What we offer
What we teach your child will depend on their current strengths and areas for development. Depending on the topic, some children require a ‘gap closing’ approach, some children require a ‘keep up and consolidate’ approach and others benefit from a ‘use and apply’ approach.
All our sessions are fully interactive and tutor led. We acknowledge that electronic programs can be very helpful in certain situations but in order for your child to get maximum benefit and value from our sessions, we design the interactions to be between the child and the tutor or the child and other children.
As a general rule, your child will be exposed to the following elements in their sessions with us:
Year 3 and Year 4
Year 5 and Year 6
Mental Maths
We believe Mental Maths (mental arithmetic) is the foundation of strong mathematics. As the National Curriculum for maths contains so much content, there is not enough time during school lessons to give mental maths the repeated, regular attention it deserves so we make a point of doing so in our sessions.
Times Tables
We follow the National Curriculum in terms of the times tables that should be learned for each year group. Children sit the Multiplication Tables Check (MTC) at school towards the end of Y4. Children are expected to be able to quickly recall all times tables to 12 x 12.
Arithmetic
We follow the National Curriculum and focus on closing gaps and ensuring skill fluency. We follow a sequenced system to ensure a good understanding of the number system, place value and manipulating numbers; proficiency in the four operations and fractions are in place. Once secure in these crucial areas of the maths curriculum, we introduce other areas of the curriculum. Getting the basics right leads to much quicker accumulation of knowledge in class as well as tutoring sessions.
Reasoning
Reasoning is the use and application of mathematical thinking and skills in a variety of contexts. We include word problems, mathematical puzzles and games and SATs-style questions to develop children’s reasoning skills. We use mathematical vocabulary, group discussions and question analysis to teach reasoning.
Mental Maths
​Prior to 2016, Mental Maths formed part of the Y6 maths SATs test. We believe strong mental arithmetic skills form the foundations of strong mathematics. Due to the National Curriculum for maths containing so much content, there is generally not enough time during school lessons to give mental maths the repeated, regular attention it deserves so we do.
Times Tables
We give children the opportunity to consolidate their times tables knowledge and use multiplication facts to derive more complex facts.
Arithmetic
We follow the National Curriculum and focus on closing gaps and ensuring skill fluency. We follow a sequenced system to ensure a secure understanding of the number system, place value and manipulating numbers; proficiency in the four operations including decimals; a thorough grounding in fractions, decimals and percentages are in place. Once secure in these vital areas of the maths curriculum, we introduce other areas of the curriculum. Getting the basics right leads to much quicker accumulation of knowledge in class as well as tutoring sessions.
Reasoning
Reasoning is the use and application of mathematical thinking and skills in a variety of contexts. We include word problems, mathematical puzzles and games and SATs-style questions to develop children’s reasoning skills. We use mathematical vocabulary, group discussions and question analysis to teach reasoning.