Maths
The Maths Curriculum at Brentfield:
Maths is a vital life skill that underpins everyday decision making and problem solving. At Brentfield, we deliver a carefully designed maths curriculum that equips all pupils with the knowledge, skills and confidence to become fluent, resilient and curious mathematicians.
Our curriculum and teaching is underpinned by the White Rose Maths Scheme ensuring a coherent, well sequenced progression of learning.
In the Early Years, we prioritise building strong foundations by developing children's understanding of number through hands-on experiences and rich mathematical talk. A focus on subitising, counting and comparison enables children to recognise patterns, understand quantity and explore how numbers are composed and related. Children deepen and consolidate their understanding through carefully planned play opportunities. Concepts such as capacity, volume and measure are explored through sand and water, while number songs and rhymes support early counting and sequencing. Role play is a key feature of our Early Years and helps to contextualise mathematical learning, by enabling children to apply their developing skills in real-life scenarios.
As pupils move into Key Stage 1, this early understanding is developed into a deeper grasp of mathematical concepts. Children build secure knowledge of place value and develop fluency in addition and subtraction, alongside growing independence in reasoning and problem solving. The use of concrete resources and pictorial representations is a key feature of teaching in Key Stage 1, enabling children to visualise mathematical concepts and secure their understanding before moving to more abstract methods.
In Key Stage 2, learning builds on the strong foundations laid in the first years of school. In Lower Key Stage 2, there remains an emphasis on the use of visual representations and structured methods to develop a secure understanding of mathematical concepts. As pupils move into Upper Key Stage 2, this develops further with children drawing on their knowledge and skills to select the most efficient methods to solve problems. Fluency remains a priority in KS2, particularly through the mastery of multiplication and division facts.
Lessons are delivered through the use of the Gradual Release of Responsibilty Model which enables pupils to move from guided instruction towards independent application. Ongoing assessment and regular checks for understanding ensure that misconceptions are quickly identified and addressed through timely, in-the-moment support, alongside targeted 'keep up' interventions.
The design of our curriculum supports our children to develop resilience and a growth mindset that enables them to build their confidence to reason, problem solve and communicate their mathematical thinking without the fear of ‘getting it wrong’.
The mathematics curriculum is enhanced by:
Times Tables Rock Stars is a carefully sequenced programme of daily times tables practise.
Numbots has been designed with the mastery approach in mind. It is aimed at boosting addition and subtraction skills for all ages of children.