Maths at Bexton
Confident mathematicians. Deep understanding. High expectations for every child.
We want every child to leave Bexton able to think mathematically: to spot patterns, reason clearly, solve problems they have not seen before and explain how they know. That means understanding mathematics, not just remembering how to get answers.
Our approach is built on two ideas. First, that children learn best when new knowledge is introduced in small, carefully sequenced steps that connect to what they already know. Second, that fluent recall of number facts frees a child to think. A child who has to work out six times seven has less attention left for the problem it sits inside.
How maths is taught
From Year 1 to Year 6 we follow White Rose Maths, supported by guidance from the National Centre for Excellence in the Teaching of Mathematics.
Lessons move through concrete, pictorial and abstract stages. Children might first work with physical objects, then with pictures and diagrams that represent them, then with numbers and symbols alone. Seeing the same idea in different forms is what builds real understanding rather than a procedure that works until the question changes.
Teachers model new learning carefully, breaking it into manageable steps, and lessons include a great deal of discussion. Children are expected to explain their thinking, to use accurate mathematical vocabulary and to say more than just the answer.
Maths is taught in a lesson of around an hour on most days, plus a short daily session at the start of the morning used to revisit earlier learning and keep number facts sharp.
Number facts and fluency
Alongside the main maths lesson, every class from Reception to Year 6 takes part in Mastering Number, a programme from the National Centre for Excellence in the Teaching of Mathematics.
These are short, frequent sessions focused entirely on number sense and fact fluency. In the early years and Key Stage 1 they build a deep understanding of numbers to twenty: how numbers are made up, how they relate to one another and instant recall of number bonds. In Key Stage 2 they move to multiplication and division facts and the reasoning that goes with them.
All children in Year 4 take the national Multiplication Tables Check in the summer term. We prepare for it through this regular practice rather than through cramming and children also use Times Tables Rock Stars at school and at home.
Early Years
In Nursery, children follow Master the Curriculum, with weekly practical sessions built around a nursery rhyme. They learn to count, subitise (recognise small quantities without counting), sort, match, compare and spot patterns, all through hands-on activity.
In Reception, number is taught through Mastering Number, which gives children a deep and secure understanding of numbers to ten. Alongside this, children learn shape, space, measure, position and pattern through selected White Rose Maths units.
This combination is deliberate. Reception children need real depth in number and they also need the space, shape and measure learning that a number-only programme would miss. We have built the curriculum to give them both.
Challenge and support
Challenge comes through depth, not speed. When a child grasps something quickly, we do not move them on to next year's work. We give them problems that demand more reasoning: justifying, proving, finding what happens when a rule is broken, explaining why a method works. Understanding one idea thoroughly is worth more than a shallow acquaintance with several.
Children who need more support get it promptly. Teachers spot difficulties within the lesson and address them there and where a child needs more we use targeted support programmes to close the specific gap. Children in our specialist provision, the Rainbow Room, follow Maths for Life, which develops practical mathematical skills for everyday living.
Whatever a child's starting point, the intention is the same. What changes is the support around them.
How we check how your child is doing
Teachers assess constantly during lessons, through questioning, discussion and by looking at what children are producing as they work. This is the assessment that matters most because it changes the teaching that same day.
More formally, children complete short assessments at the end of each unit of work and standardised assessments at points across the year. Teachers record where each child is working: towards the expected standard, at it, or at greater depth. This information is used to plan support and to make sure nobody quietly falls behind.
Children are also taught to check their own work. They mark in purple pen, correct their own errors and respond to their teacher's feedback at the start of the next lesson.
If we have any concern about your child's progress in maths, we will speak to you about it.
How you can help at home
Maths anxiety is often passed on without anyone meaning to. The single most useful thing you can do is avoid saying you were never any good at maths, however true it feels.
Practise times tables. From Year 2 onwards, quick recall makes an enormous difference. Little and often works far better than long sessions. Times Tables Rock Stars is available at home.
Use maths in everyday life. Money, change, cooking, measuring, telling the time, journey times, comparing prices. This is where maths stops being a school subject.
Ask how, not just what. "How did you work that out?" is a better question than "what's the answer?"
Let them struggle a little. Being stuck for a while is part of learning maths. Stepping in too quickly removes the useful bit.
Talk about mistakes as useful. Children who are afraid of being wrong stop taking the risks that learning requires.
If you would like guidance on supporting your child at their particular stage, please ask their class teacher.
Want to know more?
Our Maths Handbook and Maths Curriculum Progression document set out in detail what is taught in each year group, how it builds year on year, and the expectations at the end of each year. These are working documents for staff, but we are happy to share them. Please contact the school office if you would like to see them.
Mathematics is led by Mrs Rea across the Infants and Mr Evans across the Juniors. Both are pleased to answer questions about writing at Bexton.