Maths

Intent

At Milverton Community Primary and Pre-School, our aim is to ensure that every child develops a secure understanding of mathematical concepts, fluency in key skills and confidence in applying their knowledge to solve problems. We aim to foster curiosity, resilience and a lifelong appreciation of maths, enabling all pupils to become successful and independent learners.

Our curriculum is carefully sequenced to build knowledge and understanding over time. We recognise that maths is a cumulative subject, where new concepts build upon prior learning and success relies on children making connections between ideas, developing secure number sense and recalling key facts with confidence. We therefore aim to ensure that mathematical knowledge is embedded, remembered and readily applied, enabling pupils to reason mathematically and solve problems in a range of meaningful contexts.

Maths at Milverton reflects our school values of We Care, We Aspire and We Belong. We encourage children to care for their own learning and support others through collaboration, discussion and mutual respect. We nurture aspiration by fostering perseverance, independence and confidence when tackling mathematical challenges. We ensure that every child feels they belong within our mathematics community through an inclusive curriculum that enables all pupils, regardless of starting point or background, to achieve success and experience the enjoyment of learning mathematics.

Through our Mathematics curriculum, we strive to equip pupils with the knowledge, understanding and positive attitudes they need to thrive both in school and in their future lives.

Implementation

Our Maths curriculum is implemented through a mastery approach that enables all pupils to develop a deep and secure understanding of mathematical concepts. Learning is carefully sequenced using small-step progression, ensuring that new knowledge builds upon prior learning and that pupils develop confidence before moving on to more complex ideas. This approach allows children to make meaningful connections across different areas of maths, strengthening both understanding and long-term retention.

In Reception, children follow the NCETM Mastering Number programme alongside high-quality play-based learning opportunities, developing strong number sense and establishing firm mathematical foundations from the earliest stages of learning.

From Year 1 to Year 6, teachers use the White Rose Maths scheme to provide a coherent and progressive curriculum that supports fluency, reasoning and problem solving. 

Across the school, pupils are supported through the consistent use of manipulatives and pictorial representations, helping them to develop conceptual understanding before moving towards more abstract mathematical thinking. The NCETM Mastering Number programme continues in Years 1 and 2 as additional daily practice to build fluency and automaticity with number facts and is used as an intervention in Year 3 to support pupils who require further consolidation of key concepts. From Year 3 onwards, TT Rock Stars provides regular opportunities for pupils to develop rapid recall and fluency of multiplication and division facts.

To strengthen memory and retrieval, pupils in Key Stage 2 participate in daily recall and recap activities that revisit previously taught knowledge and skills. This regular practice helps pupils retain core mathematical knowledge, build connections between concepts and apply their learning confidently in a range of contexts. Through this mastery-focused approach, pupils are supported to achieve success and develop as confident mathematicians.