Introduction
Hello and welcome to the wonderful world of maths here at Southwick Community Primary School. At Southwick we have two maths leads; Mrs Stephenson (Year 3 teacher, Lower Key Stage 2 Phase Lead) and Mrs Wake (Reception teacher, EYFS lead).
We oversee the fabulous work carried out each and every day and embed an ethos of over-learning, revisiting and reapplying knowledge and skills, creating well equipped mathematicians who are resilient and LOVE a problem.
We always ensure that our children have access to effective and discussion provoking resources to ensure everyone can access the curriculum and make progress, whether this be down in EYFS or in a Year 6 classroom.
We understand the importance of maths within everyday life and like to unpick any opportunity within all aspects of our school day to develop or embed a skill with purpose and meaning. We also understand the importance of financial literacy and have therefore introduced financial literacy into our maths curriculum. Financial literacy is a critical life skill for everyone and research shows that children’s attitudes towards money begin to develop between the ages of 3 and 7 (Money Advice Service, 2013) therefore primary school is the best place to start teaching it! Having a solid understanding of financial literacy can also have a positive impact on mental health and wellbeing, as a lack of this understanding can cause anxiety and stress when it comes to making financial decisions. At Southwick, we ensure that a discrete financial literacy lesson is taught every half term and we are really beginning to see the impact on the children.
We understand the importance of quick recall of facts as we know this supports the children hugely in all areas of the maths curriculum and these skills are taught and practised daily within every classroom. We also use ‘Times Table Rockstars’ throughout school to support our children’s fluency work with tables. This can also be accessed at home so please encourage your child where applicable to log in and have some fun embedding their table’s knowledge. If you require your child’s log in details, please request this from their class teacher.
