Mathematics
Intent for Mathematics
At Edison Primary School, we want every child to leave us numerate, confident and unafraid of mathematics.
Pupils of Edison Primary School will develop a secure understanding of mathematical concepts and the confidence to apply their knowledge to solve a range of problems in everyday life.
Using reasoning, fluency and problem-solving skills, they will become resilient mathematicians who can think critically, make connections across different areas of mathematics, and explain their thinking clearly.
Pupils will develop strong number sense, mathematical vocabulary and calculation skills, using efficient strategies and accurate methods to reason, justify and solve problems with confidence and independence.
Implementation
Our curriculum, delivered through the White Rose Maths scheme, is built on the three aims of the national curriculum: that pupils become fluent in the fundamentals of mathematics, that they reason mathematically by following a line of enquiry and justifying their thinking, and that they solve problems by applying what they know to unfamiliar situations with increasing sophistication.
EYFS Implementation
In Reception, mathematics is taught through the White Rose Maths Early Years scheme and is embedded in daily routines, play and continuous provision. Children build a deep understanding of numbers to 10 — how each number is composed, how quantities compare, and how to subitise small amounts without counting — alongside verbal counting beyond 20 and the automatic recall of number bonds within 5 and, for many, within 10.
They explore patterns within number, including odds and evens, doubles and equal sharing, and they investigate shape, space, measure and pattern through building, sorting, and comparing. Concrete resources are always available, adults model mathematical language in play, and children are encouraged to spot patterns, notice what changes and talk about what they see. This gives them the secure sense of number that Key Stage 1 builds on.
KS1 Implementation
In Key Stage 1, daily maths lessons follow the White Rose small steps, with each new idea introduced through the concrete–pictorial–abstract approach: children handle real objects, then work with representations such as part-whole models, ten frames and bar models, before moving to formal notation.
The great majority of teaching time is given to number, so that pupils develop confident place value within 100, fluency in addition and subtraction, an understanding of multiplication and division through equal groups and arrays, and early work on fractions as equal parts of a whole. Measurement, geometry and — in Year 2 — statistics are taught alongside, using practical contexts.
Every lesson includes opportunities to reason and to solve problems rather than treating these as extension work, and pupils are taught to read, spell and use mathematical vocabulary correctly. Short daily retrieval activities revisit prior learning so that knowledge is not forgotten, and rapid intervention is put in place for any child who has not grasped a step before the class moves on.
KS2 Implementation
In Key Stage 2, pupils continue to follow the White Rose scheme, extending their understanding to larger integers, decimals, percentages, ratio and simple algebra, and becoming fluent in formal written methods for all four operations.
In lower Key Stage 2 there is a strong emphasis on securing the multiplication tables to 12 × 12, which pupils are expected to know by the end of Year 4 and which underpins almost everything that follows; regular practice and low-stakes recall activities support this. Pupils work with fractions, decimals and percentages as connected ideas rather than separate topics, classify shapes using increasingly precise geometric language, and interpret and construct a widening range of graphs and tables.
Throughout KS2, problem solving is the point rather than the reward: children are given rich, multi-step problems, asked to explain their choice of method, and expected to justify conclusions with mathematical reasoning. Concrete and pictorial representations remain available to all pupils, not only those who find maths difficult.
By the end of Year 6, pupils are fluent in written and mental methods and can apply their mathematics with confidence, ready for the demands of secondary school.
Impact for Maths
As a school with a particular love of science, we are clear that secure mathematics is what allows our children to measure, to model and to interrogate the world around them — and we intend that every child, whatever their starting point, comes to see themselves as a mathematician.
Click here for our School Performance Data
whole school curriculum maps maths.pdf