Intent
At Lambton, our aim is to equip all pupils with the mathematical knowledge, skills, and understanding they need to succeed in school and in life beyond the classroom. We want our children to see the value of mathematics and recognise its relevance in everyday situations.
Our curriculum is designed to develop fluency, reasoning, and problem-solving skills, empowering pupils to think critically and work confidently with numbers and abstract concepts. We place a strong emphasis on fluency and automaticity, ensuring that pupils are able to recall and apply knowledge quickly and accurately.
We strive to foster a positive and enthusiastic attitude towards mathematics by creating a learning environment where all children feel supported and challenged. Through regular, varied, and increasingly complex practice, pupils build secure conceptual understanding and develop resilience when approaching unfamiliar problems.
At every stage of learning, children are encouraged to reach their full potential as mathematicians. Our intent is for pupils to leave Lambton with the confidence, competence, and curiosity to apply mathematical thinking in a wide range of contexts, supporting their future learning and everyday lives.
Implementation
At Lambton, mathematics is delivered through a consistent and carefully planned approach that ensures progression, challenge, and support for all learners. All teachers follow a clearly sequenced long-term plan based on our termly curriculum overviews. Lessons are designed using a range of high-quality resources, including, but not limited to, the White Rose Maths Small Steps. This flexible approach allows teachers to adapt lessons to meet the needs of their pupils, while ensuring comprehensive coverage of the national curriculum.
Each maths lesson is designed to provide meaningful learning experiences that enable all children, regardless of ability, to become confident, capable, and resilient mathematicians. Lessons are built upon prior knowledge, enabling children to make connections and deepen their conceptual understanding over time. Emphasis is placed on securing the foundations of mathematical understanding, enabling pupils to transfer and apply skills across a range of contexts.
Basic maths skills are practised daily, with a focus on core areas such as subitising, place value, number bonds, counting, calculation, and fact recall. From EYFS, children begin their mathematical journey through the NCETM’s Mastering Number programme, which lays strong foundations in number sense and fluency. Across the school, a whole-school approach to teaching calculation strategies ensures consistency and progression in mental and written methods.
Reasoning and problem-solving skills are explicitly taught across all key stages. Children are encouraged to articulate their thinking using mathematical language and to explain their reasoning using sentence stems and key vocabulary. This develops their ability to think logically, work collaboratively, and apply their learning in unfamiliar situations.
We recognise the importance of fluency in multiplication and division facts, not only for success in the Year 4 Multiplication Tables Check, but as a fundamental skill that supports wider mathematical understanding. From Year 3, children take part in the Number Sense Multiplication programme, which supports a conceptual and structured approach to learning times tables. This is embedded through daily practice and application across the curriculum, ensuring children can recall facts rapidly and apply them with confidence in a range of contexts.
Additional time is allocated each week to arithmetic, enabling children to consolidate key calculation strategies and maintain fluency in core skills. Class teachers deliver high-quality, engaging lessons that include a balance of whole-class instruction, paired/group tasks, and independent learning. A CPA (Concrete – Pictorial – Abstract) approach is used consistently to support conceptual understanding and enable all learners to access and master mathematical concepts.
All staff are expected to model and reinforce accurate mathematical vocabulary throughout teaching. This scaffolding supports children in developing their reasoning and explanation skills and enables them to communicate their understanding clearly and confidently.
Impact
As a result of our carefully structured and inclusive approach to mathematics at Lambton, children are actively engaged in their learning and enjoy the subject. They are challenged appropriately and demonstrate increasing confidence in discussing their mathematical thinking using accurate vocabulary and a range of representations. Our pupils are curious, resilient learners who are willing to take risks and view mistakes as valuable opportunities for growth and deeper understanding.
Lessons across the school make use of a variety of high-quality resources and visual representations to support conceptual understanding and meet diverse learning needs. Regular assessment and monitoring ensure that all pupils are making good progress and that any gaps in learning are identified and addressed promptly.
Our staff work collaboratively to plan, reflect, and adapt teaching, ensuring that every child is supported to reach their full potential. This shared commitment to high expectations and continual improvement results in confident, competent mathematicians who are well prepared for the next stage of their education.
