Our approach to teaching maths

At Hardwick and Cambourne Community Primary School, we believe that mathematics teaches us how to make sense of the world around us, through developing a child’s ability to calculate, to reason and to solve problems. It is an important set of skills which children can use throughout their lives, enabling them to understand and appreciate relationships and pattern in both number and space.

 

Through our teaching at Hardwick, we aim to develop pupils’ mathematical skills so that they are confident and fluent mathematicians. We aim to allow pupils to see the ‘bigger picture’ of mathematics and to make connections through the topics taught. We believe that it is essential to engage all pupils to enjoy maths and maintain their interest and motivation through appropriately demanding tasks.

 

We seek to give children the confidence to handle mathematical ideas and explain their methods, reasoning, whilst also allowing time for thinking and discussion. We endeavour to develop the application, pace and accuracy of mental calculation skills by modelling and practising efficient methods.

 

Through our approach to maths we aim to develop pupils' conceptual understanding and enable children to make generalisations about the world of mathematics.

 

We teach with a mastery approach to maths where children develop fluency, reasoning and problem solving and can apply their knowledge and skills in different contexts. We use concrete, pictorial and abstract models to help children make links and gain a better understanding of the concepts taught.