Maths

At Lightwater Village Schools, our mathematics curriculum is built upon the principles of teaching for mastery, as championed by the National Centre for Excellence in the Teaching of Mathematics (NCETM). We follow a carefully designed GLF maths curriculum based on NCETM mastery spines to structure coherent, sequenced journey through mathematical concepts from Reception to Year 6.

Curriculum Intention

At Lightwater Village Schools, our intentions are to develop confident, curious, resilient mathematicians who understand the structure and beauty of mathematics. We believe every child can achieve in maths, and our curriculum is designed to ensure children have deep, sustainable understanding rather than superficial understanding. Pupils are supported to develop a deep, conceptual understanding of mathematical structures, enabling them to recognise connections and patterns across different areas of the subject. They are given regular opportunities to become fluent in fundamental mathematical skills and procedures, ensuring they can recall and apply knowledge efficiently and accurately. Throughout their learning, pupils are encouraged to reason mathematically, justifying their thinking and solutions using precise and appropriate mathematical language. They also learn to solve problems by applying their understanding in a variety of familiar and unfamiliar contexts, demonstrating flexibility, resilience, and creativity in their approach.

Curriculum Implementation

Our teaching follows a carefully designed GLF maths curriculum, based on the NCETM mastery spines, which provide carefully sequenced teaching points and representations that build pupils’ understanding cumulatively. Lessons are designed around small steps, prioritising depth of understanding before introducing new or more advanced content.

In EYFS, teachers establish the foundations of mathematics by focusing on the six key areas of early mathematical learning. Children take part in regular, discrete maths sessions throughout the week to develop their factual fluency, alongside a range of enhanced provision activities that further support and extend their mathematical skills.

In Key stage 1 and Key stage 2, our maths lessons incorporate whole class teaching, paired and group discussion as well as independent practice. Teachers plan lessons which incorporate concrete, pictorial and abstract representations as well as stem sentences to help pupils understand mathematical concepts deeply. Pupils are encouraged to think mathematically through reasoning, pattern spotting and discussion. Independent tasks are thoughtfully designed and carefully structured to highlight key mathematical structures and relationships, helping pupils to apply their understanding flexibly.

In addition to our core maths curriculum, we provide regular, focused sessions to enhance number fact fluency and support greater flexibility with number:

• In Key Stage 1, we use the NCETM Mastering Number programme (developed by the NCETM) to build firm foundations in number. This initiative develops pupils’ fluency, confidence, and flexibility with number, while also fostering mathematical language and oracy skills. Children are supported to deeply understand number relationships, which strengthens their ability to manipulate and reason about numbers in a variety of contexts.

• In Key Stage 2, we implement Number Sense Maths, a structured daily programme that supports pupils in developing automaticity with times tables and number facts. This approach supports pupils in becoming fluent, confident, and efficient in recalling multiplication facts, while also applying them flexibly in reasoning and problem-solving situations.

Lightwater Village Schools are part of the Maths Mastery Hub programme to provide continued professional development to staff and ensure high-quality teaching based on mastery maths principles.

Curriculum Impact

Pupils at Lightwater Village Schools will:

• Have carefully planned opportunities to deepen their understanding
• Be confident, curious and motivated mathematicians
• Ask questions to further develop and deepen their understanding
• Demonstrate strong number sense and flexibility in calculation
• Show resilience when solving challenging problems
• Make connections between different areas of mathematics and apply their understanding across the curriculum.

The following methods are used to measure the impact:

• Retrieval practice is consistently embedded in every lesson to reinforce memory and support long-term retention of key mathematical concepts
• Children have opportunities to articulate key concepts verbally and written
• ‘Ready to progress’ assessments are used to plan opportunities, ensuring that pupils are either ready to advance to new concepts or that any gaps in knowledge are identified and addressed
• Termly assessments are carried out and subsequently data analysis to assess pupil progress, identify trends and inform future planning
• Reflective teaching and learning approaches are integrated in every lesson, ensuring that all pupils have opportunity to engage, reflect and deepen understanding
• Regular learning walks, book looks and pupil voice surveys are conducted to monitor and evaluate the teaching of maths across the school

Lead: Miss Emily Cunningham

Reception Yearly OverviewYear 1 Yearly OverviewYear 2 Yearly OverviewYear 3 Yearly OverviewYear 4 Yearly OverviewYear 5 Yearly OverviewYear 6 Yearly Overview