Primary maths fluency — the foundations that matter most

Maths is cumulative — what's wobbly in Year 4 becomes painful in Year 9. Five foundational fluencies, done well in primary, prevent most of the secondary-school maths struggles we see.

1. Number bonds to 10, 20, and 100

Instant recall of pairs that make 10, 20, and (later) 100 unlocks mental arithmetic. Drill these in Reception, Year 1, and Year 2. By Year 3, they should be automatic.

2. Times tables to 12×12

Times tables fluency by Year 4 (see MTC) is the single biggest predictor of KS2 maths SAT scores. Speed matters as much as accuracy.

3. Place value

Understanding that the 5 in 502 means '500' is more important than it sounds. Children who don't have this rock-solid by Year 4 struggle disproportionately with decimals and large numbers later.

4. Fractions of amounts

Working out 3/4 of 48 should be intuitive by Year 6. The technique (divide by denominator, multiply by numerator) is a building block for percentages, ratio and proportion in KS3 and beyond.

5. Reading word problems

Most Year 6 SATs reasoning paper marks are lost not to maths errors but to misreading. Teach your child to underline the question, identify what's being asked, then plan before calculating.