“What sciences can there be more noble, more excellent, more excellent, more useful for people, more admirably high and demonstrative than maths?”
Benjamin Franklin
| Our Curriculum Intent |
The intent of the mathematics curriculum at Lingfield Primary School is founded on the belief that all children can be mathematicians. The curriculum is designed to ensure that every child develops factual fluency, procedural fluency and flexible fluency, enabling them to reason mathematically, solve problems confidently and apply their learning in a range of contexts. It aims to foster a lifelong love of mathematics while preparing pupils for success in secondary education, the workplace and everyday life. The curriculum is carefully sequenced so that children learn mathematical concepts in the right order, revisit key knowledge through systematic retrieval, and secure essential understanding before moving on to new learning. Through a mastery approach, high expectations for all, and a commitment to removing barriers to learning, the curriculum ensures that every child can achieve mathematical excellence.
| Key Elements of Maths Intent |
- All children to become fluent mathematicians who understand the relative size of numbers at all levels and are able to move fluently between operations and representations;
- Our children to be confident, resilient mathematicians with a “can do” attitude, who enjoy the subject;
- All children to be secure in the key age related expectations, building on their learning progressively from year to year;
- We intend for all our children to reach the expected standards at the end of each key stage, and exceed them where possible;
- Children to have the ability to confidently solve problems through decision-making and reasoning in a range of contexts;
- Children to understand the importance of mathematics in everyday life and that it underpins all subjects;
- Children to be equipped for the next stage of education, work and life.
| The Mastery Approach |
Throughout the school, we use a mastery approach to teaching and learning which meets the aims and objectives of the National Curriculum. Mastering Maths means pupils acquire a deep, long-term, secure and adaptable understanding of the subject.
The school uses the concrete – pictorial – abstract approach to help pupils develop a deep understanding of maths. Concrete manipulatives are used throughout the key stages, with all abilities and all ages, so pupils are given the tools to understand the problem in front of them. It helps learners to be more secure in their understanding, they are given the opportunity to discover new ideas and spot the patterns, which will help them reach the answer, and it gives pupils a firm foundation for future learning. Pupils then build on this concrete approach by using pictorial representations. These representations can be used to reason and solve problems. With the foundations firmly laid, pupils can then move to an abstract approach using numbers and key concepts with confidence. There won’t necessarily be a linear progression from concrete to pictorial to abstract but instead a cyclical approach will be applied e.g. when a pupil has worked out the answer using an abstract method, they could be asked to use concrete manipulatives to convince others that they are correct.
The school uses this concrete – pictorial – abstract approach to promote and develop children’s fluency, reasoning and problem solving and to help all children deepen their understanding of concepts.
“It’s not that I’m so smart, it’s just that I stay with problems longer.” – Albert Einstein
Our maths lessons are carefully planned to ensure that every child achieves their full potential and is encouraged to think deeply and critically about their learning. We make maths enjoyable and meaningful by using interactive games, fun challenges and real-life problem-solving activities that help children see how maths connects to the world around them.
We truly believe that every child can succeed in maths, and we work hard to build their confidence and enjoyment of the subject so they believe it too.
We understand that the way maths is taught today can feel quite different from how many parents learned it at school. If you’d like to find out more about our approach or how best to support your child at home, please don’t hesitate to speak to your child’s class teacher — we’re always happy to help.
| Fact Fluency |
It is essential for children to have a solid understanding of number facts appropriate to their year group and the maths they are learning. Without this foundation, learners spend excessive mental energy on basic calculations instead of exploring and practising new concepts. Their experiences in later years build directly on these early skills.
Factual fluency is the ability to work flexibly with numbers. It allows children to understand how our number system functions and how numbers relate to one another. Those who develop factual fluency have a toolkit of mathematical strategies, knowing not only when to use them but also how to adapt them to different problems. In contrast, children with limited factual fluency often focus on rigid procedures, relying on familiar methods. This can lead to inefficient strategies and missed opportunities to make connections that could simplify calculations.
At Lingfield, we foster factual fluency from Reception through Year 6, aiming to enhance both the speed and accuracy of calculation strategies. Our structured and systematic approach helps children build key visual pathways and understand important number relationships. This supports a deep comprehension of numbers, fluency in addition and subtraction, and overall confidence in arithmetic. Ultimately, our goal is for all children to become competent and confident with numbers as they engage in mathematical problem-solving.
| Multiplication Tables |
The school promotes multiplication tables through practise. All children from Reception work on knowing their tables, all children in school wear a multiplication wrist band to help them learn them each day.
TTRockstars supports the learning of multiplication tables at home and at school.
| Our Maths Curriculum |
Maths Leader – Mrs Park
| Maths Curriculum Sequences by Year Groups |
| Parent Support – Maths at Lingfield |
| APPs and Website to Support Your Child’s Learning |
