Mathematics
At St. Edmund’s Mathematics is a core part of our curriculum where children not only learn key skills for everyday life, but also have the opportunity to identify and describe patterns, develop their reasoning skills, solve problems and make connections. We hope that many children will develop an enjoyment and enthusiasm for Mathematics while building their communication skills, their persistence and their resilience.
In Early Years, our children follow the Early Years Curriculum and, particularly in Nursery, children are encouraged to explore the world around them while developing their understanding of shape and space, comparing object by size or weight and perhaps doing some early number work as part of their play.
“Developing a strong grounding in number is essential so that all children develop the necessary building blocks to excel mathematically. Children should be able to count confidently, develop a deep understanding of the numbers to 10, the relationships between them and the patterns within those numbers. By providing frequent and varied opportunities to build and apply this understanding – such as using manipulatives, including small pebbles and tens frames for organising counting – children will develop a secure base of knowledge and vocabulary from which mastery of mathematics is built. In addition, it is important that the curriculum includes rich opportunities for children to develop their spatial reasoning skills across all areas of mathematics including shape, space and measures. It is important that children develop positive attitudes and interests in mathematics, look for patterns and relationships, spot connections, ‘have a go’, talk to adults and peers about what they notice and not be afraid to make mistakes.”
In Reception the children take part in a project called ‘Mastering Number’, which aims to secure firm foundations in the development of good number sense for all children. Teachers supplement the children’s learning about number with materials to support the children’s learning in shape, space and measure.
In Years 1 and 2, children continue to build on their number skills with a ten-minute Mastering Number Session each day, in addition to their daily Maths lesson.
From Year 1 onwards, we use a scheme called White Rose Maths, which is a mastery approach to Maths teaching. This is a research-driven teaching and learning method that meets the goals of the National Curriculum.
In summary, a mastery approach:
- puts numbers first: confidence with numbers is the first step to competency in the curriculum as a whole;
- puts depth before breadth, reinforcing knowledge again and again;
- encourages collaboration: children can progress through the schemes as a group, supporting each other as they learn;
- focuses on fluency, reasoning and problem solving: it gives children the skills they need to become competent mathematicians.
If you would like to support your Reception child with their learning, this link gives useful advice on how to use Number Blocks to help your child with their Maths. All families will find the 1-minute-maths app from White Rose Maths helpful for practising Maths at home.
This document maps out our curriculum from Year 1 onwards:
You may find the following documents useful:
National Curriculum for Mathematics
How We Meet The National Curriculum