Mathematics Intent Statement

At Cherry Burton Primary School, our vision for mathematics is grounded in the principles of teaching for mastery, as championed by the NCETM and enacted through our partnership with our local Maths Hub. We believe mathematics is a powerful, creative and meaningful part of a child’s education; it offers not only tools for the future, but the means to reason, problem-solve and see patterns in the world in a wide range of contexts. 

From Ducklings to Year 6, we aim for every child to develop deep conceptual understanding, fluency and confidence. Our curriculum is coherently sequenced using adapted White Rose materials, ensuring that learning builds in small, connected steps so pupils secure key concepts before moving on.

We use the Concrete–Pictorial–Abstract (CPA) approach, ensuring children experience mathematics in hands-on, visual and abstract ways. Across all years, we embed stem sentences to help children articulate their thinking precisely, build mathematical language, and justify their reasoning, reflecting NCETM’s emphasis on vocabulary and generalisations. 

In Reception and Key Stage 1, children participate in the Mastering Number programme, strengthening their number sense and early calculation confidence. In Key Stage 2, we further develop their number fluency and automaticity by using the Claire Christie Multiplication Fluency programme, which supports confident and rapid recall of multiplication facts.

We are committed to inclusion and challenge: children who need extra support receive carefully scaffolded tasks and revisiting of essential concepts, while those ready to move further benefit from rich, open-ended, deep questions and investigations. All pupils have opportunities to reason mathematically, make connections across topics, and apply their learning to real-world problems.

We are committed to inclusive, ambitious mathematics for all. Children who need additional support receive targeted scaffolding and opportunities to revisit key concepts, while higher-attaining pupils are challenged through rich, deep questions and investigative tasks. All children engage regularly in reasoning and problem-solving, making connections and applying their learning to meaningful, real-life situations.

Above all, our vision is for every child to see themselves as a mathematician: confident, resilient, willing to explore ideas, and excited by the power and beauty of mathematics.