Numeracy

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Toot Hill School is committed to raising the standards of numeracy of all of its students; we want our pupils to be confident and capable in the use of numeracy to support their learning in all areas of the curriculum and to acquire the skills necessary to help achieve success in further education, employment and adult life.

“Mathematical literacy is an individual’s capacity to identify and understand the role that mathematics plays in the world, to make well-founded judgements and to use and engage with mathematics in ways that meet the needs of that individual’s life as a constructive, concerned and reflective citizen.”PISA

Numeracy is a proficiency that involves confidence and competence with numbers and measures. It requires an understanding of the number system, a repertoire of computational skills and ability to solve number problems in a variety of contexts. Numeracy also demands practical understanding of the ways in which information is gathered by counting and measuring, and is presented in graphs, diagrams, charts and tables.

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

Pupils should:

• 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 with numeracy:

• Helping your child feel positive about maths is really important and it’s something every parent can do.
• Maths is everywhere – pointing this out helps children understand the importance of maths, and enjoy it too.

The following website suggests practical ways for parents to help their children: http://www.nationalnumeracy.org.uk/parents/index.html