Maths

At Rushy Meadow, we believe that in order to be successful mathematicians, children must develop a deep conceptual understanding of number. We know this starts from a very young age, and that the building blocks for complex maths reasoning are generally developed in EYFS. It is vital that during their time in Nursery and Reception children develop a deep understanding of number as research shows that early maths skills are one of the strongest predictors of later academic achievement.

Please look at our EYFS Number Foundations document below for ideas on how to develop children’s early maths skills at home.

We encourage parents to play an active role in supporting their child through their mathematical journey. In order to learn, it is vital that children have a positive mindset in maths. To best support your child at home, please see our calculation policies below. These have been devised to meet requirements of the National Curriculum for the teaching and learning of mathematics, and are also designed to give pupils a consistent and smooth progression of learning in calculations across the school.

At Rushy Meadow, we aim for children to acquire a deep, long-term, secure and adaptable understanding of maths, and want to give pupils the best chances of mastering maths. This includes developing children's fluency with number facts, mental calculations and times tables. 

Throughout the week, time is allocated to arithmetic, where children are taught key arithmetic skills for their year group, outlined in the attachment End of year fluency expectations by year group below. Generic arithmetic skills, such as choosing an appropriate mental or written strategy for a calculation, using estimating and rounding to support calculations, and checking answers for accuracy and reasonableness are also taught during these sessions.

Assessment

We regularly assess children to track their progress towards meeting the end of year expected standards (see NC Maths Key Objectives below). This enables teachers to identify and target gaps in pupils' knowledge and understanding, and consider carefully what gaps, barriers or misconceptions children may have. Termly assessments are shared with parents and carers at our parent teacher consultation evenings so that they are aware of the skills their children are able to apply and areas for development.

To see which key skills are taught in each year group and how the skills progress from EYFS to Year 6, please see the document below titled: Subject Skills Progression – Maths.