Mathematics

Why Maths Is Important

Maths is an essential skill that enables us to live an independent life. It teaches us how to make sense of the world around us, whether it be: calculating the total amount of money we need to purchase items, knowing what time to meet a connecting train or weighing precise amounts of ingredients when following a recipe. Maths helps us to develop problem solving and reasoning skills that allow us to solve a variety of problems.

National Curriculum Purpose Of Study

Mathematics is a creative and highly inter-connected discipline that has been developed over centuries, providing the solution to some of history’s most intriguing problems. It is essential to everyday life, critical to science, technology and engineering, and necessary for financial literacy and most forms of employment. A high-quality mathematics education therefore provides a foundation for understanding the world, the ability to reason mathematically, an appreciation of the beauty and power of mathematics, and a sense of enjoyment and curiosity about the subject.

What Maths Looks Like At St Matthew's Primary School

Our main aims at St Matthew's are to make our children fluent in solving calculations involving the four mathematical operations and to equip them with the tools to solve a variety of problems. The programmes of study are, by necessity, organised into distinct areas, but pupils will make rich connections across mathematical ideas. Developing problem solving and reasoning skills is a thread that runs through all our Maths lessons. Children are constantly challenged to explain why, to prove how they know, to convince that they are correct or to find all possible outcomes. They have the opportunity to use a wide range of resources to support their learning such as hundred squares, number lines, Numicon, cubes, place value cards and other small apparatus. Mathematical skills are developed across the curriculum in subjects such as Science, Design and Technology and PE.