Maths

Subject Leader: Lily Wood

Our Vision

Maths is fundamental to everyday life. It provides the tools and understanding children need to navigate the world with confidence, from calculating the amount of money needed to purchase something, weighing ingredients when cooking, or telling the time to stay punctual. Maths lessons should be full of exciting opportunities that allow children to be explorative in their learning and to solve problems in a range of contexts.

At Hartwell, we aim to inspire a lifelong positive attitude towards maths by creating engaging, supportive and challenging learning experiences for pupils. Our goal is to ensure every child develops strong number skills, resilience, and self-assurance, empowering them to approach mathematical problems with curiosity, confidence and enjoyment.

Maths Policy 25-26

Intent, Implementation and Impact

Intent

At Hartwell Primary School, we believe that all pupils can succeed in mathematics. Our curriculum is designed to ensure that every child develops secure mathematical knowledge, fluency in key skills, and the ability to reason and problem solve with confidence.

Mathematics is carefully sequenced from Early Years to Key Stage 2, enabling pupils to build on prior knowledge and make meaningful connections across concepts. The curriculum is aligned with the National Curriculum aims of fluency, reasoning, and problem solving, and is structured to move from concrete to pictorial to abstract understanding.

We aim for pupils to:

develop fluency and automaticity in key number facts
reason using precise mathematical vocabulary
apply understanding to increasingly complex problems
develop confidence, independence, and a growth mind-set
recognise the relevance of maths in everyday life and future learning

Our curriculum is ambitious and inclusive. All pupils, including those with SEND and those working at greater depth, are supported and challenged to achieve well through carefully adapted teaching and high expectations for all.

Implementation

Mathematics is taught through a consistent, mastery-informed approach that prioritises deep understanding and progression in small, manageable steps.

Effective teaching strategies include:

Concrete–Pictorial–Abstract (CPA) representation
Guided and modelled practice
Frequent opportunities for mathematical talk and reasoning
Systematic development of mathematical vocabulary through stem sentences
Regular retrieval practice to strengthen retention
Application of learning through problem solving in varied contexts

The curriculum is structured to ensure progression across key domains, including number, calculation, fractions, geometry, and statistics. Prior learning is revisited regularly to support long-term retention and secure understanding.

Assessment is integral to teaching. Teachers use ongoing formative assessment—including questioning, observation, and feedback—to identify misconceptions and adapt teaching accordingly. Summative assessments are used to monitor attainment and inform targeted support or extension.

Teaching is adapted to meet the needs of all learners. This may include the use of manipulatives, scaffolding, pre-teaching, and targeted questioning. Pupils who grasp concepts quickly are provided with opportunities to deepen their understanding through reasoning and problem solving.

Subject leadership ensures consistency and quality through regular monitoring, including lesson observations, book looks, and pupil discussions. Staff receive ongoing professional development to strengthen subject knowledge and pedagogy.

Impact

The impact of our maths curriculum is that pupils leave each stage of primary school with secure knowledge, strong mathematical skills, and deep conceptual understanding. They develop fluency, reasoning, and problem-solving abilities that enable them to apply maths confidently in school and everyday life. As a result, pupils become resilient, curious, and self-assured mathematicians.

School performance data reflects this strength, with KS1 and KS2 SATs outcomes consistently above national averages. Pupils enjoy maths, talk confidently about their learning, and use manipulatives and visual strategies independently to deepen understanding.

High standards are sustained through reflective teaching practice. Lesson observations, book looks and learning walks support consistency and targeted development. Mathematics also contributes to wider school priorities by building confident, articulate learners and strengthening cross-curricular application, such as data in science, measurement in design and technology, and pattern in music.

Parents are active partners through workshops, home-learning support, and clear communication. Achievement is celebrated through school-wide recognition systems (including 144 grids, decimal grids, values tokens, dojo points in KS1 and credits in KS2), motivating pupils and promoting a growth mind-set.

Through strong outcomes, positive attitudes, reflective practice, and effective home-school partnerships, mathematics supports pupils’ academic success and personal development, preparing them for secondary learning and life beyond primary school.

The Subject Leader

As the Maths Subject Leader, my role is to oversee and support the teaching and learning of mathematics across the school. I work closely with teachers to develop effective planning, share best practice, and ensure a consistent approach to teaching number skills and problem-solving. I also monitor progress, provide training, and introduce resources and strategies that help every child build confidence and enjoy their maths learning.

Maths Subject Development Plan 25-26

Pupil Voice

We value gathering pupils’ views throughout the school year. To see the results of the latest pupil surveys and the insights they provide, please click below:

Maths Pupil Voice Survey Results November 2025

The Mathematics Curriculum at Hartwell

At Hartwell Primary School, the maths curriculum is carefully structured to ensure all children make consistent progress and develop a deep understanding of mathematical concepts. We use long-term plans to provide a clear sequence of learning and allow opportunities to revisit and consolidate previous learning. Each unit of work is divided into small steps of learning, allowing pupils to build their knowledge gradually and avoid cognitive overload. Lessons focus on key skills and incorporate important mathematical vocabulary, helping children to articulate their understanding confidently. This approach ensures that every child builds strong foundations, develops number fluency, and is prepared to apply their maths skills in everyday life.

Calculation Policy

Long Term Maps

Ready to Progress Criteria.

Maths National Curriculum Key Stage 1 and 2

Maths Vocabulary Progression

Progression Document

Maths in EYFS

In our school, our Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) maths curriculum is designed to give children a strong foundation in number and mathematical understanding. We follow the NCETM Mastering Number programme to develop fluency and confidence with key number skills, and we supplement this learning with the White Rose Maths scheme to provide a broad and engaging mathematical experience. Our curriculum carefully supports children to achieve the Early Learning Goals (ELGs), ensuring they develop the knowledge, skills and confidence to progress successfully into Key Stage 1.

SMSC in Maths

Maths at our school contributes to pupils’ spiritual, moral, social, and cultural (SMSC) development by encouraging logical thinking, problem-solving, and reflection. Through exploring real-life contexts, collaborative tasks, and ethical decision-making in data and statistics, children develop respect for different perspectives, confidence in reasoning, and an appreciation of how maths shapes the world around them.

SMSC in Maths.

Times Tables

Times tables are a fundamental part of our maths curriculum, providing the foundation for multiplication, division, and more complex mathematical concepts. We focus on helping children learn them progressively, using engaging strategies to build fluency, confidence, and speed, so they can apply their knowledge confidently in a variety of mathematical contexts and everyday life.

In Year 3, children begin striving to reach the ‘144 club’. This is a times tables challenge completed on a weekly basis in class. Once children have completed their jumbled 144 grid in less than 5 minutes, they receive a certificate in celebration assembly. In Year 4, children take a Multiplication Check to assess their knowledge and fluency of times tables, ensuring they have a solid foundation for future maths learning.

As children move further up the school, they aim to complete their decimal grid, then complete timed maths sheets, involving multiplication and division calculations with missing numbers.

144 Grids.

Maths Sheets.