Maths

Maths Curriculum Intent

At Our Lady Mother of the Saviour Catholic Primary School, our maths curriculum is designed to develop pupils’ confidence, fluency and understanding so that they can use mathematics effectively in a range of contexts. We aim to foster a positive attitude towards maths by ensuring that pupils experience success, develop secure mathematical foundations and understand the relevance of maths in everyday life.

The curriculum is carefully sequenced so that pupils build secure knowledge and skills over time, with a strong emphasis on number, calculation, reasoning and problem-solving. New learning builds on prior knowledge, allowing pupils to make connections between mathematical concepts and apply their understanding with increasing confidence and accuracy.

Strong foundations are established in the early years through the development of number sense, counting, pattern and comparison. As pupils progress through the school, they deepen their understanding of mathematical concepts and develop fluency, reasoning and problem-solving skills through regular practice and application.

Our maths curriculum is ambitious and inclusive, designed to be accessible to all pupils, including those with SEND and those who may face barriers to learning. By the end of primary school, pupils will have developed the mathematical knowledge, skills and confidence needed to be numerate, reason mathematically and solve problems effectively in everyday situations.

Maths Subject Overview

The mathematics subject overview shows how key mathematical knowledge and skills are organised and revisited across each year group to support progression, fluency and retention over time.

How Maths is Taught

Mathematics is taught through a carefully sequenced curriculum that builds pupils’ knowledge, fluency and understanding progressively over time. Teaching is guided by the White Rose Maths scheme, which supports a coherent and cumulative approach to learning where new concepts build securely on prior knowledge. Lessons place a strong emphasis on developing fluency in number and calculation alongside reasoning and problem-solving. Mathematical concepts are introduced in small steps and explored in depth, allowing pupils to develop a secure understanding before moving on. Pupils are supported to represent mathematical ideas using concrete resources, pictorial representations and abstract symbols, helping them to understand concepts deeply and make connections between them. Teaching includes clear modelling, guided practice and opportunities for pupils to explain their thinking using accurate mathematical vocabulary. Carefully chosen questions and tasks support pupils to reason, justify and apply their understanding in a range of contexts.

In the early years, children develop strong mathematical foundations through number sense, counting, comparison and pattern, supported by practical resources and purposeful talk. As pupils move through the school, they build confidence and accuracy in applying their mathematical understanding, using what they know to solve problems with increasing independence.

Adaptive Teaching

Our mathematics curriculum is designed to be inclusive and accessible to all pupils, including those with SEND and those who may face barriers to learning. Adaptations are made through high-quality teaching so that all pupils can access the same mathematical content and develop secure understanding utilising a mastery approach. Mathematical concepts are taught in small, carefully sequenced steps, allowing pupils time to develop understanding before moving on. Concrete resources and pictorial representations are used alongside abstract methods to support pupils in making sense of new ideas and building confidence in their learning.

Teaching includes clear modelling, guided practice and structured support to help pupils understand mathematical processes. Tasks may be adapted through additional scaffolding, visual prompts or targeted questioning to support pupils in accessing learning and explaining their thinking. Opportunities for repetition and revisiting key concepts are built into lessons to support retention and fluency. Where needed, pupils may receive additional support to consolidate understanding, ensuring that all pupils are supported to make progress and experience success in mathematics.

Impact

The impact of our mathematics curriculum is that pupils develop secure mathematical knowledge, confidence and fluency, enabling them to apply their understanding across a range of contexts. Pupils demonstrate increasing accuracy in number and calculation and are able to reason mathematically, explain their thinking and solve problems using appropriate strategies and vocabulary. They make connections between mathematical concepts and use what they know to tackle new challenges. By the end of primary school, pupils have developed a secure understanding of key mathematical concepts, confidence in working with number and the ability to reason and problem-solve effectively, preparing them for the next stage of their mathematical learning and everyday life.

Key Skills

Key Skills provides dedicated time for pupils to develop secure arithmetic fluency across the school. In Year 1 and Year 2, this is delivered through the Mastering Number programme, which focuses on developing strong number sense, understanding of number composition and confidence with number facts. This programme supports pupils in securing the foundations needed for future mathematical learning through carefully sequenced, structured practice. In Years 3 to 6, Key Skills is taught as a discrete weekly session and focuses on the development of core arithmetic skills. These sessions provide protected time for pupils to revisit and secure previously taught content through purposeful overlearning. Intelligent repetition is built into the model across the school year, allowing pupils to strengthen recall, accuracy and efficiency in calculation.

Key Skills sessions are deliberately focused and stripped back, with no additional hooks or contextual tasks. The emphasis is on mastering the basics of arithmetic so that pupils can apply their knowledge confidently within their main mathematics lessons. Teaching assistants support learning during these sessions, enabling pupils to practise key skills with guidance and feedback where needed. Progress within Key Skills is monitored through ongoing teacher assessment and regular monitoring alongside mathematics. The same adaptive teaching approaches used within mathematics lessons are applied within Key Skills sessions to ensure that all pupils, including those with SEND, can access and benefit from this focused arithmetic practice.

Multiplication and Division Facts

Developing secure multiplication and division fact fluency is a key priority within our mathematics curriculum. Leaders have identified that, while pupils demonstrate strong conceptual understanding and calculation strategies, some pupils have not consistently developed the speed and automaticity needed to recall multiplication and corresponding division facts efficiently. This has been most clearly highlighted through analysis of the Multiplication Tables Check (MTC) and pupil-level assessment information.

In response, the school has implemented a carefully designed, whole-school approach to the teaching of multiplication and division facts from Year 1 through to Year 6. This approach is deliberately cumulative and sustainable, focusing on strengthening automatic recall through consistent practice over time while maintaining a strong emphasis on conceptual understanding. Pupils take part in daily, short fluency sessions focused specifically on multiplication and division facts. These sessions prioritise frequent rehearsal, pattern recognition and overlearning, enabling pupils to move from partial knowledge towards secure, automatic recall. Practice is structured to include counting, chanting, games, in-order rehearsal and mixed practice, ensuring that pupils can recall facts reliably rather than relying on counting or derived strategies.

Content is carefully mapped across the school year so that new facts are introduced gradually and previously taught facts remain in regular rotation. This ensures that learning is not “ticked off” but revisited and strengthened over time. Corresponding division facts are taught alongside multiplication facts to support a connected understanding of inverse relationships. Assessment is used to make fluency visible and inform teaching. Low-stakes, regular checks are used to monitor recall and identify where further practice or support is needed. This information is used formatively by teachers and leaders to ensure consistency and impact across classes and year groups.