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Helping your child to thrive in Maths

This guide is here to support you in understanding and encouraging your child’s progress in maths. It outlines the key topics your child will explore in each year group and offers practical ways you can help at home to boost their confidence and support any gaps in knowledge.

The national curriculum overview

What will they learn?

  • Number and place value 
    • Counting in multiples - 4s, 8s, 50s and 100s 
    • Number formation - Writing numbers clearly and correctly 
    • Understanding place value - Recognising hundreds, tens and ones in 3-digit numbers 
    • Writing numbers in words - Up to 100, e.g. 45 = forty-five 
    • Comparing and ordering numbers - From 0 to 100 
    • Finding 10 or 100 more/less - e.g. 154 → 254 or 54 → 64
  • Addition and subtraction 
    • Mental maths - Adding and subtracting ones, tens and hundreds 
    • Written methods - Using column addition and subtraction for 3-digit numbers
  • Multiplication and division 
    • Times tables - Learning 3, 4 and 8 times tables 
    • Missing number problems - Solving equations like 4 x ? = 12 
    • Formal written methods - Multiplying and dividing using structured approaches
  • Fractions
    • Unit and non-unit fractions - e.g. ½, ⅓, ¾.
    • Finding fractions of amounts - Using division and multiplication
    • Adding and subtracting fractions - With the same denominator
    • Comparing and ordering fractions - Understanding which is bigger and smaller
    • Equivalent fractions - Recognising fractions that represent the same value
    • Counting in tenths - e.g. 0.1, 0.2, 0.3
  • Measurement
    • Length, weight and capacity - Using rulers, scales and jugs
    • Perimeter - Measuring the outside of shapes
    • Time - Reading analogue clocks to the nearest minute, using time vocabulary
    • Money - Adding and subtracting using £ and p
  • Statistics
    • Data handling - Creating and interpreting bar charts, pictograms and tables
    • Estimating answers - Making sensible guesses before calculating
  • Shape and geometry
    • 2D and 3D shapes - Drawing and building shapes
    • Angles - Identifying right angles and turns
    • Lines - Recognising parallel and perpendicular lines
  • Problem solving and games
    • Applying maths skills - To puzzles, games and real-life problems

What will they learn?

  • Number and place value
    • Rounding numbers - To the nearest 10, 100 or 1,000
    • Roman numerals - Reading and interpreting up to 100
    • Understanding 4-digit numbers - Recognising thousands, hundreds, tens and ones
    • Counting in multiples - 6, 7, 9, 25 and 1,000
    • Finding 1000 more or less - Using place value knowledge
  • Addition and subtraction
    • Mental maths - Adding and subtracting 3-digit numbers
    • Written methods - Column addition and subtraction for 4-digit numbers
  • Multiplication and division
    • Times tables - Up to 12 x 12, including inverse division facts
    • Formal written methods - Multiplying and dividing using structured approaches
    • Factor pairs and commutativity - Understanding relationships between numbers
  • Fractions and decimals
    • Finding fractions of amounts - Including unit and non-unit fractions
    • Equivalent fractions - Recognising and explaining
    • Adding and subtracting fractions - With the same denominator
    • Comparing fractions and decimals - Understanding size and order
    • Decimal equivalents - e.g. ½ = 0.5
    • Counting in tenths and hundredths - Understanding place value in decimals
    • Rounding decimals - To the nearest whole number
  • Measurement
    • Units of measurement - Length (mm, cm, m), mass (g, kg), volume (ml, l)
    • Converting units - e.g. 1.4m = 140cm
    • Area and perimeter - Calculating for rectangles and compound shapes
    • Money - Adding, subtracting and calculating change
  • Time
    • Reading clocks - Analogue and digital, including Roman numerals
    • Converting time - Between 12-hour and 24-hour formats
    • Understanding time concepts - Days, weeks, months, leap years
  • Statistics
    • Interpreting data - Bar charts, pictograms, tables and time graphs
    • Solving problems - Using data to answer questions and compare values
  • Geometry
    • 2D and 3D shapes - Naming, drawing and describing properties
    • Lines and angles - Identifying horizontal, vertical, parallel and perpendicular lines
    • Recognising angles - Right, acute and obtuse
    • Coordinates and translation - Plotting and describing movement

What will they learn?

  • Number and place value
    • Reading and writing numbers - Up to 1,000,000
    • Counting in powers of ten - e.g. 10, 100, 1,000, 10,000, 100,000
    • Rounding numbers - To the nearest 10, 100, 1,000, 10,000, and 100,000
    • Roman numerals - Up to 1000, including reading years
    • Negative numbers - Counting through zero and using in context
    • Multiples and factors - Identifying and using them in problem solving
  • Mental and written calculations
    • Mental maths - Adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing large numbers
    • Written methods - Add and subtract 5-digit numbers, multiply 4-digit numbers by 1 or 2-digit numbers
    • Multi-step problems - Solving complex problems using multiple operations
  • Prime, square and cube numbers
    • Prime numbers - Up to 19 and identifying primes up to 100
    • Prime factors and composite numbers - Understanding and applying
    • Square and cube numbers - Recognising and calculating
  • Fractions, decimals and percentages
    • Equivalent fractions - Using diagrams and number statements
    • Mixed and improper fractions - Converting between them
    • Adding and subtracting fractions - With different denominators
    • Multiplying fractions - Including mixed numbers
    • Decimals - Reading, writing, ordering, and rounding (up to 3 decimal places)
    • Fractions as decimals - e.g., ½ = 0.5, ¼ = 0.25
    • Percentages - Understanding as fractions, e.g. 50% = ½
  • Measurement
    • Units of measure - Converting between mm, cm, km, g, kg, ml and l
    • Metric and imperial - Comparing and converting, e.g. inches to cm
    • Volume and capacity - Estimating and comparing
    • Area and perimeter - Calculating for rectangles and compound shapes, estimating area of irregular shapes
  • Time
    • Units of time - Days, weeks, months, years
    • Converting time - Between units and solving time-based problems
    • Timetables - Reading and interpreting
  • Statistics
    • Graphs and charts - Interpreting line graphs and other data 
    • Timetables - Understanding and answering questions
  • Geometry
    • Angles - Drawing, measuring, estimating (acute, obtuse, reflex)
    • Polygons - Identifying regular and irregular shapes
    • 3D shapes - Recognising from 2D representations
    • Coordinates and translation - Reflecting and translating shapes

What will they learn?

  • Number and place value
    • Reading large numbers - Up to 10,000,000, including writing in words and figures
    • Rounding numbers - To any place value
    • Negative numbers - Understanding and using in context, e.g., temperature
    • Mental calculations - Efficient strategies for large numbers
    • Roman numerals - Reading dates and numbers up to 1,000
  • Calculations
    • Estimation - Using rounding to check answers
    • Using a calculator - For checking and solving problems
    • Written methods - Multiply and divide 4-digit numbers by 2-digit numbers, multiply numbers with up to 2 decimal places
  • Fractions, decimals and percentages
    • Add and subtract fractions - Including mixed numbers and different denominators
    • Simplifying fractions - Reducing to simplest form
    • Multiplying and dividing fractions - Including division by whole numbers
    • Decimal equivalents - e.g., ⅜ = 0.375
    • Percentages - Calculating percentages of amounts and converting between fractions, decimals, and percentages
  • Algebra
    • Using formulae - Understanding and applying algebraic rules
    • Missing number problems - Representing with symbols
    • Equations with two unknowns - Solving simple algebraic problems
    • Patterns and sequences - Recognising and generating number patterns
  • Statistics
    • Pie charts - Constructing and interpreting
    • Mean (average) - Calculating and understanding
    • Coordinates - Identifying in all four quadrants
    • Reflecting shapes - Across axes in coordinate grids
  • Geometry
    • 2D and 3D shapes - Drawing, naming, and describing properties
    • Parts of a circle - Radius, diameter, circumference
    • Scale and enlargement - Solving problems using scale factors
    • Angles - In triangles, quadrilaterals, and polygons, on straight lines and around points, using protractors to measure and draw

For children ready to stretch their learning

  • Square roots - Understanding and calculating
  • Probability vocabulary - Likely, unlikely, certain, impossible
  • Algebraic reasoning - Using formulae to test mathematical rules
  • Area of circles - Applying formulas
  • Infinity and number theory - Exploring deeper concepts

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