Mathematics

Our creative and engaging Mathematics curriculum aims to maximise the development of every child’s ability and academic achievement. We want children to make rich connections across mathematical ideas to develop fluency, mathematical reasoning and competence in solving increasingly sophisticated problems.

Our children need to develop the necessary skills to make them 'deep thinkers' acquiring skills and knowledge that can be transferred and applied in different contexts.

Maths is essential to everyday life, critical to science, technology and engineering, it helps us think analytically and develop problem-solving skills. Maths is the foundation for understanding the world and we want our children to know the purpose behind their learning and to apply their knowledge both at home and in school.

PRE-SCHOOL

In Pre-School much of our Maths learning comes through play and the skilful interactions of the staff with the children.

Maths forms a huge part of our everyday lives. By using number, simple addition and subtraction, the use of space, shape and measure in everyday situations, our children have started to develop an understanding of number, capacity, quantity and time, and have developed the vocabulary to use maths to solve problems. The children have been shop keepers, baristas, and hairdressers - handling money and counting objects as they play. They have used the construction kits to investigate shape and size, and explored capacity in the mud kitchen. We have learnt a number and a shape of the week during our circle time sessions, where we also sing the days of the week song. Our children have learnt to subitise for the first time this year, as this concept has been introduced into the early years curriculum.

RECEPTION

Reception numeracy is taught as part of ‘Problem Solving, Reasoning and Numeracy’, as the children get to grips with the ideas of numbers and calculations.

Our children use numbers every day, in a range of different ways. They use familiar objects to help them learn about how numbers are used in everyday life, and link numbers to topic work; for example, if they are learning about dinosaurs they could be making dinosaur pictures out of shapes. They are encouraged to be curious and explore numbers.

Through their daily ‘Maths meeting’ they play number games, sing counting songs, find patterns and even become the teacher! It is so important for children to see just how much maths is used in everyday life.

Here are some ideas you can use at home:

• Practise counting • Play hide and seek • Save your cereal boxes and cardboard tubes for making models • Do a jigsaw together • Play card games • Play with different-sized containers at bath time

YEAR 1

The maths curriculum in Year 1 has focused on using and applying the skills of addition and subtraction, sequencing number, time, shape and measure.

The children have enjoyed a variety of problem-solving activities and have applied the knowledge they have learnt.

Highlights have included Maths target games, building 3D shape models and practical measurement of capacity and weight. Each session has started with a carpet session, followed by a carousel of activities linked to the learning.

It was fun because it was a challenge. I'm good at them now. I love learning my times tables, doing fractions and partitioning large numbers.

YEAR 2

In Year 2, children develop key Maths skills and expand their knowledge of important concepts, including calculations, times tables, geometry and more.

Mastering these maths concepts will support children in becoming educated citizens and developing key life skills.

There’s still a lot of practical and visual learning in Maths, using real-life situations children can relate to. The children learn to think about the methods they use to solve problems, and to check if they are correct. They start to work with logic problems and on solving Maths problems mentally.

YEAR 3

Children deepened their critical thinking and Year 3 marks an exciting problem-solving change in the children’s skills... Maths learning as they are now part of the Prep School and can bring their pencil case to the lesson!

The principal focus of Mathematics in Year 3 is to develop the children’s fluency with whole numbers and the four operations, including number facts and the concept of place value. Throughout their time in Year 3, children build on their learning from Key Stage 1 to develop the efficiency of written and mental methods. It is great to see them using the grid method and column addition so confidently by the end of the year.

Children deepen their critical thinking and problem-solving skills, delving into simple fractions and decimal place value. The Abacus syllabus aims to develop the children’s mathematical reasoning so they can analyse shapes and their properties, and confidently describe the relationships between them. Through practical activities and investigations, the children enjoy developing their accuracy with measuring instruments and begin to make more connections between measure and number.

Developing recall and fluency with the times tables becomes a particular focus in Year 3. Through targeted and regular practice, both at home and at School, the children start to see the inverse relationship between multiplication and division; they even comment on the fact they now understand why we learn times tables.

YEAR 4

By the end of Year 4, children have made rich connections across mathematical ideas, extending their reasoning and competence in solving increasingly sophisticated problems, including with simple fractions and decimal place value.

Negative numbers, Roman numerals, 24 hour clocks, lines of symmetry and decimal notation are explored more deeply. Amongst a range of topics, there is a special focus on geometry which is always a hit! Lessons include consolidating coordinates by playing games of battleships and interpreting data on line graphs. Links are made with other subjects, such as relating the graphical representation of data to recording change over time in a Science experiment.

MILLY: “Battleships and line graphs was fun work!”

MARTHA: “I learned more than I thought I would this year! I used to say ‘I’m stuck,’ now I say ‘I don’t get it yet’ because I know that I will understand it eventually!”

LACHIE: “I loved doing the shape translation by using my fingers to move the shape around.”

SAV: “I love column addition and subtraction.”

DARCEY: “I love all Maths lessons, but I particularly loved the robot coordinates lesson.”

GEORGE Y: “I really enjoyed the line graphs because it was complex.”

YEAR 5

During Year 5, there are lots of opportunities to reinforce and consolidate previous learning, ensuring the children are accurate and consistent across all four of the written operations.

New content is introduced as we progress through the year and we begin to grasp some of the more challenging Mathematics which the children will need to understand over the coming years.

A major focus for the group has been on applying their understanding of mathematical concepts to more complex, abstract tasks. Developing their skillset to cope with problem-solving and reasoning tasks really helps them to approach a whole range of questions more independently and any chances to use ‘real-world’ Maths at the weekend certainly supports this too.

The children are given plenty of practice using their mental strategies to complete questions under time pressure; they have lots of fun becoming confident in quick calculations and always improve hugely during the year.

YEAR 6

Year 6 continues to consolidate work from previous years as well as prepare the children for their transition to Senior School.

...open up the mind to the challenges of mathematics and the world around us...

There are a range of activities aimed at Year 6s, but there are also activities from Year 7 for those who are able to access these. Over half of the year group are given the opportunity to enter the UK Junior Maths Challenge in April which encourages mathematical reasoning, precision of thought, and fluency in using basic mathematical techniques to solve interesting problems. There is also an annual Maths Competition at Monkton in November, to which Year 6 sends a team of four.

The structure of the lessons utilises the Abacus course to varying degrees throughout the year; some classes will use it more than others, depending on whether certain topics need to be looked at in more detail or extended.

There is a mixture of independent, group and class work as well as a growing amount of problem solving to open up the mind to the challenges of mathematics and the world around us in general.