Intent, Implementation, and Impact
Intent
At Bowbrook Primary School, our intent is to nurture confident, enthusiastic mathematicians who enjoy challenge, take risks, and learn from mistakes. We aim to make Maths meaningful by connecting learning to real-life situations and providing hands‑on, engaging investigations that spark curiosity and joy.
We ensure pupils develop strong reasoning and problem‑solving skills through play, exploration, discussion, everyday experiences and structured teaching. Our curriculum aims for children to:
- develop a positive attitude towards Maths
- build resilience and effective problem-solving skills
- achieve factual fluency, including rapid recall of number facts and times tables
- gain a deep understanding of number to apply across the curriculum and in real life
- recognise, explore and represent patterns
- use precise mathematical language confidently
- secure a strong, age-related understanding of the Maths curriculum
Fluency is prioritised through subitising, number facts, multiplication tables and using generalities and principles of mathematics. Teaching sequences are designed to manage cognitive load and emphasise what must be remembered.
Implementation
We teach the National Curriculum, supported by the structured progression offered by the NCETM Spines. This ensures knowledge and skills build year by year in a coherent sequence.
Teaching Approach
- Lessons typically begin with recap and retrieval.
- Concrete, pictorial and abstract representations support conceptual understanding.
- The ‘I DO – WE DO – YOU DO’ model develops independence and confidence.
- Lessons vary between practical, verbal, whiteboard-based and written work.
EYFS
Mathematics in EYFS is delivered through active learning across all areas of development. Children explore concepts through play, hands‑on experiences, and short, focused teaching inputs. Adults scaffold learning using questioning and manipulatives. Maths is embedded in continuous provision and child-led learning, supported by NCETM Mastering Number sessions. Progression is planned in:
- Cardinality & Counting
- Comparison
- Composition
- Pattern
- Shape & Space
- Measures
Parents are supported through ‘Maths Stay and Play’ sessions.
Key Stage 1
KS1 pupils receive approximately an hour of Maths per day. This includdeveloping confidence and fluency with number, place value, the four operations and simple measures. Children meet a wide variety of conceptual structures and representations before formal operations are introduced.
Substantive & Disciplinary Knowledge
Pupils learn key number facts, times tables and procedural methods, progressing from bonds to 10 in EYFS to bonds within 100, 1,000 and beyond in later years. Children learn to think mathematically through conceptual and procedural variation, developing reasoning strategies and flexible thinking.
Support for Pupils with SEND
Key knowledge is identified at the start of each unit, with additional scaffolding, adult support, manipulatives, pre‑teaching and immediate intervention used to secure learning and enable full curriculum access.
Impact
We expect children to:
- recall facts and procedures quickly, including times tables
- show confidence, resilience and willingness to attempt a range of problems
- reason effectively using precise mathematical vocabulary, diagrams and make meaningful connections across mathematical ideas
- demonstrate pride in their work and apply skills independently to increasingly complex problems
- enjoy mathematical challenges and choose to explore
- solve puzzles independently
- have parents who feel empowered to support learning at home
Assessment includes ongoing teacher observation in EYFS, summative assessments, EYFS Profile outcomes and national assessments in KS1 and KS2.
Our pupils leave Bowbrook Primary School equipped with strong mathematical knowledge and skills, enabling them to thrive in secondary school and in the wider world.
Whole School Maths Progression