Vision

Our principal aim is that children leave Hillary Primary School with a wide range of happy and rich memories in Mathematics formed through interesting and exciting experiences driven through our 6 Key Teaching Principles:

They should be well-rounded mathematicians, who can confidently apply their skills and mathematical strategies in all the real life problem- solving opportunities that they will encounter in their lives.  

“Mathematics is a creative and highly inter-connected discipline that has been developed over centuries, providing the solution to some of history’s most intriguing problems. It is essential to everyday life, critical to science, technology and engineering, and necessary for financial literacy and most forms of employment.” National Curriculum 2014.  

Through our maths lessons at Hillary Primary it is our aim to develop:

• Enjoyment and enthusiasm for mathematics and an awareness of the fascination of mathematics.
• Confidence and fluency in mathematical knowledge, concepts and skills.
• An ability to use and apply mathematics across the curriculum and in real life.
• An ability to solve problems, by applying their skills to a variety of routine and non-routine problems. To reason, to think logically and to work systematically and accurately.
• An ability to reason mathematically and explain relationships using mathematical language.
• An understanding of mathematics through a process of enquiry and experiment.
• Initiative and an ability to work both independently and in cooperation with others.

The school uses a variety of teaching and learning styles in Maths lessons. Our principal aim is to develop children’s knowledge, skills and understanding in Maths. To support this, we follow Rosenshine’s principles of explicit instruction, often described as “I do, we do, you do.”

This means:

• I do – the teacher models and explains new concepts clearly.

• We do – the teacher and children work together, practising the skill with guidance.

• You do – children apply their learning independently to show their understanding.

Alongside this, we also use the CPA approach (Concrete, Pictorial, Abstract), where children first explore ideas with practical resources, then represent them with pictures, and finally move on to abstract symbols and numbers.

Together, these approaches ensure children build strong foundations in Maths and develop confidence in applying their skills.