Mathematics is part of everyday life; whatever jobs our children may go on to do will involve maths. We want our children to understand the number system and become fluent in their recall of facts in order to use them when completing calculations and solving problems. This fluency supports children so that they can apply concepts, make links, deepen understanding and achieve success.
Children are encouraged to use concrete materials when meeting new concepts. They have lots of practice with manipulatives before moving on to pictorial representations and finally to abstract concepts. Manipulatives are available in all classes for the children to self-select when they need them.
We aim to enable the children to develop skills for decision making, logical thinking and reasoning for everyday situations, investigations in other areas of their curriculum and within maths itself.
Our children are given opportunities to challenge themselves and persevere when these challenges become tricky. They are encouraged to understand that there may be different ways to solve problems and to choose appropriate strategies. They are also taught to explain how they have worked through a problem using mathematical language. Through encouraging a ‘Growth Mindset’, we aim to develop the idea that Maths is for everyone.