At Weeting CE Primary School, we aim to provide a stimulating and exciting learning environment that takes account of different learning styles and uses appropriate resources to maximise teaching and learning. The purpose of maths in our school is to develop competence and confidence in using and applying mathematical knowledge, concepts and skills; develop an understanding of maths through a process of enquiry and investigation; and encourage the children to use and apply maths across the curriculum and in real life.  

How can you support at home? 

Have a positive mindset

• Try and use positive language around the subject of Maths, such as “don’t worry, it’s okay to make mistakes, we all do”, also be as patient as possible with your them when they’re doing their homework.

Use Maths talk every day

• Whenever you have the opportunity, try to include maths talk in their lives. This is easily done when they are playing with physical objects as you can reinforce their counting skills. For example, how many pennies are you holding? Or what shape is that object? When counting, reinforce the last number they counted as this can help their mathematical development further, for example “one, two three...three cars.”, just like children’s TV programmes do.

Develop their memory skills

• Children don't necessary have a need to remember numbers. Try encouraging your children to memorise your phone number and their grandparents’/best friend’s phone number, then test them on the numbers occasionally. This can easily be turned into a game or reward system. This not only helps develop their memory skills but also helps keep them safer when they’re away from you.

Play Maths games together

• Games are a great way to bond with your children, but also many games use mathematical and logical skills that your children will need in later life. Even a simple game such as a jigsaw puzzle helps children to develop logical and spatial awareness skills. Furthermore, games like snakes and ladders enable children to count the rolls of the dice, which helps develop their counting skills.

Watch out for shapes

• When you look around, everything is made out of shapes. So why not encourage your children to learn the names of shapes when you’re out and about to entertain them? They could identify car wheels as circles, windows as rectangles and even tiles as hexagons or whatever shape they may be!

Value the skill of Multiplication

• Support your child to learn their timetables at home.

Some useful family support and activities:

https://www.nationalnumeracy.org.uk/helping-children-maths

https://www.nationalnumeracy.org.uk/helping-children-maths/activities

https://www.nationalnumeracy.org.uk/helping-children-maths/families

https://www.nationalnumeracy.org.uk/free-family-maths-toolkit