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 2 (Years 3, 4, 5 and 6)

The principal focus of mathematics teaching in Key stage 2 is to ensure that pupils become increasingly fluent with whole numbers and the four operations, including number facts and the concept of place value. This should ensure that pupils develop efficient written and mental methods and perform calculations accurately with increasingly large whole numbers while making connections between multiplication and division with fractions, decimals, percentages and ratio..

At this stage, pupils should develop their ability to solve a wider range of problems, including increasing complex properties of numbers and arithmetic, and problems demanding efficient written and mental methods of calculation. Students are introduced to the language of algebra as a means of solving a variety of problems. Teaching in geometry and measures should consolidate and extend knowledge developed in number.

By the end of year 4, pupils should have memorized their multiplication tables up to and including 12 multiplication table and show precision and fluency in their work. By the end of year 6, pupils should be fluent in written methods of all the four operations, including long multiplication and division, and in working with fractions, decimals and percentages.

Pupils should read, spell and pronounce mathematical vocabulary correctly and confidently.

The following content is covered.

Year 3

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

Year 4

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

Year 5

  • Number – number and place value
  • Number – addition and subtraction
  • Number – multiplication and division
  • Number – fractions(including decimals and percentages)
  • Measurement
  • Geometry – properties of shapes, position and direction
  • Statistics

Year 6

  • Number – number and place value
  • Number – addition, subtraction, multiplication and division
  • Number – fractions (including decimals and percentages)
  • Ratio and proportion, Statistics
  • Algebra, Measurement
  • Geometry – properties of shapes, position and direction