Our Mathematics Curriculum
Mathematics is a creative and deeply interconnected discipline, developed over centuries to solve some of history’s most intriguing problems. It plays a vital role in everyday life, underpins science, technology, and engineering, and is essential for financial literacy and most forms of employment. Through our teaching, we provide a foundation for understanding the subject, developing children’s ability to reason mathematically, appreciate the beauty and power of mathematics, and foster a sense of enjoyment and curiosity about the subject.
The principal focus of mathematics teaching at Someries Infant School and Early Childhood Education Centre is to ensure that pupils develop confidence and mental fluency with whole numbers, counting and place value.
This involves working with numerals, words and the four operations, including with practical resources. Children also develop their ability to recognise, describe, draw, compare and sort different shapes and use the related vocabulary. We also teach children how to use a range of measures to describe and compare different quantities such as length, mass, capacity/ volume, time and money.
Mastering Number
All Reception and Key Stage One pupils take part in daily Mastering Number sessions to develop a deep understanding of number and build confidence in mathematics. These short, engaging lessons help children develop strong number sense by exploring how numbers are made, recognising patterns and relationships, and becoming fluent with key number facts.
A key resource used in these sessions is the rekenrek (a counting frame). Rather than simply counting individual beads, children learn to recognise groups and patterns, helping them to see numbers in different ways. This supports subitising (recognising quantities without counting), understanding part-whole relationships, comparing numbers and developing efficient mental calculation strategies. Using the rekenrek encourages pupils to visualise numbers and explain their mathematical thinking, laying strong foundations for future learning.
Mastering Number is a national programme developed by the NCETM (National Centre for Excellence in the Teaching of Mathematics). It aims to secure firm foundations in number from the earliest years, enabling children to develop fluency, flexibility and confidence in calculation. Through practical resources, mathematical talk and carefully sequenced activities, pupils build the understanding they need for future success in mathematics.
Stories for Maths
Across our mathematics curriculum, we use Stories for Maths to help children develop mathematical understanding through the power of storytelling. Carefully chosen picture books introduce and reinforce key mathematical concepts in meaningful, engaging contexts, enabling pupils to make connections between maths and the world around them.
Each story is designed to promote rich mathematical discussion, develop mathematical vocabulary and encourage children to explain their thinking. Through shared reading, carefully planned questions and follow-up activities, pupils deepen their understanding of concepts while building confidence in using mathematical language. By embedding maths within enjoyable stories, children are motivated to explore ideas, solve problems and remember new learning more effectively.
Stories for Maths supports our belief that mathematics is about reasoning, communication and making connections. It helps to create a positive, inclusive learning environment where every child can develop confidence and curiosity as a mathematician.
Numicon
Numicon is a quality-first teaching approach designed to give children the understanding of number ideas and number relationships that is essential for success in Mathematics. As a school, we use a series of structured patterns – Numicon Shapes – to represent numbers, as part of a progressive Mathematics teaching programme.
Here is a video explaining the Numicon approach in more detail:
Curriculum content
The six main areas of mathematics taught in nursery and reception are:
- Number – cardinality and counting
- Number – comparison
- Number – composition
- Pattern
- Measurement
- Geometry – shape and space
The seven areas of mathematics taught in year one are:
- Number – number and place value
- Number – addition and subtraction
- Number – multiplication and division
- Number – fractions
- Measurement
- Geometry – properties of shapes
- Geometry – position and direction
The eight areas of mathematics taught in year two are:
- 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
Further information, guidance and advice
