Each problem that I solved became a rule which served afterwards to solve other problems.

Rene Descartes

Our Maths teaching starts with the activities in Early Years, and these practical approaches are built upon as children progress through the school. We place a great deal of emphasis on Mental Maths – making sure that children are able to work things out in their heads and explain their reasoning before moving on to written methods. The written methods used follow on from mental calculations, and so may not be the same approaches as were traditionally used – approaches such as number-line addition, grid multiplication and division by chunking are all examples which the class teacher will be happy to explain. Please consult our Calculations Policy for more detail on these strategies.

We were a ‘Pioneer School’ for the Mathematics Mastery project. This has led to a partnership with Ark Schools and the Institute of Education, looking at how elements of Maths teaching from Singapore (one of the countries with the highest Maths attainment in the world) can be integrated into the UK primary school. The project was introduced to Year 1 in September 2012. This class made incredible progress over the year. We have now expanded this project to include Reception through to Year 4, and have seen the fantastic progress continue.