Mathematics at Longlands Primary School

Knowing more, remembering more and applying mathematics with confidence

Intent

At Longlands Primary School, we believe that every child can become mathematically proficient. Our mathematics curriculum is ambitious, inclusive and carefully sequenced so that pupils build secure knowledge from Reception to Year 6. We want pupils to know more, remember more and use what they know with increasing accuracy, flexibility and independence.

The National Curriculum identifies fluency, mathematical reasoning and problem-solving as central aims of mathematics. Our curriculum develops these together. Pupils learn essential facts and concepts, efficient methods and when to select and apply them. We describe these connected forms of mathematical knowledge as:

• I know that: secure facts, concepts, vocabulary and relationships.
• I know how: accurate and efficient methods and procedures.
• I know when: choosing, adapting and applying knowledge when reasoning and solving problems.

Why we teach mathematics in this way

Mathematics is cumulative. New learning depends on secure prerequisite knowledge, particularly number sense and fluent recall. When pupils have to use too much working memory to calculate basic facts, less capacity is available for understanding a new concept or solving a complex problem. We therefore teach key facts and strategies explicitly, provide deliberate practice and revisit important knowledge over time.

We prioritise secure learning over superficial coverage. Teachers adjust the pace when assessment shows that pupils need further explanation or practice. Our aim is for pupils to understand why a method works, perform it accurately and recognise when it is useful. This provides strong foundations for later mathematics, everyday life and secondary education.

Implementation

A carefully sequenced curriculum

Our long- and medium-term plans sequence National Curriculum content in small, connected steps. Teachers identify prerequisite knowledge and likely misconceptions before teaching new content. Concepts are revisited across the year so that pupils strengthen connections and retain important knowledge. In Reception, teaching follows the EYFS educational programme for mathematics, with a strong focus on number, pattern, relationships and spatial reasoning.

A consistent lesson structure

Lessons normally move through Retrieve and Connect, Explain, I Do, We Do, You Do, and Apply, Reason and Remember. Teachers use short explanation-practice-check cycles, live modelling, worked examples, mini-whiteboards, choral response and partner discussion. Concrete resources and pictorial representations are used purposefully before, and alongside, abstract notation.

Fluency and deliberate practice

Daily fluency practice develops automatic recall and flexible use of number facts. Number Sense Maths supports the systematic teaching of additive facts and derived strategies. Target Your Maths provides structured procedural practice. Pupils gradually build number bonds, addition and subtraction facts, multiplication and related division facts, place-value relationships and other year-group recall knowledge. Practice is checked for accuracy and automaticity, not simply completed.

Reasoning and problem-solving

Reasoning and problem-solving are taught within the current mathematical unit once pupils have sufficient facts and methods to think successfully. Using I See Reasoning and I See Problem-Solving tasks, pupils learn to notice, explain, compare, justify, prove and generalise. Teachers model how to interpret a problem and select a strategy without removing the thinking from the pupil.

Mathematical language

Teachers explicitly teach mathematical vocabulary and sentence structures. Pupils rehearse complete explanations through choral response, Turn and Talk and whole-class discussion. Precise language helps pupils organise their thinking, make connections and explain why an answer or method is valid.

Supporting every child

Our approach is “keep up, not catch up”. Teachers maintain the ambitious class goal while adapting teaching through smaller steps, pre-teaching, manipulatives, additional worked examples, guided practice, extra retrieval and more time. Same-day intervention addresses a newly identified gap quickly. Where assessment shows a significant earlier gap, precision teaching targets the specific knowledge needed. Scaffolds are reviewed and reduced as independence grows.

Assessment

Assessment is embedded in everyday teaching. Teachers check prerequisite knowledge, question pupils, study mini-whiteboard responses, circulate, live mark and use exit checks to identify success, slips and misconceptions. End-of-unit assessments show which component knowledge needs to be revisited. NFER assessments are used termly alongside teachers’ wider evidence. Pupil progress meetings and curriculum monitoring consider progress and the impact of support, particularly for disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND.

Assessment information changes teaching. A shared misconception may lead to immediate re-modelling for the class; an individual gap may lead to guided practice, pre-teaching or same-day intervention. Low-stakes retrieval helps pupils practise remembering without turning every check into a high-pressure event.

Impact

The intended impact is that pupils become fluent, accurate, confident and thoughtful mathematicians. They retain important knowledge, make connections between concepts and select efficient strategies rather than relying on slow or insecure approaches.

By the end of Year 6, we expect pupils to:

• recall key number facts and multiplication and division facts with increasing automaticity;
• calculate accurately using appropriate mental and written methods;
• use representations, symbols and mathematical vocabulary precisely;
• reason, explain, justify and generalise;
• solve problems by identifying the mathematical structure and choosing an appropriate strategy;
• learn from errors and check whether answers are reasonable;
• apply mathematics across the curriculum and in meaningful contexts; and
• be well prepared for the demands of secondary mathematics.

Leaders evaluate impact through pupils’ work, discussions with pupils, lesson visits, assessment information and the progress of identified groups. This evidence is used to refine sequencing, professional development and support so that the curriculum becomes increasingly effective.

 

 

Year Group Maths Journey