Numeracy

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Numeracy at Nottingham Free School

Nottingham Free School is committed to raising the standards of numeracy of all of its students.

We aim to disperse the myth that numeracy skills are only needed by those wishing to move on to careers within science or accountancy and help all our students be confident and capable in the use of numeracy to support their own learning in all areas of the curriculum. Students should acquire the skills necessary to help achieve success in further education, employment and adult life.

The outcome of a consistent approach both across school and at home should be numerate pupils who are confident enough to tackle mathematical problems without going immediately to teachers or friends for help.

Students should be aiming to:

• have a sense of the size of a number and where it fits into the number system;
• know by heart number facts such as number bonds, multiplication tables, doubles and halves;
• use what they know by heart to work out answers mentally;
• calculate accurately and efficiently, both mentally and with pencil and paper, drawing on a range of calculation strategies;
• recognise when it is appropriate to use a calculator, and be able to do so effectively;
• make sense of number problems, including non-routine problems, and recognise the operations needed to solve them;
• explain their methods and reasoning using correct mathematical terms;
• judge whether their answers are reasonable and have strategies for checking them where necessary;
• suggest suitable units for measuring, and make sensible estimates of measurements; and
• explain and make predictions from the numbers in graphs, diagrams, charts and tables.

Parents can help support students by:

• helping them to feel positive about mathematics – this is really important and it’s something every parent can do.
• showing them mathematics is everywhere – pointing this out helps children understand the importance of mathematics and to enjoy it too.

The following website suggests practical ways for parents to help their children with numeracy:

https://www.familymathstoolkit.org.uk/

Promotion of Numeracy across the curriculum

At Nottingham Free School we promote numeracy across all areas of the curriculum where appropriate.

Numeracy activities include:

• Weekly Numeracy Ninjas or a problem solving challenge discussions
• Staff CPD on numeracy across the curriculum
• Whole school celebrations of Number Day and World Maths Day
• Assemblies including numeracy/mathematics
• Participation in UKMT maths challenges (individual and team) across all year groups