of all multiplication and division facts for the multiplication tables up to 12 x 12.

Times Tables Rock Stars is a mathematics programme that we use at Parkview to boost children’s fluency and recall in multiplication and division. Just 3 minutes of times tables practise a day, makes all the difference!

How do we teach calculations at Parkview?

Have a look at the documents below to see how addition, subtraction, multiplication and division is taught at our school.