Maths
Intent
At Fir Bank, we believe all children can succeed in mathematics. We provide a high-quality, engaging, and challenging curriculum that builds confidence and curiosity. In October 2025, we introduced the Mastering Number programme for Reception to Year 2, ensuring strong foundations in number concepts.
Our teaching follows a Mastery approach, enabling pupils to develop fluency, deep conceptual understanding, and efficient recall. We promote reasoning by encouraging justification, connections, and logical proofs, and place problem-solving at the heart of learning.
Our ultimate goal is to create independent, resilient problem-solvers who embrace challenges and see maths as an essential life skill, equipping them with confidence and perseverance for the wider world.
Implementation
At Fir Bank, mathematics is taught in carefully structured blocks throughout the year, enabling pupils to develop a deep and secure understanding of key concepts. Our approach prioritizes mastery, ensuring that children build confidence and fluency in their mathematical learning.
In Reception and Years 1 and 2, we follow the Mastering Number programme, which provides younger learners with a strong foundation in number sense and mental calculation strategies. From Year 1 onwards, teachers use the White Rose schemes of learning as a framework for planning and assessment, supported by our whole-school calculation policy to maintain consistency in teaching the four operations.
Each lesson begins with a Building Block activity, designed to revisit and consolidate prior learning essential for the new concept. Teachers then model strategies using manipulatives and pictorial representations, ensuring concepts are accessible and clearly understood. Pupils are given regular opportunities for mathematical talk, enabling them to articulate reasoning and refine their understanding before moving on to independent practice.
Within each topic, children engage in a balance of fluency, reasoning, and problem-solving activities, encouraging them to deepen conceptual understanding and justify their thinking. We promote inclusion by ensuring that children with additional needs participate fully in whole-class lessons, with appropriate scaffolding and support provided. For pupils working outside their year group curriculum, tailored learning activities are planned to ensure progress.
A love of mathematics is fostered across the school through meaningful links with other subjects and real-life contexts. Our aim is for every child to develop confidence, independence, and enjoyment in applying an ever-growing range of mathematical skills.
Impact
As a result of our Maths teaching at Fir Bank you will see:
- Confident, enthusiastic, resilient children who can talk about Maths and believe they can achieve
- Engaged children who are challenged
- Links made between mathematical topics and new learning
- A secure, long-term, deep understanding of maths which can be applied in different contexts
- Quick recall of facts and procedures
- Children who can reason mathematically and solve problems by applying their mathematics
- Mathematical skills and concepts shown in multiple ways
- Correct mathematical language used to explain ideas