Maths
Marvellous Maths!
At Windmill Primary School, we aim to inspire all children to reach their full academic potential. In Mathematics, this means ensuring a curriculum that is fully inclusive for all, which develops children’s knowledge and understanding of mathematical concepts whilst enabling them to apply their skills effectively.
We aim to develop in children a love of numbers and the aspiration to solve problems. Speaking and listening is a big part of our mathematical learning environment, and we aim to give children the confidence to talk in full sentences about how and why they have used certain strategies.
As Mathematics is such an important life skill, we have fully embraced the new curriculum and have introduced a ‘Mastery’ approach to our lessons. The ‘White Rose’ scheme of learning is taught across the school, allowing pupils to spend longer on key mathematical concepts, most noticeably numbers. During these longer units, pupils will see mathematics in a real life context, before moving at an appropriate pace from the concrete/pictorial approach (supported by different manipulatives including Numicon and dienes) to the abstract.
We focus closed on FLUENCY at Windmill. Please click on your child's year group document below to view the full document giving guidance on developing your son or daughter's place value skills.
Regular times table challenges, number bonds songs, computer maths games, board games or outdoor activities may be used at any time in the school day, to support all children in developing their mental maths skills.
We focus closely on times table fluency and Reception children enjoy fun games and counting in 2’s and 5’s and 10’s. Year 1 focuses on the multiplication facts of the 2’s, 5’s and 10’s. Year 2 enjoy the challenge of multiplication and division facts for the 2’s and 5’s and 10’s. They start to learn the 3 times tables before moving into KS2. The Year 3 children consolidate the 2’s, 5’s, 10’s, 3’s and then progress to the 4’s and 8’s. That leaves the 6’s, 7’s, 9’s, 11’s and 12’s for Year 4!
From the 2019/20 academic year onwards, all schools in England will be required to administer an online multiplication tables check (MTC) to Year 4 pupils. The National Curriculum specifies that pupils should be taught to recall the multiplication tables up to and including 12 × 12 by the end of year 4.
The purpose of the MTC is to determine whether pupils can recall their times tables fluently, which is essential for future success in mathematics.
In order to further promote creativity, and to support progress in school and at home, Windmill subscribes to ‘Purple Mash’ - a popular learning tool that encourages our pupils to develop their mathematical skills in a variety of ways. Home learning may be set from this website.
At Windmill Primary School, we can often be seen ‘GOING APE’!
‘Answer it, Prove it, Explain it, … APE,’ challenges are planned to extend and deepen the learning of pupils. This might be through exploring different ways to solve the same problem, responding to or creating their own generalisations, providing them with questions where there is no clear signpost so they have to devise their own strategies to tackle them effectively, or explaining ideas or misconceptions that have arisen. We strive to put the magic into learning so that pupils develop mathematical fluency, reasoning and problem solving skills, and of course a love of number!
What’s the website about?
BBC Bitesize is the gold standard when it comes to getting help for your child with their maths homework, and it’s good for parents who are struggling with the new curriculum being used in schools too! It’s not just getting to grips with whether your child is in Key Stage 2 or Key Stage 1 – but what about the methods now used? Chunking anyone?
Handy to know
All topics on the Bitesize website are organised by year group and curriculum, so you’ll be secure in the knowledge that your child will be working at the right level. Short videos make learning enjoyable and accessible, and the sheer amount of information on offer on this website should make it the first stop for maths homework help!
Explore BBC Bitesize
Hit the Button - What’s the website about?
Perfect for helping your children get their heads around the basics in an engaging way, Hit the Button is an interactive maths game with quickfire questions on:
- Number bonds
- Times tables
- Doubling and halving
- Multiples
- Division facts
- Square numbers
The games work against the clock so are great for developing your child’s mental maths skills at primary school.
Handy to know
In addition to the fun and interactive nature of the maths games, it also has a dedicated section on parental tips and tricks for the best ways to support your child throughout their learning.
Hit the Button Game
Maths Zone - What’s the website about?
Maths Zone describes itself as ‘cool learning games’, and it’s just that. Need some help with frustrating fractions homework? There’s a free maths game for that on Maths Zone. Place value proving problematic? There’s a free maths app for that too…. Absolutely jam-packed with fun ways to learn more about maths, this site is ideal for children that like task-based learning and are motivated by tech, as the games are fast paced and full of action.
Handy to know
Each game starts with a short video to show how it’s played, so this should result in fewer calls of “Mum/Dad, I don’t know how to do it!” coming from the living room.
Please have a look at our important maths documents found on this website page. You can read our Maths Policy or look through the Calculations Policy to see how we teach key aspects of the arithmetic curriculum.
