Mathematics
At Brierley, we want every child to become a confident, fluent and resilient mathematician who enjoys working with numbers, recognises patterns and relationships, and can use mathematics to make sense of the world around them. From the earliest mathematical experiences in the Early Years through to increasingly complex learning in Year 6, our curriculum is carefully sequenced to build secure foundations, deepen understanding and develop fluency, reasoning and problem-solving.
Strong Foundations from the Beginning
Mathematical development begins as soon as children join Brierley. In the Early Years, children develop early number sense and mathematical understanding through purposeful teaching, practical experiences, mathematical talk, stories, games, routines and play. Children explore number, quantity, pattern, shape, space and measure and are encouraged to notice relationships, make comparisons and explain what they can see. These early experiences provide the foundations for the increasingly abstract mathematics children encounter as they move through school.
How We Teach Mathematics
We believe that every child can succeed in mathematics. Teaching is carefully sequenced so that new learning builds on what pupils already know. Teachers break concepts into manageable steps, model mathematical thinking clearly and give children regular opportunities to practise, explain and apply their learning. We want children to understand why mathematics works, rather than simply remember a collection of procedures. Important concepts are therefore revisited and strengthened over time, allowing pupils to develop a secure and connected understanding of mathematics.
Concrete, Pictorial and Abstract Learning
We use a Concrete, Pictorial and Abstract approach to help children understand mathematical ideas and structures. Children may begin by exploring a concept using practical resources such as counters, cubes, number lines or place value equipment. They then make connections to pictures, diagrams and mathematical representations before moving towards increasingly abstract notation and calculation. These representations help pupils see relationships, explain their thinking and develop a deeper understanding of mathematical concepts.
Fluency
Fluency is an important foundation for successful mathematics. Children need secure number knowledge and efficient recall of important facts so that they can concentrate on increasingly complex reasoning and problem-solving. Daily mathematics provides regular opportunities to practise and retrieve important knowledge. From Years 2 to 6, pupils also complete daily mental arithmetic sessions alongside their mathematics lessons. Fluency is not simply about speed. We want children to understand relationships between numbers, recognise patterns, choose efficient strategies and calculate confidently and accurately.
Times Tables and Number Facts
Secure number facts provide important foundations for future mathematical learning. From Year 2, pupils follow a carefully sequenced programme for learning, practising and securing multiplication and division facts. This prepares children for the Year 4 Multiplication Tables Check, but our ambition goes much further than preparation for a statutory assessment. Fluent multiplication knowledge enables pupils to work more confidently with calculation, fractions, ratio, proportion and many other areas of mathematics. Pupils in Years 5 and 6 continue to revisit multiplication and division facts regularly so that this important knowledge remains secure.
Mathematical Reasoning and Talk
We want children to think and talk like mathematicians. Children are regularly encouraged to explain how they know, justify their answers, compare different methods, identify patterns and make mathematical connections. Teachers model and expect the use of accurate mathematical vocabulary. Talking about mathematics helps children organise their thinking, learn from one another and develop increasingly logical and precise explanations. We want pupils to understand that explaining how they reached an answer can be just as important as finding the answer itself.
Problem-Solving
Problem-solving is an important part of mathematics at Brierley. Children learn to apply their knowledge to familiar problems before tackling increasingly unfamiliar and multi-step challenges. Teachers model how to read problems carefully, identify important information, choose an appropriate strategy and consider whether an answer is reasonable. Children learn that successful problem-solving may involve trying different approaches, making mistakes and persevering. In this way, mathematics helps develop independence, flexibility, confidence and resilience.
Revisiting and Remembering
We know that important mathematical knowledge needs to be revisited if it is to become secure. Every mathematics lesson begins with our Flashback 4 activities, giving children opportunities to retrieve and apply previous learning. Termly consolidation weeks provide additional opportunities to revisit important concepts, strengthen understanding and address any gaps.
Our teaching follows the principle of I do, we do, you do. Teachers initially model new learning clearly, children then practise with support before increasingly applying their knowledge independently.
A Sequenced Curriculum
Our plans ensure that mathematical knowledge and skills develop progressively from the Early Years through to Year 6. Learning objectives are broken down into manageable steps, helping children understand how learning develops within each mathematical concept.
Our whole-school progression documents help teachers identify what pupils have previously learned, what they need to learn now and what comes next. This allows new learning to build securely on strong foundations.
Supporting Every Child
We have high expectations for every child and do not place an artificial ceiling on what pupils can achieve. Learning is based on age-related expectations wherever appropriate, while teachers carefully adapt teaching to ensure children can access new mathematical ideas. Support may include practical resources, different representations, additional modelling, scaffolded examples, targeted practice or revisiting earlier mathematical knowledge. Where children have gaps in their understanding, teachers identify the foundational knowledge that needs strengthening and provide appropriate teaching and practice.
Where pupils are working significantly below age-related expectations, teachers draw on earlier stages of our whole-school progression and appropriate assessment materials to identify the knowledge and skills that need to be secured. Pupils who grasp concepts quickly are encouraged to deepen their understanding through reasoning and explanation. Our aim is always to remove barriers while maintaining ambition.
Assessment and Feedback
Teachers use questioning, discussion, observation and pupils' work to understand what children know and where further teaching or practice may be required. Feedback is given during learning wherever possible so that misconceptions can be addressed quickly.
Teachers use assessment to decide whether children are ready to progress, require further practice or would benefit from a concept being represented or explained differently. More formal assessment also helps us identify strengths, gaps and patterns in learning over time.
The purpose of assessment is simple: to understand what children know, what they can do and what they need to learn next.
Mathematics Beyond the Classroom
Mathematics is an important part of everyday life. Children have opportunities to apply mathematical knowledge across other curriculum areas, including Science, Computing, Geography, Design and Technology and Physical Education.
We also help pupils recognise mathematics in everyday experiences involving money, time, measures, shape, patterns, data and problem-solving.
We want children to understand that mathematics is not something that only happens during a maths lesson. It is a powerful way of understanding and interacting with the world around us.
How You Can Help Your Child at Home
Parents and carers play an important role in helping children develop confidence and enjoyment in mathematics. Maths at home does not need to mean completing worksheets. Everyday experiences provide lots of opportunities to talk about numbers, patterns, shape, measures and problem-solving.
You can help your child by:
counting forwards and backwards and practising number facts
practising times tables and related division facts
involving children in shopping and using money
telling the time and talking about how long activities take
cooking together and measuring ingredients
looking for shapes, numbers and patterns in the environment
playing board games, card games and puzzles
asking your child to explain how they worked something out
encouraging them to try a different approach if something is difficult
praising effort, perseverance and mathematical thinking as well as correct answers
One of the most valuable things families can do is talk positively about mathematics. We want children to understand that mathematical ability is something that develops through learning, practice, thinking and perseverance.
Times Tables Rock Stars
We use Times Tables Rock Stars in school to help children develop fluent recall of multiplication and division facts. Regular, short practice helps pupils strengthen their recall and become increasingly confident when applying times table knowledge across other areas of mathematics.
We make Times Tables Rock Stars part of the fun of maths at Brierley. Each week, we celebrate children's effort, progress and achievement with certificates in assembly, and year groups take part in friendly competitions against one another. These challenges create a real buzz around times tables, encourage regular practice and help children build confidence, fluency and pride in their achievements.
Children can use their Brierley Times Tables Rock Stars login to practise at home.
Times Tables Rock Stars https://play.ttrockstars.com/
Information for Parents and Carers https://ttrockstars.com/parents/
Useful Mathematics Resources
Families may also find the following websites useful for developing mathematical thinking at home.
NRICH provides free mathematical problems, puzzles and challenges designed to encourage curiosity, reasoning and problem-solving.
NRICH Mathematics https://nrich.maths.org/parents/primary
White Rose Education provides resources and activities to help families explore mathematics together.
White Rose Maths Parent Resources https://whiteroseeducation.com/parent-pupil-resources/maths
Most importantly, we want mathematics at home to remain positive and enjoyable. Talking, playing, noticing patterns and solving everyday problems together can all help children become more confident mathematicians.
Knowing Our Curriculum Is Working
Our staff make sure that teaching remains ambitious, coherent and progressive. Pupils' work, assessment information, discussions with children, lesson visits and curriculum monitoring help us understand how securely pupils have learned the mathematics that has been taught. This allows us to celebrate strengths, identify gaps and make informed decisions about future teaching, curriculum development and staff development. We are interested not simply in whether something has been taught, but whether children have understood it, remembered it and can use it.
Confident Mathematicians
By the time children leave Brierley, we want them to have secure mathematical foundations and a positive attitude towards mathematics. We want pupils to be fluent with important number facts, confident in selecting appropriate strategies and able to reason, explain and solve problems independently. When mathematics becomes challenging, we want children to persevere, draw on what they already know and believe that they can succeed. We aim to develop confident and resilient mathematicians who are ready for the next stage of their education and understand the importance of mathematics in everyday life.
