This project offers schools that have not previously been involved in Mastering Number at Reception and KS1 the opportunity for teachers to develop the subject knowledge and skills to secure firm foundations for their pupils in additive relationships. The aim over time is that all children will leave KS1 with fluency in calculation, and a confidence and flexibility with number that exemplifies good number sense.

The 2020 DfE primary mathematics guidance for the national curriculum in England includes ready-to-progress criteria relating to addition and subtraction facts within 20 for Year 1 and Year 2, and states that: ‘It is essential that pupils have automatic recall of these facts before they learn the formal written methods of columnar addition and subtraction’. Gray and Tall (1991) suggest that children who ‘use counting processes to solve addition and subtraction facts are in fact using more complex procedures with more possibility of error,’ and that for these children, ‘the arithmetic becomes increasingly more difficult’. This project supports teachers to ensure that pupils develop factual fluency, in such a way that they do not become reliant on counting processes to calculate.

Lead Teachers from participating schools, one from each of Reception, Year 1 and Year 2, will use centrally provided teaching materials in their classes, and will support colleagues to use the materials. In Reception, this will constitute the main maths lesson for all the number work for pupils to meet the Early Learning Goals for maths. Reception teachers will also be expected to embed pupils’ learning through providing activities in continuous provision and through routines; the materials offer ideas for this. In KS1, the sessions should be 10-15 minutes in addition to the main maths lesson.

Lead Teachers will engage in national and local workshops to help them understand and use the materials. Maths leads are encouraged to attend these sessions with Lead Teachers, to help them understand and implement the programme. Lead Teachers will also be part of a local Work Group; this will involve engaging in an online community and participating in sessions led by a Work Group Lead.

Headteachers and maths leads are also invited to two central online sessions, one in autumn term and one in summer term. These will help them better understand the programme, and maximise its impact.



The programme will support schools to use a teaching for mastery approach to ensure that all pupils have an opportunity to develop fluency with additive facts appropriate to their year group.

Schools that have not previously taken part in Mastering Number at Reception and Key Stage 1 can take part. Participating schools will nominate three Lead Teachers (see above). Lead Teachers will attend three central workshops and three local workshops across the year. They should use the teaching materials in their own classes and support their colleagues to do the same. The maths lead is encouraged to attend the national workshops with the Lead Teachers.

Lead Teachers will collaborate with other participants in the Work Group, via an online community. This may be in the form of writing brief responses to questions posed by the Work Group Lead, or responding to comments from other participants. They will also be asked to provide assessment data for two pupils, once at the beginning of the year and once at the end of the year.



Participating teachers will explore the Mastering Number at Reception and KS1 materials relevant to their year group, and understand the connections in learning with previous and subsequent year groups.