What is the purpose of your learning in maths?

Y1 - Because you need to know your numbers to know how to count. So you can get better at maths so you can count to bigger numbers. To learn more ‘hyperlogical things’. To learn more big numbers. You need to know what age you are.

Y3 - When we are older we can learn more and get a job. We can use maths in our job when we are older – lots of jobs have a bit of maths in them. When you are older, if there is something tricky, you can use your maths to help you.

Y5 - So in the future I can get a bit smarter and I can understand and do more things – it is needed in lots of things like science and art; it is very important. It is really important – if you didn’t do maths the world would not be the same - we couldn’t land a rocket or be an accountant. You need it for jobs – you use it every day without knowing like when you go to the shops. It is important in practically all jobs.

What can you remember from your previous learning in maths and how does this help you?

Y1 - How to tell the time, that helps me now. A number line can help me sometimes - I've learnt how to use one. I know that on a clock you have a 6 at the bottom and a 12 at the top. I can tell half past 6. If the big hand is on the 6 and the small hand is on the 5 it will show half past 5.

Y3 - Counting that we have learnt helps you with adding and taking away. Learning to listen helps you to learn. If you have learnt something you can help someone else. The methods I have been shown help me when doing new maths like dividing.

Y5 - Simple addition and subtraction, divide and times and times tables, number bonds, the basics – this helps us with more complicated things like adding fractions etc. Times tables are really important – we couldn’t do most of the things we do without these and the other basic things. Different methods that I have learnt help me with different calculations. I can remember how to make fractions and decimals into percentages. I know how to convert each one into the other. I know that percentages means ‘out of 100’ so I know that I have to convert fractions to something over a 100 to be able to convert it to a percentage.

How do you know how well you are doing in maths?

Y1 - By the ticks and comments in my book. I know I am doing well when I get housepoints. The teacher tells me. I can check my work on the board.

Y3 - The teacher marks our books and I can see what I have got right. If you get three quarters of your questions right you are doing well. The teacher tells us how well we are doing.

Y5 - If you don’t get that many questions right in your book, you know that you need some more help with that particular bit of maths. The marking in my maths book tells me. End of year reports tell you how you have done in the year. Assessments help me to know – you can see where you need to work.

How are you helped to get better at maths?

Y1 - By being taught by the teachers. By looking at my own work.

Y3 - I listen carefully to the teacher. I get tips from the teacher to help me and then I can work out the answers. I use the equipment when I need it. My older brother and family help me.

Y5 - Doing assessments and the teacher – they teach us the lessons and then we can practise what we have learnt to get better at it. It’s all about teachers really – if they weren’t here we wouldn’t know a thing. There is something known as a teacher – that is a definite help, we couldn’t do it without them. Tutoring after school has really helped.

How confident do you feel in maths? Is there anything that could help you to feel more confident?

Y1 - Extra confident because I like doing things that I have never done before and I’m learning more numbers as I grow up. A little bit confident when I finish my work.

Y3 - Really confident, maths is my favourite subject and I like the challenges. Not that confident all of the time because I feel like I'm going to get it wrong but I always try.

Y5 - Maths is my strong point, I take after my mom with her maths brain. Being quicker would make me feel more confident. I don’t feel over confident like some others in class. I feel like I know some things but not everything. More practise and work would help me to feel more confident. I get worried and stressed in a maths lesson if there is something that I find hard, my brain gets muddled. I don’t know what would help me feel more confident – my brain has always found it hard. Generally for me maths is quite difficult. More work and practise would help me to feel more confident.

Do you enjoy maths? Why?

Y1 - Yes. I like to count in twos and I like the sheets; it helps you with your thinking and if the teachers say something; it's really fun; it helps you when an adult tells you how to get better. I kind of like some of it like the combining and splitting numbers into two groups.

Y3 - Yes. It’s fun and sometimes it’s tricky and I get it right and I like that; it’s challenging and if you challenge yourself you are happy if you get it; learning things every day is fun and I like being challenged; equipment is fun to use.

Y5 - Yes. It helps your brain and I like learning with people when we work with a partner; I like the practical questions as they are fun; maths gets your brain started at the start of the day. I do and I don’t; sometimes if there is one learning focus involving something I find hard, I get worried whether I am going to get stuck. I enjoy working with a partner. I generally enjoy it but I know how important it is to my future. I like practising things I am confident with but I find reasoning questions hard.

How do you think that your learning in maths will help you in the future?

Y1 - You might tell your kids about maths. So you can count lots of things. When I use money or tell the time.

Y3 - Maths helps you to be smart so you can help your own children. It will help in tests if you want to get or change your job. If you want to be an architect or astronaut you need to know a lot of maths.

Y5 - I would like to become a pilot and you have to use a lot of maths to do this. I was thinking about joining the army and maths could be very helpful like knowing angles. Maths will help me to get into a good secondary school which will help me to get a better job in the future. Maths is one of the core things in life – if we didn’t have maths we would be nothing; it is even used in art with spacing and pricing.

What would you do if you were unsure or stuck in a maths lesson?

Y1 - I could ask the teacher what is next. You could ask your friends. I can use my fingers.

Y3 - I would ask the teacher for help. I would try to work it out on my own before asking the teacher. I would try to think back to see if we had already learnt something that I can use to help me. I would ask the teacher if I could get some equipment to help me. 

Y5 - I wouldn’t ask a teacher straight away, I would think really hard and try to work it out, then I would ask a partner but if I was still stuck I would ask the teacher. If I couldn’t answer something I would miss it out and go on to the next questions to see if they can help me, then I would ask a partner and then the teacher. I would ask my learning partners but if my mind was still blank I would ask someone in another group but then ask the teacher.

How challenging do you think your maths lessons are?

Y1 - Medium challenging. A little bit easy when the teacher helps me and a little bit hard in some. A bit tricky. Some things I find really easy. Medium.

When I am focused I think hard – I don’t listen to my friends as I get distracted. 

Y3 - Sometimes lessons are challenging and sometimes they are easier. Sometimes I find maths really hard – I can use answers that I know to help me with the next ones. I practise a lot at home with my brother and my tutor so I find some of the lessons easier if  have already practised. The length of the questions makes me think hard – I have to read them more than once. When the teacher is talking you have to think hard so that you understand.

Y5 - They can be quite challenging sometimes – they are challenging but fair. Sometimes in my group, if I have done a lot of revision I might know how to do some of the things already. Sometimes different types of maths can be easier but then you will have more difficult questions to challenge you.

Division makes me think hard because it involves a lot of things – you need to know all of your times tables and I don’t know some of them. Times tables can be hard – I know some of them but some are really tricky. Long division is challenging because it involves lots of methods and operations.