MATHEMATICS

In Key Stage 2, we aim to ensure that all our students become fluent in the fundamentals of Mathematics. The principal focus in Years 3 and 4 is the development of fluency with whole numbers and the four operations, including number facts and the concept of place value. This supports the development of efficient written and mental mathematical methods and completing calculations with increasingly large whole numbers.

The students in Years 3 and 4 engage with problem solving, including with fractions and decimals. They build upon their learning in Key Stage 1, developing mathematical reasoning so they can analyse shapes and their properties and confidently describe the relationships between them. In addition, the students develop increasing accuracy when using measuring instruments and make connections between measure and number. By the end of Year 4, we expect the students to have memorised multiplication tables up to and including the 12 times table, as well as the corresponding division facts.

In Years 5 and 6, the students extend their understanding of the number system and place value to include larger integers. This develops the connections the students make between multiplication and division with fractions, decimals, percentages and ratio. At this stage, we aim for the students to solve a wider range of problems, including increasingly complex properties of numbers and problems demanding efficient written and mental methods of calculation. The students are also introduced to the language of algebra as a means for solving a variety of problems. They develop confidence in classifying shapes with increasingly complex geometric properties and learn vocabulary to describe them. By the end of Year 6, we aim for the students to be fluent in written methods for all four operations, including long multiplication and division, and in working with fractions, decimals and percentages.

Through varied and frequent practice with increasingly complex problems throughout Key Stage 2, our students develop conceptual understanding and the ability to recall and apply knowledge rapidly and accurately. They are able to reason mathematically by following a line of inquiry, conjecturing relationships and generalisations, and developing an argument, justification or proof using mathematical language.