Content Overview

Mathematics is a creative and highly interconnected 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.

The national curriculum for mathematics aims to ensure that all pupils:

  • Become fluent in the fundamentals of mathematics, including through varied and frequent practice with increasing complex problems over time, so that pupils develop conceptual understanding and the ability to recall and apply knowledge rapidly and accurately.
  • Reason mathematically by following a line of enquiry, conjecturing relationships, and generalisations, and developing an argument, justifications or proof using mathematical language.
  • Can solve problems by applying their mathematics to a variety of routine and non-routine problems with increasing sophistication, including breaking down problems into a series of simpler steps and persevering in seeking solutions.

Key Stage 1

The principal focus of mathematics teaching in Key stage 1 is to ensure that pupils develop confidence and mental fluency with whole numbers, counting and place value. This should involve working with numerals, words and the four operations including with practical resources such as concrete objects and measuring tools.

At this stage, pupils should develop their ability to recognize, describe, draw, compare and sort different shapes and use related vocabulary. Teaching should also involve a range of different measures to describe and compare different quantities such as length, mass, capacity/volume, time and money.

By the end of year 2, pupils should know the number bonds to 20 and be precise in using and understanding place value. An emphasis on practice at this stage will aid fluency.

Pupils should read and spell mathematical vocabulary, at a level consistent with their increasing reading and spelling knowledge at key stage 1.

The following content is covered.

Year 1

  • Number – number and place value
  • Number – addition and subtraction
  • Number – multiplication and division
  • Number – fractions
  • Measurement
  • Geometry – properties of shapes
  • Geometry – position and direction

Year 2

  • Number – number and place value
  • Number – addition and subtraction
  • Number – multiplication and division
  • Number – fractions
  • Measurement
  • Geometry – properties of shapes
  • Geometry – position and direction Statistics