Mathematics
At Thelwall Junior School, we aim to inspire every child to succeed and thrive as a mathematician by ensuring our pupils have rich, enjoyable, and meaningful experiences with mathematics. Our aim is to develop confident, fluent, and resilient mathematicians who see the value of maths and understand its relevance in the world around them.
We provide a strong foundation in mathematics, encouraging problem-solving, reasoning, and critical thinking. With an emphasis on mathematical vocabulary, we help pupils communicate their ideas confidently, engage in discussions, and approach challenges with a positive, risk-taking attitude.
Our carefully designed curriculum ensures pupils build key skills while fostering a love of learning through practical activities, real-world applications, and opportunities to explore mathematics creatively.
How do we teach maths at Thelwall Junior School?
At Thelwall Junior School, our maths curriculum is based on the National Curriculum, using the White Rose Maths Scheme alongside guidance from NCETM. Our teaching follows a ‘small steps’ approach, enabling children to build their understanding gradually, master key concepts, and tackle more complex ideas with confidence.
Learning is carefully sequenced to ensure key concepts are revisited throughout the year, helping children make connections and apply their skills across different topics and real-world contexts. Fluency, reasoning, and problem solving are incorporated into every lesson. Our lessons are mixed-ability whole-class lessons, where we offer targeted support for those who need it and deeper challenges for advanced learners.
Alongside the maths session, our children also partake in daily arithmetic work, which focuses on core skills, providing regular opportunities to consolidate and revisit key knowledge. Furthermore, pupils in Years 3 and 4 participate in an extra daily fluency session to further develop their confidence and rapid recall of fundamental maths facts.
Our children will learn to:
- Make connections between different aspects of mathematics to ensure a deeper, richer understanding of mathematical concepts.
- Talk confidently about Maths and their learning, relating it to real life purposes.
- Use acquired vocabulary in lessons and discussions.
- Use mathematical methods independently and show perseverance and resilience when tackling problems.
- Use and understand different representations of mathematical concepts.
Mathematics is essential to everyday life, underpinning science, technology, engineering, and financial literacy, and preparing children for future opportunities. A high-quality maths education equips pupils to understand the world, reason mathematically, and appreciate the beauty and power of the subject.
Multiplication
Knowing times tables and corresponding division facts are so important and useful in mathematical education as they provide the basis of so many different areas of maths. Being able to recall times table facts efficiently and quickly will help children with so many of their other calculations throughout their maths education, and in life! At primary school, children are expected to know all their times tables and corresponding division facts up to 12x12 by the end of year 4. Speed AND accuracy are important – the more facts our children remember, the easier it will be for them to tackle a range of broader problems and calculations.
At Thelwall Junior School, we put a huge emphasis on learning these facts as we recognise what a brilliant impact it will have on our children’s mathematical learning. We use Times Table Rockstars, amongst other tools, as a fun and challenging programme designed to help pupils master the times tables. To be a ‘Times Table Rockstar’ you need to answer any multiplication fact up to 12×12 in less than 3 seconds! Children throughout the school use this during school time and at home, with the program tailored by the children’s teachers to have specific facts they are working on, as the focus for their own TTRockstars gaming! During our Celebration assemblies, many a Times table Rockstars certificates are handed out to children who have reached certain milestones in their timetable journey! Our current record holder is able to calculate the answer to a times table question, on average, every 0.72 seconds! We are very proud of all our children's scores on this and the speed at which they are able to calculate and recall times table facts.
Please find below the Parent Handbook for Times Tables Rockstars. This contains all the information about logging on and how the website works. Additionally, please see the document below regarding the year 4 Times Table Check.
How You Can Help Your Child With Mathematics at Home
Below you will find the powerpoint created by Mrs Barlow and used in the 'How to Help at Home' Maths workshop.