Maths

Intent

Children (and teachers) at Bonner love Maths! We have fun with maths and teach through games, problems, and practical tasks, in conjunction with the steady yet relentless pursuit of learning and memorising key facts, such as number bonds and times tables, as soon as possible. Our curriculum is designed so that our children leave Bonner as fluent mathematicians who are secure in key mathematical concepts and confident in problem-solving and reasoning.

Our Approach

We are committed to a mastery approach at Bonner, in which small steps for learning are taken together as a whole class. All children and all adults will be in all maths lessons most, if not all, of the time. We have high expectations in maths. Adults believe that children can make meaningful progress from their starting point, whatever that might be. Children are encouraged to beat their own personal best in maths and understand that they are only “in competition” with themselves. All children feel like they belong in maths lessons and that when they are working on mathematical tasks, they are mathematicians. Children feel confident tackling tricky problems and recognise both when they find things easy and when they can’t do it… yet! We challenge our children through rich problems and fun maths challenges. We support children with pre-teaching and same-day maths interventions. We are consistent in our use of mathematical language, models, images, and concrete resources. We enrich our maths curriculum with “Love of Learning” opportunities to promote cultural capital in maths, which include whole school and year group-specific events, as well as trips and national competitions.

Implementation

The core of what we plan and teach for maths at Bonner is taken from the National Curriculum. We use a scheme of work (Power Maths) to underpin our Maths planning because it sequences the objectives from the National Curriculum, building concepts and skills in an order and at a pace that is effective. In the Early Years, Maths is taught through exploring and practical activities. Children learn to count, recognise numbers and explore shape, space and measure. Children are exposed to mathematical language on a daily basis.

At Bonner, we understand that teachers teach the children, not a scheme! Teachers ensure there is the right balance between revisiting prior learning and introducing new concepts. Teachers use the scheme and the maths policy to ensure there are consistent models and images, and that reasoning and problem-solving are embedded alongside fluency. Time and great care are put into Maths planning to ensure effective and often bespoke learning for different classes and cohorts. Our calculation policy contains the written and mental maths methods that are taught in each year group, ensuring progression towards efficient, accurate calculation underpinned by a deep understanding of number. These documents are easy to find, user-friendly, and familiar to teachers, support staff, parents, and children.

Evidence of Quality First Teaching and Learning

Evidence that teachers add effective ideas beyond our chosen maths scheme, including questioning and modelling that is carefully planned for, can be found in maths flips, working walls, children’s books, or from pupil voice. It is important for our teachers to supplement the maths scheme with questions, activities, images, teacher notes, and investigations from NRICH and White Rose. We encourage teachers to draw from other high-quality sources and to create their own, with the expectation that they must have a clear reason why any task or resource will work to achieve excellent learning outcomes, and how they align with our maths principles. Teachers are enthusiastic about finding and sharing ideas. Maths flips and planning folders are ‘live’ documents that are regularly updated so that these good ideas are captured and shared. We are extremely proud of our MTC results which have been consistently significantly above the national average. 70 percent of pupils achieve full marks in the MTC and Bonner in the top 4 percent of schools Nationally for attainment in times tables.

Leadership

The Maths Lead makes regular time to review and support maths planning and conducts book looks and lesson drop-ins in a supportive and meaningful way. The Maths Lead facilitates ongoing CPD and the development of teachers' subject knowledge in maths to ensure the very best outcomes in maths for all pupils.

Impact

At Bonner Primary School, our approach to maths ensures all pupils develop strong foundational skills and confidence in mathematics. By following a well-sequenced curriculum (Power Maths), supported by the National Curriculum, and enhanced with resources like NRICH and White Rose, we ensure pupils have consistent exposure to essential maths concepts. Our focus on reasoning, fluency, and problem-solving enables pupils to tackle maths with curiosity and resilience. Evidence of our approach can be seen through interactive maths displays, well-kept student books, and pupil feedback that highlights engagement and progress.

Our results reflect the impact of our quality-first teaching. We are proud of our students’ achievements in the Multiplication Tables Check (MTC), where we consistently rank in the top 4% of schools nationally, with 70% of pupils achieving full marks. This success is bolstered by our dedicated Maths Lead, who reviews planning, conducts regular lesson observations, and provides ongoing professional development to ensure teachers feel supported and inspired to deliver exceptional maths lessons.

Progression of Skills

Number & Place Value

progression of skills maths number place value .pdf

Addition & Subtraction

progression of skills maths addition subtraction .pdf

Multiplication & Division

progression of skills maths multiplication division .pdf

Fractions, Including Percentages

progression of skills maths fractions including percentages .pdf

Measurement

progression of skills maths measurement .pdf

Geometry: Position & Direction

progression of skills maths geometry position direction .pdf

Geometry: Properties & Shape

progression of skills maths geometry properties of shapes .pdf

Statistics

progression of skills maths statistics .pdf

Ratio & Proportion

progression of skills maths ratio proportion .pdf

Algebra

progression of skills maths algebra .pdf

Calculation Policies

Here are overviews of the methods of calculation taught at Bonner Primary School in Reception-Year 6:

Key Instant Recall Facts

To develop fluency and mental maths skills, we have introduced KIRFs (Key Instant Recall Facts) throughout school. KIRFS are a way of helping children to learn by heart, key facts and information which they need to have instant recall of.

KIRFs are designed to support the development of mental maths skills that underpin much of the maths work in schools. They are particularly useful when calculating: adding; subtracting; multiplying or dividing. They contain number facts such as number bonds and times tables that need constant practice and rehearsal, so children can recall them quickly and accurately.

Instant recall of facts helps enormously with mental agility within maths lessons. When children move onto written calculations, knowing these key facts is very beneficial. They need to be practised frequently and for short periods of time.

Below is a link to KIRFs for each year group:

MathsHub

We our excited to be working as part of the MathsHub programme organised by the National Centre for Excellence in the Teaching of Mathematics (NCETM).

We are part of a cluster of local schools working collaboratively to enhance our teaching of the mastery maths curriculum as well as to develop and spread excellent practice.

You can find out more about Maths Hubs here:

Special Events

We promote a love of maths through regular events and competitions throughout the school year.

Times Tables Competitions 2024

Bonner achieved number 1 position in London Primary Schools for the NSPCC TTRS competition!
A special shout out to 5NR who came 117th out of 22,668 classes
Yunus in 3SM came 22nd out of 277,535 pupils!
Out of 3793 schools, including some secondary schools, we were 227 overall.

We are Times Tables Rockstars!