Maths

Learning in Maths

Mathematics is a creative and highly inter-connected discipline that has been developed over centuries, providing the solution to some of history’s most intriguing problems. It is essential to everyday life, critical to science, technology and engineering, and necessary for financial literacy and most forms of employment.

A high-quality mathematics education therefore provides a foundation for understanding the world, the ability to reason mathematically, an appreciation of the beauty and power of mathematics, and a sense of enjoyment and curiosity about the subject.

All the teaching staff at Moorings Way Infant School are working with Meon Infant and Meon Junior School colleagues to identify how our curriculum will meet the needs of our children across the three schools.

We believe it is important to plan the learning journey of the children from Year R to Year 6. Even though we are an Infant School, this does not stop us looking forward to what the children will learn next. This is vitally important. As three schools, we have worked together to produce a joint intention of what we want the children to learn. 

The national curriculum for mathematics aims to ensure that all pupils:

  • become fluent in the fundamentals of mathematics, including through varied and frequent practice with increasingly complex problems over time, so that pupils develop conceptual understanding and the ability to recall and apply knowledge rapidly and accurately.
  • reason mathematically by following a line of enquiry, conjecturing relationships and generalisations, and developing an argument, justification or proof using mathematical language
  • can solve problems by applying their mathematics to a variety of routine and non-routine problems with increasing sophistication, including breaking down problems into a series of simpler steps and persevering in seeking solutions.

Mathematics is an interconnected subject in which pupils need to be able to move fluently between representations of mathematical ideas. The programmes of study are, by necessity, organised into apparently distinct domains, but pupils should make rich connections across mathematical ideas to develop fluency, mathematical reasoning and competence in solving increasingly sophisticated problems. They should also apply their mathematical knowledge to science and other subjects.

The expectation is that the majority of pupils will move through the programmes of study at broadly the same pace. However, decisions about when to progress should always be based on the security of pupils’ understanding and their readiness to progress to the next stage. Pupils who grasp concepts rapidly should be challenged through being offered rich and sophisticated problems before any acceleration through new content. Those who are not sufficiently fluent with earlier material should consolidate their understanding, including through additional practice, before moving on.

Mathematics learning is fundamental for ensuring children find their place in the world.

A mathematician at Moorings Way will be excited by their lessons. They will find patterns, make connections and use their mathematical knowledge to solve problems. The mathematicians will be able to reason their conclusions and take you on their journey of how they solved the problem using their mastery of number knowledge and mathematical skills.

We use the concrete – pictorial – abstract approach to maths mastery teaching and aim to encapsulate and emerse children in mathematical learning in a fun, hands on and real life approach.

Useful Websites

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Oxford Owl includes a range of activities, top tips and eBooks to help your child with their maths at home.

National Numeracy Parent Toolkit has a wealth of tips and advice for parents.

Nrich. A range of maths games, problems and articles on all areas of maths. Parents of Key Stage 1 children should select ‘stage 1’.

Use BBC Bitesize to help with your homework, revision and learning. Find free videos, step-by-step guides, activities and quizzes
Topmarks has a range of games and resources to practice your skills in an interactive and fun way. 
Math explained in easy language, plus puzzles, games, worksheets and an illustrated dictionary
Free to use website with interactive games made by a UK Teacher for pupils. 
Great for pupils looking to improve upon a weak point of their maths knowledge, this site has games for all the fundamentals. 
Games & Teaching Tools for the Home and Primary Classroom.
Games, Auto-Scoring Quizzes, Flash Cards, Worksheets, and tons of resources to teach kids the multiplication facts.