At Moat Farm Infant School our vision is for all children to master an understanding and develop a love and passion for maths with high quality teaching. In September 2023 we began implementing a mastery approach to teaching and learning of mathematics. We understood that this would be a gradual process and are in the sustaining of the programme, with support and guidance from the NCETM maths hubs. Our curriculum has been designed to ensure children are taught with the expectation that most pupils will move through the programmes of study at broadly the same pace. By using concrete, pictorial and abstract approaches children are supported in gaining positive and resilient mindset towards mathematics. We have high expectations for every child, teach topics through using a small stepped approach, focus on mathematical thinking and using mathematical language, understand concepts by thinking deeper and enable fluency, reasoning and problem solving to be accessed by every child. To support our children in mastering their mathematical understanding, we have implemented the Mastering Number Programme.

Maths is an international language and it is vital that our children are taught how to make sense of the world around them, enabling them to leave school with the skills they need for future life opportunities. Through metacognition, positive mathematical mindsets and children’s self-regulation we want every child to achieve excellence in maths. We aim to promote flexible thinking and encourage our pupils to learn from their fantastic mistakes. Our teaching staff and pupils should embrace a growth mindset in Maths. EVERYONE CAN DO MATHS: EVERYONE CAN! We want them to enjoy having the ability to solve problems, to reason, to think logically and to work systematically and accurately. Our vision is for children to be competent and have confidence in mathematical knowledge, concepts and skills. This will be supported by children understanding how mathematics is used in the wider world by making rich and varied real life connections.

All children learn the following concepts and themes throughout their mathematical experiences:
EYFS Concepts
• Number
• Numerical Patterns
• Shape space measure
KS1 Concepts
• Number and Place Value
• Calculations
• Shape space measure
• Statistics
• Problem solving
Themes
• Children learn through concrete, pictorial and abstract teaching
• Children develop a firm foundation in the development of good number sense
• Children are able to develop fluency, reasoning and problem solving, articulating their mathematical understanding in age
appropriate ways
• Children develop a mathematical understanding of the world around them, making connections in real life contexts
• Children develop their mental maths skill
At Moat Farm Infant School these aims are delivered and embedded through maths lessons, mastering number sessions and throughout daily discussions where real-life connections can be made.
We are currently in the sustaining phase of the NCETM programme ‘Teaching for Mastery’ and children work in mixed attainment groupings, using whole class shared learning. The expectation is that the majority of pupils will move through the programmes of study at broadly the same pace. We differentiate for our pupils through questioning, support and outcome. All new ideas are built on previous knowledge and pupils have ample opportunity to develop relationships between topics.
We connect our British Values through the teaching of Maths, we explore how voting can affect data. This is covered from Reception through to Year 2 and covers democracy.
Lastly, we aim to instil a love of maths in our children where positive attitudes, captivation and enthusiasm are nurtured. We provide children with the opportunities that they need to build self-assurance in maths and develop a secure knowledge and understanding which will prepare them well for the rest of their lives.

Children are taught through whole-class interactive teaching, enabling all to master the concepts necessary for the
next part of the curriculum sequence.

In a typical lesson, the teacher leads back and forth interaction, including questioning, short tasks, explanation,
demonstration, and discussion, enabling pupils to think, reason and apply their knowledge to solve problems.

Use of precise mathematical language enables all pupils to communicate their reasoning and thinking effectively. The
use of stem sentences supports children in verbalising their thinking processes and enables recall when making
connections to other areas in maths.

If a pupil fails to grasp a concept or procedure, this is identified quickly, and gaps in understanding are addressed
systematically to prevent them falling behind.

Significant time is spent developing deep understanding of the key ideas that are needed to underpin future learning.

Key number facts are learnt to automaticity, and other key mathematical facts are learned deeply and practised
regularly, to avoid cognitive overload in working memory and enable pupils to focus on new learning.

We encourage our children to develop a greater depth of understanding rather than just working on the next topic. It
is important for children to really grasp how to perform a procedure in many different ways and contexts rather than
just working with greater numbers.

At the end of each year we expect the children to have achieved Age Related Expectations for their year group. Some children will have progressed further and achieved greater depth (GD). Children who have gaps in their knowledge receive appropriate support and intervention.
Book monitoring, learning walks, pupil voice and planning show progression for children and that our implementation is ensuring strong coverage of mathematical curriculum. Monitoring has shown that all children are engaged and motivated to learn in maths sessions. Pupil voice has evidenced that children have a love for maths and enjoy the subject. Children feel confident in number and operations, enjoy using the manipulatives to support their learning and feel that they are supported well in maths. Feedback from parent workshops shows that 100% of parents who attended found the workshop useful, informative and worthwhile. Parents felt more confident in supporting their child at home, in maths.

2025 data analysis shows the impact as:
– 76% of children met expected by the end of Reception.
– 90% of children were on track by the end of KS1, with 28% working above AGE in maths.
We are proud of this!

• We all follow the Mastering Number Programme planning, teaching and learning from Reception to Year 2.
• We all consolidate learning in every maths session by including a retrieval quiz at the start.
• We all provide reasoning opportunities throughout our maths sessions and mastering number sessions.
• We all provide children with SEND access to the curriculum through adapted planning and resource support.
• We all share key mathematical vocabulary on our working walls and planning. This should be supported by the use of dual coding where applicable. We ensure this is consistently shared with children.
• We all have active starts at the beginning of our maths sessions to engage our children in their learning.
• We all share Learning Ladybirds and Successful Spiders with children in our maths sessions.
• We all plan for next steps and extension opportunities for children.
• We all complete daily assessments which inform future planning. We complete half termly assessments based on skills taught prior.
• We all expect children to respond in full sentences or use stem sentences to support their mathematical vocabulary.

Further information

Maths support documents

Click to view:

NRICH Maths resources for teachers and parents
Topmarks – Games for counting
Maths is fun!
BBC Bitesize Maths
Virtual Manipulatives for Maths