Ensuring that all pupils develop fluency with additive facts involves a significant commitment in terms of the development of school systems, teachers’ professional knowledge, effective teaching strategies, and the use of effective materials. This community offers schools that have previously engaged in Mastering Number at Reception and KS1 continued support to embed the programme in their school. It also supports Year 3 teachers to build on pupils’ prior learning by using centrally produced teaching materials to secure pupils’ fluency.

The 2020 DfE primary mathematics guidance for the national curriculum in England includes ready-to-progress criteria relating to additive facts within 10 for Years 1 and 2, and within 20 for Year 3, 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.’ This project supports teachers to ensure that pupils do develop factual fluency, in such a way that they do not become reliant on counting processes to calculate.

Maths leads in schools involved in the project will receive support to embed Mastering Number as a permanent element of their school's curriculum. They will collaborate with other maths leads in an online community and attend sessions offered by the Maths Hub. Maths leads will attend two central, online sessions, one in each of the autumn and spring terms; these will have a particular focus on how to support Year 3 teachers to use the teaching materials provided for pupils in KS2.

The materials will help teachers understand and embed the strategies for additive calculations that pupils have been introduced to in KS1. They will include key representations, such as the rekenrek, that support pupils to see the structure of the maths. The Year 3 teacher in participating schools will teach a 10-15 minute fluency session, four days a week, using the teaching materials provided. These sessions are additional to the main maths lesson.

Participating schools will have an opportunity to develop a consistent approach to the development of pupils’ fluency, and a deeper understanding of the progression in the learning of additive facts. Teachers will be supported to embed Mastering Number within their school, so that all pupils are encouraged to develop mathematical learning behaviours, talk about their ideas, and use a reasoning approach to the learning of additive facts. As a result, pupils will develop and secure fluency with additive facts within 20; this will support them with all future calculations, including when applying additive facts to derive multiplication facts.

Pupil outcomes

Pupils will:

• develop fluency in calculation and a confidence and flexibility with number that exemplifies good number sense • be able to communicate their mathematical ideas clearly

• show confidence in exploring additive relationships

• make good progress towards the Early Learning Goals and year group expectations

• demonstrate a positive attitude towards maths

• demonstrate a willingness to ‘have a go’. 

Whole-school/departmental policies and approaches

Participants will work with their colleagues with the intention that:

• the school leadership team model an expectation that all children develop the knowledge, understanding, skills and attitude/confidence to ensure they can access learning in each year group

• the school leadership team can demonstrate an understanding of how EYFS pupils progress in their knowledge and understanding of maths concepts and support planning for intentional learning in EYFS, Year 1 and Year 2 provision

• the school leadership support the Year 3 teacher to secure pupils’ additive facts in Year 3, using materials centrally provided

• the school makes plans to build on the learning of the first year of involvement to embed and sustain the practice in future years.

Practice development

Participants will:

• support colleagues to develop and refine the use of pedagogical strategies that support the development of fluency in additive facts for all pupils.

Professional learning

Professional learning Participants will:

• develop their understanding of the Mastering Number materials for Reception and Key Stage 1, and Year 3

• develop their understanding of a range of pedagogical strategies that can be used to support pupils

• support the Year 3 teacher(s) to secure pupils’ additive facts, using materials provided for Year 3

• secure an understanding of the mathematical expectations of the Early Years Framework and the meaning of the Early Learning Goals.

This community is open to subject leaders from all 2025/26 Mastering Number at Reception and KS1 schools and Mastering Number at Reception and KS1 schools from previous cohorts that have not yet participated in this community. All participating schools need to be engaged in a 2025/26 Teaching for Mastery Work Group (or have a formal EOI in working with the hub on teaching for mastery in future years).

The maths lead will work collaboratively in an online community, attend two centrally-led sessions with the NCETM, one in the autumn term and one in the spring term, and two locally-run sessions with their hub. They will continue to explore the materials for Reception and KS1, and support colleagues in these year groups to embed Mastering Number in their classes. They will also support the Year 3 teacher to use the teaching materials provided for Year 3 pupils.

The Year 3 teacher(s) will be expected to use the teaching materials provided in their class(es), as part of a 10-15 minute fluency session, four days a week; this is in addition to the main maths lesson. They will work closely with the maths lead to ensure that all pupils meet the relevant ready-to-progress criteria related to fluency in additive facts.