Maths

At Hugh Myddelton, we believe that every child is a mathematician. From Early Years to Year 6, our children are active, resilient learners who do not shy away from a challenge. They learn how to think deeply and collaboratively and to try out their own ideas whilst being comfortable with making mistakes. 

Hugh Myddelton Maths Teaching and Learning policy

Addition and subtraction calculation policy

Multiplication and Division calculation policy

Progression of skills in maths

Teachers at Hugh Myddelton strive to make most lessons applicable to real-life problems so that the children understand the importance of maths in real-world scenarios. With lessons carefully structured so that each subsequent lesson builds upon the previous one, students steadily acquire fluency in how the different aspects of maths work. We teach them a wide range of methods to solve problems so that children have the flexibility to choose a method that they feel most comfortable with and the ability to tackle challenging problems independently. Reasoning and problem solving is built into every lesson and every child is challenged and encouraged to step outside their comfort zone.  

At Hugh Myddelton, we use the Concrete, Pictorial, Abstract (CPA) approach. Practical resources, such as numicon, dienes and place value counters, are used in most lessons to enable children to visualise and manipulate abstract concepts. As the children become more confident using the resources, they begin to draw pictures to represent the problem.  

We place high importance on oracy throughout the school and maths lessons are no exception. Children are encouraged to ask questions and respectfully debate with their classmates. Through class discussions, children develop a strong mathematical language. 

We are the first Let’s Think accredited school in the world. Many of our teachers are trained in Let’s Think cognitive acceleration programme. These student-led lessons centre around children working closely with their peers, sharing their strategies with the class, and improving their problem-solving skills. 

We use the White Rose approach to teaching maths. White Rose prides itself on an “Everyone can do maths - everyone can!” approach and we wholeheartedly agree.

As we continue to encourage our children to challenge themselves, we will be introducing a Problem of the Month which the children can take home to solve independently or with their family or friends. Additionally, we will be continuing with the much-loved Maths Magicians club for Key Stage 1.  

Supporting your child with maths

Once per half term, we hold parent workshops for each phase to go over strategies taught in class and how to further support and extend their children at home.

Wider Community Engagement 

In November, 24 children from Year 5 and 6 took part in the Primary Maths Challenge. The Primary Maths Challenge, organised by the Mathematics Association, is designed to make pupils think outside the box and not rely on formal mathematical knowledge, but rather logical reasoning. This year over 58,000 pupils from around the world competed in the challenge. This competition put them out of their comfort zone and challenged our most able mathematicians. It was no easy feat but they all did extremely well! 

This coming June 2023, a group of Year 3 and 4 pupils will be competing in the First Primary Maths Challenge. 

Every summer, the Royal Institute invites us to nominate 2 children to take part in their Masterclass Series. These Royal Institute Masterclasses are a series of workshops led by experts from industry, academia and education. They offer students in-depth investigations of non-curricula topics, combing theory with interactive exploration.