At Parley First School, we use the maths mastery approach to enable our children to become confident mathematicians and show a greater understanding.

What is Mastery?

Mastering maths means pupils acquiring a deep, long-term, secure and adaptable understanding of the subject. It focusses on mastery, not just learning a test, and allows children to develop their mathematical thinking and problem solving skills. It involves the use of pictorial and concrete resources, with questions to support a range of learners.

When taught to master maths, children develop their mathematical fluency without resorting to rote learning and are able to solve non-routine maths problems without having to memorise procedures. Children are given time to think deeply about the maths and understand concepts which can be applied to real life situations. This slower pace leads to greater progress because it ensures that students are secure and confident.

We use Power Maths, which has been designed to support and challenge all pupils, and is built on the belief that EVERYONE can learn maths successfully.

TT Rockstars

For children in Years 2, 3 and 4, we are using the fantastic app TT Rockstars to support times tables knowledge. Each child has personal log in and account so that their activities can be individualised to meet their needs.

There are several games for the children to play. The ‘garage’ and ‘arena’ games will focus on times tables set by the class teacher, and will change frequently as they develop their multiplication and division skills. Any games in the ‘studio’ or any multiplayer games will be based on all tables up to 12. All games will include division, which is important as they learn that these multiplication and division facts are correlated.

The app is free to download and can be accessed from home, as well as in school.