Mathematics

At St Mary’s, we believe that every child can succeed in mathematics. We want our children to become confident, curious and resilient mathematicians who recognise the importance, creativity and enjoyment of mathematics in everyday life.

Mathematics is an interconnected discipline that helps us understand and describe the world around us. It is essential to science, technology and engineering, important for financial literacy and employment, and central to many aspects of daily life.

Our mathematics curriculum reflects our mission:

Rooted in Love • Faith in Action • Learning for Life

It equips children with the knowledge, confidence and independence they need for their future.

Our curriculum is designed to develop:

secure number sense and a deep understanding of place value;
fluency in mental and written calculation;
rapid and accurate recall of important number facts;
an understanding of additive and multiplicative relationships;
confidence with fractions, decimals and percentages;
spatial awareness and an understanding of shape, position and measure;
financial literacy through meaningful work involving money;
the ability to identify patterns, make connections and think algebraically;
mathematical reasoning using precise vocabulary;
the ability to solve routine and unfamiliar problems; and
confidence, independence, resilience and enjoyment.

We want children to understand mathematics rather than simply remember a series of procedures. They learn to select appropriate methods, explain their thinking, justify their answers and recognise that mistakes and misconceptions are valuable parts of learning.

Our curriculum is ambitious for every child. We maintain high expectations while recognising that children may need different representations, resources, explanations, levels of practice or amounts of time to secure important mathematical concepts.

Our teaching follows the statutory National Curriculum for Mathematics.

How Mathematics Is Taught

Curriculum Organisation

Our mathematics curriculum follows a clear whole-school sequence from Year 1 to Year 6:

Place value
Addition and subtraction
Multiplication and division
Fractions, decimals and percentages
Shape
Space, position and direction
Measure
Time
Money

The depth and complexity of each area increase as children progress through school. Statistics, algebra, ratio and proportion are introduced at the appropriate points within this sequence.

Although time, money and measure have their own teaching blocks, these important life skills are revisited throughout the year. Children apply number and calculation skills through problems involving prices, change, measuring, scales, timetables, duration, perimeter, area and data.

Our shared sequence supports strong progression across the school and enables teachers in our mixed-age classes to make meaningful connections between year-group expectations. The length and timing of individual units remain flexible so that teachers can respond to assessment and the needs of their children.

Planning and Adaptive Teaching

Teachers use Red Rose Maths planning and professional materials to support subject knowledge, pedagogy, sequencing and lesson design. However, we do not follow one published scheme rigidly.

Our teachers know their children well and use their professional judgement to select, adapt and supplement resources. Planning takes account of:

children’s prior knowledge and starting points;
the statutory expectations for each year group;
our mixed-age class structure;
identified misconceptions and gaps in understanding;
the need for additional modelling or practice;
appropriate challenge for children who grasp concepts quickly; and
connections with previous and future learning.

This approach ensures that our curriculum remains coherent and progressive while being genuinely responsive to the children at St Mary’s.

Teaching for Mastery

We use a mastery approach in which all children are supported to develop a secure and deep understanding of important mathematical concepts.

New learning is broken down into carefully sequenced steps. Teachers use explicit explanations, modelling, worked examples, guided practice and purposeful questioning to check understanding and address misconceptions.

Children move between:

Concrete representations: practical equipment and manipulatives;
Pictorial representations: images, diagrams, models and number lines; and
Abstract representations: numbers, symbols and formal written methods.

Resources such as counters, cubes, bead strings, place-value charts, ten frames, arrays and bar models help children see the structure of mathematics. These resources are available to children of all ages whenever they support understanding.

Children who need further support receive additional modelling, carefully chosen representations, scaffolded questions and opportunities for guided practice.

Children who understand a concept quickly are challenged through rich problems, reasoning, generalisation and investigation rather than simply moving prematurely to new content.

Fluency, Reasoning and Problem-Solving

Every child receives regular opportunities to develop the three central elements of mathematics:

Fluency: recalling and applying mathematical knowledge accurately, flexibly and efficiently.
Reasoning: identifying patterns, explaining relationships and justifying conclusions.
Problem-solving: selecting and applying mathematics in familiar and unfamiliar situations.

Daily retrieval helps children retain important knowledge, including number bonds, multiplication and division facts, calculation strategies and key mathematical vocabulary.

Fluency is more than working quickly. A fluent mathematician can recall important facts, select an appropriate strategy and use their knowledge flexibly.

Children are encouraged to explore different approaches, compare methods and decide which strategies are most efficient. They learn that being a successful mathematician involves perseverance, flexibility and thoughtful decision-making—not simply finding an answer quickly.

Calculation

Children are taught mental and written calculation methods through a clear, progressive sequence.

Early calculation develops through practical equipment, part-whole models, number lines, ten frames and arrays. As children’s understanding becomes secure, these representations support the introduction of increasingly efficient mental and written methods.

Our calculation approach makes clear:

which methods are taught in each year group;
how practical resources and visual representations support understanding;
how methods build upon secure place-value knowledge;
when formal written methods are introduced;
how mathematical language and notation develop; and
how children check whether their answers are reasonable.

Written methods are taught as meaningful mathematical processes rather than rules to memorise. Children learn what each stage represents, how methods are connected and when a particular strategy is appropriate.

Further information can be found in our Mathematics Calculation Policy.

Multiplication and Division

Multiplication and division are taught as closely connected concepts.

Children initially explore equal groups, repeated addition, sharing, grouping and arrays. Arrays are particularly important because they help children understand:

equal groups;
repeated addition;
the relationship between multiplication and division;
commutativity;
multiplication and division facts; and
later connections with area and scaling.

Children develop secure recall of multiplication and division facts while also learning to represent, explain and apply them.

Regular retrieval and purposeful practice help children develop accuracy and automaticity. As children progress, they apply this knowledge to written calculation, fractions, scaling, ratio, area and increasingly complex problems.

Mathematical Language

Spoken language is central to our mathematics curriculum. Teachers explicitly introduce and model accurate mathematical vocabulary and sentence structures.

Children are expected to:

discuss their ideas;
describe what they notice;
explain the methods they have selected;
compare different strategies;
ask mathematical questions;
challenge thinking respectfully;
identify and correct misconceptions; and
justify their conclusions.

Sentence stems may be used to help children organise and communicate their reasoning.

Mathematical discussion helps children make their thinking clear to themselves and others. It also enables teachers to identify misconceptions and develop deeper conceptual understanding.

Mathematics in EYFS

In EYFS, children develop strong foundations in number, pattern, shape, space and measure through adult-led teaching and purposeful play.

Mathematical learning is woven throughout indoor and outdoor continuous provision. Adults model accurate mathematical language, ask carefully chosen questions and help children to:

notice patterns;
compare quantities;
count accurately;
develop a deep understanding of numbers;
explore shape and space;
solve practical problems; and
explain their thinking.

These practical experiences build the secure foundations children need for the Year 1 curriculum.

Mathematics Across the Curriculum

Children apply their mathematical knowledge in meaningful contexts across the curriculum, including science, computing, geography, design and technology and physical education.

They encounter mathematics through:

measuring and reading scales;
recording and interpreting data;
using coordinates;
constructing and interpreting graphs;
investigating patterns;
using time and timetables;
handling money and considering financial choices; and
solving practical problems.

This helps children understand that mathematics is not confined to a lesson—it is an essential tool for learning and life.

Knowing That Children Are Succeeding

The impact of our mathematics curriculum is evident when children:

have secure and increasingly fluent mathematical knowledge;
understand the structure and relationships within mathematics;
recall and apply important number facts accurately;
select appropriate mental and written methods;
use mathematical vocabulary confidently and precisely;
explain and justify their thinking;
move flexibly between concrete, pictorial and abstract representations;
make connections between mathematical ideas;
apply their knowledge to increasingly complex problems;
demonstrate confidence, resilience and a willingness to persevere;
recognise the relevance of mathematics to everyday life; and
are well prepared for the next stage of their education.

Assessment

Assessment is an integral part of every mathematics lesson. Teachers use questioning, observation, discussion, children’s work and short assessment activities to identify what children understand and what they need to learn next.

End-of-unit assessments help teachers evaluate how securely key concepts have been understood. Termly assessments provide information about cumulative learning and whether children can retain and apply knowledge over time.

Teachers use this information alongside their professional judgement to:

adapt future teaching;
revisit important knowledge;
address misconceptions;
provide additional support; and
ensure appropriate challenge.

The quality of a child’s explanation, use of representations and mathematical vocabulary is valued alongside the accuracy of the final answer.

Progress is demonstrated not only through what children can calculate, but also through the depth of their understanding and their ability to reason and apply their knowledge independently.

Through our mathematics curriculum, we aim to ensure that every child leaves St Mary’s as a confident, capable and resilient mathematician, ready to use mathematics successfully throughout their education and everyday life.

Supporting Mathematics at Home

Families can help children develop confidence and enjoyment in mathematics by making it a positive part of everyday life.

You can support your child by:

playing board, card and dice games;
practising number bonds and multiplication facts;
counting, estimating and comparing quantities;
involving children in shopping, prices and change;
measuring ingredients when cooking;
discussing clocks, calendars and timetables;
spotting shapes, patterns and symmetry;
reading scores, tables, charts and graphs;
estimating before calculating;
asking children to explain how they reached an answer; and
responding positively when mathematics feels difficult.

Helpful questions include:

What do you already know?
Can you show it in another way?
Which strategy might help?
Does your answer seem reasonable?
How could you check it?
Can you explain why?

Useful resources include:

Mathematics Curriculum Documents

Please use the links below to explore how mathematical knowledge, vocabulary, representations and calculation methods develop progressively through our school:

Whole-School Mathematics Overview
Mathematics Progression Document
Mathematics Calculation Policy
National Curriculum for Mathematics