Numeracy

At Lara Primary School, our aim is to support students in becoming numerate and use mathematics effectively so they can successfully participate at school, at home and in the wider community. Our Numeracy program is founded on the expectation that all children will develop a strong sense of number and build their capacity in Understanding, Fluency, Problem Solving and Reasoning in Mathematics. We start every year with a focus on Place Value, working flexibility with numbers, the sense of what numbers mean, and an ability to perform mental mathematics. This supports our students in becoming life-long learners of mathematics and helps build their problem solving, sense making and communication skills.

Lara Primary School ensures that each class dedicates at least one session to Numeracy every day. Our daily Numeracy program includes a warm up to promote mathematical fluency, explicit teaching of concepts and understandings, and opportunities to apply knowledge to problem solving situations. Children take part in responsive group work, complete independent work and are involved in roving conferences with their teacher. Each Numeracy session is concluded with an opportunity to reflect on learning and to share successful strategies.

Student progress is monitored and measured against the Victorian Curriculum, and teaching staff regularly engage in professional development to keep their skills current in this area. When planning and teaching, staff consider the Concrete, Representational and Abstract (CRA) Model and how they can build a conceptual understanding of knowledge and skills with students, before building fluency then increasing complexity with application within problem solving.

Numeracy provides students with essential mathematical skills and knowledge in Number, Algebra, Measurement, Space, Statistics and Probability. Learning within these 6 stands allows for the development of the numeracy capabilities that all students will need in their personal, work and social lives. Everyday life is full of opportunities to help your child learn about maths. We use maths many times each day, often without knowing it. Make your daily routines – like cooking, fixing and gardening – a chance for your child to learn maths. The more your child joins in, the greater the confidence, and the more maths will make sense.