Each May, schools, organisations and communities across the UK come together to celebrate National Numeracy Day – a campaign dedicated to improving confidence with numbers in everyday life. It highlights the importance of numeracy not just in education, but in helping people manage finances, make informed decisions and succeed in the workplace.
A Trust-wide Approach
At Greensand Multi Academy Trust, we believe that every child can succeed and we are committed to ensuring that pupils in all our schools develop both confidence and competence with numbers through a consistent teaching-for-mastery approach.
As Richie Emerson, Director of School Improvement, explains:
“We set high, Trust-wide standards for planning, teaching and assessment, which is supported by collaboration and ongoing staff development. This creates an evidence-informed approach that is inclusive, ambitious and challenging for all pupils.
Maths lessons are carefully structured, with concepts taught in small steps using practical resources and visuals before moving to abstract thinking. Pupils learn together through whole-class teaching and discussion, using precise mathematical vocabulary to explain their reasoning, learn from mistakes and build confidence.”
High-Quality Teaching in Action
Great maths teaching across the Trust focuses on building deep understanding.
In the classroom, this translates into a supportive and engaging learning environment. Megan Wells, Head of Maths at Reigate School, highlights the impact:
“Maths can often feel daunting, but when pupils begin to make connections, explain their thinking clearly, and show resilience when tackling challenging problems, it’s incredibly powerful. Seeing every student move forward, particularly those who may not have seen themselves as ‘good at maths’, is what makes the role so fulfilling.”
Supporting Every Learner
A central principle across the Trust is that all pupils are capable of success. Teaching strategies are designed to support those who need it whilst extending those who are ready for greater challenge.
“We are committed to ensuring that ‘all students are within the circle’… ensuring that every student is both supported and challenged within the same classroom” explains Megan Wells.
This approach begins early in our primary schools. Richard John, Maths Lead at Kingswood Primary School, describes how mastery is effective in supporting all learners:
“The mastery approach to maths, which we follow across the Trust, is based upon the idea of ‘non-negotiable’ number skills for each year group, which a child should be able to demonstrate before moving on. If a child does not have these number skills, as a school, we provide catch up and keep up sessions in order for children to leave our school competent and confident with their numeracy skills.”
By focusing on depth rather than speed, pupils build secure foundations and lasting confidence.
Maths for Life
We place strong emphasis on helping pupils understand how maths applies beyond the classroom:
“It is so great to see children enthusiastic about maths and able to apply it to real-life situations - it is vital for them to understand that what they learn in the classroom can be transferred to everyday life. Maths is life!” says Richard John.
Collaboration and Continuous Improvement
Our work is strengthened through collaboration across the Trust but also with local Maths Hubs, which develop and share excellent practice for the benefit of all pupils. This ensures teaching remains current, research-informed and effective.
“Our work with the Maths Hub has had a significant impact on teaching and learning across the department. Ultimately, the Maths Hub has supported us in ensuring that high-quality maths teaching is accessible to every student” says Megan Wells.
Richard John, who trained as a Maths Primary Specialist last year and this year leads training groups for maths leads from local Surrey schools (the majority of whom are part of Greensand) adds:
“It is a wonderful collaboration… all the advice is based upon evidence-informed research… we are extremely lucky to be working with the Maths Hub.”
Looking Ahead
Across the Trust, our approach is already helping pupils to increase their confidence and resilience with maths. Looking ahead, we remain committed to refining our curriculum, investing in staff development and ensuring that all pupils experience high-quality maths teaching, helping pupils to Step into their Greatness.
