Maths
The Teaching of Mathematics at High Street Primary School
At Winsford High Street Primary, we believe maths is for everyone. Our goal is to help every child see how maths matters in daily life and feel confident using it. Through a mastery approach with Maths – No Problem! and Mastering Number, we make learning engaging, practical, and fun. Children develop strong number sense, problem-solving skills, and resilience—preparing them for future challenges and opportunities. We want every child to leave our school saying, “I can do maths!”
How we implement this at High Street
Foundation
In our Early Years, maths is practical, playful, and meaningful. We follow a mastery approach using the NCETM Mastering Number programme, alongside Maths – No Problem!
Children enjoy a daily whole-class maths session where they explore concepts using objects, pictures, and numbers. They work with partners, share ideas, and learn different strategies to build confidence and problem-solving skills. Maths also happens through play and continuous provision, so children see how numbers and patterns are part of everyday life.
Teachers provide extra support for children who need it and challenge those ready to deepen their understanding. Our aim is simple: every child enjoys maths, feels confident, and believes “I can do this!”.
Key Stages 1 & 2
At High Street Primary, we teach maths using a mastery approach with the DfE-recommended programme Maths – No Problem! and additional Mastering Number sessions to build fluency.
Lessons start with an engaging problem that all children can access. Pupils use practical resources, pictures, and numbers to explore ideas, share strategies, and explain their thinking. Teachers guide discussion to deepen understanding, and children record their learning in journals using diagrams and mathematical language.
We support every child: those who need extra help receive targeted support, while confident learners are challenged to think more deeply rather than move ahead too quickly. Our goal is for all pupils to develop strong number sense, problem-solving skills, and resilience—so they leave school believing “I can do maths!”.
Mastering Number/Fluency sessions
All classes have extra time in their timetables to work on fluency. These are heavily focussed on being able to recall number facts that will support children with their maths therefore reducing cognitive load. Year 1 - Year 5 use the NCETM’s Mastering Number resources for these sessions.
Assessment
- Use of Baseline test at the beginning of the year to assess what children have retained from the previous year. This will inform planning for each unit and be used to plan interventions.
- Use of unit reviews (completed 2 or 3 weeks after finishing the unit) to determine knowledge and understanding that has stuck. Use this to assess understanding of objectives and record on Insight and to plan for interventions.
- Use of mid yearly and end of year MNP tests (Insights) to support teacher assessment judgements and to plan for interventions and areas to be addressed.
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