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Big Maths
A guide for parents
What is Big Maths?
Big Maths is a teaching programme used at Mallard that is specifically aimed at helping children become numerate. In
order to be successful mathematicians as they progress through school and life in general, children must be able to
manipulate numbers quickly and accurately. Big Maths helps children become fluent in the fundamentals of
mathematics through varied and frequent practice.
What does a Big Maths session look like?
Big Maths sessions typically last between 20 and 25 minutes. Children work in their Big Maths books and are required
to work quickly with the teacher walking around the room constantly assessing and providing feedback. The pace of
the sessions can be exhausting but this is to ensure that children develop the skill of calculating at speed, having maths
facts instantly available as opposed to using fingers to count.
There are 4 elements to a Big Maths CLIC session. These are:
 Counting
 Learn-its
 It’s Nothing New
 Calculation
Each element requires the children to use a different skill and will last around 5
minutes.
Counting
Children will count forwards, backwards, in steps of 25, 50 100 and in various different multiples. They will also read,
write, say and order different numbers.
Learn-its
Learn-its are addition facts and multiplication facts. There are 72 Learn-its in total, 36 addition facts and 36
multiplication facts. These are facts that children must learn off by heart, so when they are asked 7 + 4 they are able
to give the answer instantly (as quickly as they would be able to tell you their name). As soon as they know 1 fact they
know many more. Take 3 x 5 = 15 for example.
3 x 5 = 15
5 x 3 = 15
3 x 50 = 150
50 x 3 = 150
3 x 500 = 1,500
500 x 3 = 1,500
15 ÷ 3 = 5
15 ÷ 5 = 3
150 ÷ 5 = 30
150 ÷ 3 = 50
1,500 ÷ 500 = 3
1,500 ÷ 300 = 5
Year Group
Reception
Y1
Y2
Addition Learn-its
1+1 2+2
3+3 4+4 5+5
1+2 2+3
2+8 3+7 4+6
4+2 5+2 6+2
4+3 5+3 6+3
6+6 7+7 8+8
3+8 3+9 4+7
4+5 5+6 6+7
5+9 6+9 7+9
6+8
Multiplication Learn-its
Count in multiples of 10
‘10, 20, 30, 40…’
Count in multiples of 2 and 5
7+2
9+9
4+8
7+8
5+7
9+2
‘2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12…’
‘5, 10, 15, 20, 25…’
4+9
8+9
5+8
10x table
5x table
2x table
Y3
Reinforce addition learn-its
3x table
Y4
Reinforce addition learn-its
Y5
Reinforce addition learn-its
4x table
8x table
The 6 fact challenge
6x table 7x table 9x table
11x table
Y6
Reinforce addition learn-its
12x table
It’s Nothing New
One of the most important elements of Big Maths is It’s Nothing New. This element helps children to make connections
between various different mathematical ideas. For example knowing that 5 things + 3 things are always 8 things can
help children when adding tens, hundreds or tenths as they know that if they change the ‘things’ to tens 5 tens + 3
tens = 8 tens. This then helps children when dealing with measures such as ml or cm and when adding amounts of
money.
The idea is that the learning is nothing new, this begins to develop a true understanding of what they are doing. If a
child knows double 4 then they can use that to find double 40 with confidence.
Calculation
This aspect of CLIC is when the teacher will work on developing the class’ progress and understanding of addition,
subtraction, multiplication and division. Big Maths clearly maps out which steps children should do in a clear order and
helps teachers to identify where to go back to if a child is struggling.
Big Maths Beat That!
Once a week the children will complete a timed test. The first part of this test includes a learn-its test which usually
lasts 60 seconds. The sole aim for children is to beat their own score. Once the children have completed their learn-its
test, they will complete a 15 minute ‘Beat That’ test. Examples of these tests can be found in the maths section on the
school website.
How can you help?
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Help your child practice their learn its at home – a few minutes a day is all you need. Little and often is better
than spending 20 minutes practicing.
Insist that numbers are written the correct way round.
Congratulate your child if their Big Maths score goes up.
Make maths a positive experience (don’t tell your child you were rubbish at maths when you were at school –
they will think they should be!)
Maths at Mallard!
Providing children with the skills required to solve mathematical problems in life is one of the
primary aims of the mathematics curriculum at Mallard. Maths is a universal language that is
essential for everyday life and therefore it is crucial that in addition to teaching number skills
and number facts, children are exposed to rich mathematical problems during their time in
school.
What is maths like at Mallard?
At Mallard, children receive a daily maths lesson lasting around 40 minutes plus a daily Big
Maths session lasting around 20 minutes. Staff use a mixture of strategies.
What do we need?
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What do the children do?
Programmes of study
Aims
Calculation policy
What a typical maths lesson looks like
Links to books for parents and/or children
Podcasts and/or videos that show how we teach calculation
What are they expected to do at the end of KS1 and KS2
Link to Oxford Owl website.