Springfield Primary School

Mathematics is important in our everyday life, allowing us to make sense of the world around us and to manage our lives. Using mathematics enables us to model real-life situations and make connections and informed predictions. It equips us with the skills we need to interpret and analyse information, simplify and solve problems, assess risk, and make informed decisions.

At Springfield Primary School we aim to give children the skills and knowledge needed to calculate, reason and to solve problems; to understand relationships and patterns in both number and space; and to be able to use and apply these skills in their own lives, both now and in the future.

What does Mathematics look like at Springfield?

In the Early Years, children develop the fundamental basic skills upon which they will build throughout the school. These basics include counting, number recognition, simple addition and subtraction. In the Foundation Stage, Maths is planned using the ‘Development Matters in the Early Years Foundation Stage’ (EYFS), the non-statutory guidance material that supports practitioners in implementing the statutory requirements of the EYFS. Children are encouraged to learn through active, play based activities which are a mixture of teacher and self-led. Children are able to follow up whole class led activities independently in workshop time and have access to a wide range of practical apparatus to support their mathematical development.

In Key Stages One and Two, we follow the National Curriculum for Mathematics and use the scheme of work developed by the Academies Enterprise Trust (AET) and supported by White Rose planning.

In Key Stage One, children build upon the mathematical foundations and basic skills developed in the Early Years. They extend their knowledge of counting by counting forwards and backwards in jumps larger than 1, develop their understanding of number bonds and begin their early understanding of times tables. There is an emphasis on developing mental maths skills and applying them in learning situations. Children continue to use a range of practical apparatus to support their learning as well as visual images. Within lessons, children have the opportunity to practise and apply the skills they have been taught in the teacher led portion of the lesson through independent and guided activities.

In Key Stage Two, children continue to develop mental recall of key facts with a focus on times tables in particular as well as developing their written arithmetic skills through regular practise each week. Lessons are structured so that children have a range of learning opportunities which allow them to practise, consolidate and apply a range of different skills and strategies. Children continue to use apparatus and visual models to support their learning but increasingly move towards the abstract as they develop their mathematical understanding.

School Mathematics Policies

Maths Policy

Calculation Policy

Planning Overviews

AET stage overviews (please click on year group)

Year 1       Year 2      Year 3     Year 4     Year 5     Year 6

Supporting your child at home

Early Years and Key Stage One

There are a number of ways to develop early mathematics skills:

Counting Model counting regularly- count stairs, cars, teddy bears, etc and encourage children to join in with you.

Number Spotting Spot numbers in the environment (door numbers, on buses, etc) to help aid children’s number recognition.

Song and Rhymes Sing songs and rhymes which include numbers and counting (for example Ten green bottles and Five Little Speckled Frogs)

Story Books There are a number of storybooks which include numbers either in words or digits (Try the Ten Little … series by Mike Brownlow)

Board and Dice Games Playing board games like snakes and ladders using a spotty dice encourages children to recognise patterns and count accurately.

Puzzles and Problems Jigsaw puzzles, Spot the difference, Dot-to-dot and paint-by-numbers, can also be great ways to develop your child’s number awareness and problem solving skills.

Play with Shapes Shape puzzles, shape sorting and creating pictures out of shapes will encourage children to differentiate between, recognise and name shapes.

Key Stage Two

As children grow older and develop their mathematical thinking, it is good to encourage them to see the practical and real-life applications of maths. There are a number of ways to do this:

Shopping and saving money Children love using and handling coins and notes in real life situations and role play games alike. By encouraging children to work out the total cost or calculating the change when buying food at the shops, they can practice their calculation skills.

Cooking and baking A great opportunity to develop lots of maths skills, including measuring the mass of ingredients and the volume of liquids and telling the time and calculating durations of time.

Telling the time  Using clocks, watches and other digital displays of the time can help children to develop their maths skills and prepare them for later life.

Apps and Websites There are plenty of online resources and apps that children can use to practise their maths skills including MyMaths and PurpleMash which all children at Springfield have access to.

Puzzles and Problems Sudoku and crossword puzzles can also be great ways to develop your child’s number awareness and problem solving skills.