At The Crescent Primary School we strive to develop our children into self-motivated, confident learners who are able to use and apply mathematics in a wide range of situations through the use of the White Rose maths scheme. Our maths curriculum allows our pupils to develop a curiosity for maths as well as an enjoyment and passion for the subject. We recognise that mathematics is uniquely powerful in helping children to make sense of, and describe, our world and in enabling them to solve problems.

Maths curriculum

“A high-quality mathematics education provides a foundation for understanding the world, theability to reason mathematically, an appreciation of the beauty and power of mathematics, and a sense of enjoyment and curiosity about the subject.” (National Curriculum 2014

In 2014 a new mathematics curriculum was introduced which become statutory for all pupils from September 2015.

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

Maths across the curriculum

Although the mathematics curriculum is organised as a discrete subject, there are many potential cross-curricular activities.  Making links between areas of learning deepens children’s understanding by providing opportunities to reinforce and enhance learning.  Learning is enhanced by:

• Giving further opportunities to practise taught skills in a purposeful way in other areas of the curriculum.
• Providing real experiences, context and meaning for the development of core mathematical skills.
• Assisting memory through providing opportunities for children to use skills in a different context.
• Providing opportunities for the application of knowledge in new contexts, to involve children in higher order thinking skills, such as reasoning and problem solving.
• Providing opportunities for learners to recognise and develop key aspects of learning, e.g. looking for patterns and relationships, problem solving and reasoning.
• Using ICT (ipads, laptops, online maths programmes, software and games) to collect and manipulate data and encourage collaborative learning between pupils.

Calculation policy

Under the new maths curriculum (2014) the expectation is “By the end of year 6, pupils should be fluent in written methods for all 4 operations, including long multiplication and division, and in working with fractions, decimals and percentages.” Our calculation Policy, which has been written in line with the programmes of study taken from the revised National Curriculum for Mathematics (2014) provides guidance on appropriate calculation methods and progression. The content is set out in yearly blocks under the following headings: addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. Statements taken directly from the programmes of study are listed in bold at the beginning of each section.

Times Tables

Learning times tables is an essential part of your child’s mathematical education. Children who have mastered their tables gain a solid foundation in mathematics that will help them throughout their progression within the subject. Many children are able to recite in order, their timetables, but to truly know the answer to any times table question independently is a skill that takes a lot of hard work. The national expectation for timestables by year group are as follows:

• Year 1 – Count in multiples of twos, fives and tens (to the 10th multiple)
• Year 2 – recall and use multiplication facts for the 2, 5 and 10 multiplication tables and show that multiplication of two numbers can be done in any order (commutative)
• Year 3 – recall and use multiplication and division facts for the 3, 4 and 8 multiplication tables
• Year 4 – recall multiplication facts for multiplication tables up to 12 × 12
• Year 5 & 6 – Consolidating and applying (Mastery)

By the time children reach the end of KS2, the expectation is that their times tables should be secure so that they are able to answer any times table question mentally within a five second period.