St Mary's Catholic Primary School

Maths is planned for, following the EYFS Framework and KS1 and KS2 school curriculum. It is taught on a 'spiral curriculum' which means that strands of learning are regularly revisited to aid children's recall and build knowledge and skills progressively; we have a clearly progressive calculation policy in use throughout the school.

Maths is taught daily from Years 1 to 6 encompassing whole-class teaching, group activities and individual learning, and is planned for using Abacus as our core scheme of work to ensure that all children are included and that lessons are varied and challenging. Teachers build on the children's prior learning and create solid foundations for what will come next in their learning. Teachers make use of the Abacus workbooks, Abacus textbooks, Mastery checkpoints and online materials for progression as well as other appropriate resources.

In Early Years, maths activities are part of the continuous provision available to all children. Short teacher-led maths sessions take place daily, and children complete a weekly focus activity in a small group, led by the teacher. All the number elements of the 2021 framework are taught based on the Early Years Number Sense programme as well as being an integral part of the school day. Spatial reasoning skills (space, shape, pattern and measure) are taught using the NCTEM (National Centre for Excellence in the Teaching of Mathematics) progression charts.

Manipulatives are used throughout the school to enable children to explore mathematical ideas. All children across the school also benefit from the chance to apply their mathematical skills in many other subjects including, science, computing, DT and art.

Our Calculation Policy demonstrates how calculations are taught throughout the school (addition, subtraction, multiplication and division) and the Knowledge Planners provide an overview of the topics taught each year, together with the key language that children are expected to use at each stage of their learning. Additionally, there is a Parent Booklet which provides a more detailed description of the calculation methods taught at St Mary’s.

In Early Years, children become secure with the concept of number and develop a deep understanding of number to 10 including being able to subitise (the ability to instantaneously recognise the number of objects in a small group without the need to count them). They learn to count up to 20 and beyond; compare different quantities; explore and represent patterns within numbers up to 10, including odds and evens and double facts and begin to explore measurement, shape and time.

Times Tables Rockstars is introduced to Year 2 pupils part way through the summer term and is used regularly by pupils in key stage 2 to develop fluency in times tables recall and with the added purpose of preparing Year 4 pupils for the statutory Multiplication Tables Check. Weekly tests take place in year 4. Weekly mental maths tests (covering times tables, fractions, decimals and percentages) take place in years 5 and 6 to improve fluency in these areas.

In Years 3 to 6, ‘Quick Maths’ sessions taken from the Abacus Scheme, or other suitable resources, are used to encourage fluency in core skills and take place a minimum of three times per week. Opportunities to practise reasoning skills are provided using various resources which include the following:

• Think challenges in the Abacus textbooks

• Mastery Checkpoints and Challenges

• NRICH reasoning challenges

Maths mascot ‘Motty’ is handed out every Friday in assembly to a child in each class whose maths learning has been acknowledged by the class teacher as deserving recognition. Motty is taken home over the weekend and returned on Monday.

Special maths days are held annually to promote a love of maths and its relevance in the wider world, usually on NSPCC Number Day or World Maths Day.