At Shotley Bridge Nursery School we are passionate about ensuring children leave us with the best possible foundation of holistic skills which will pave the way for them to achieve their full potential in the future. Within this, we continuously strive within our reflective practice to be at the forefront of early years developments, adapting our practices accordingly in line with our vision, values and the needs of the modern-day child.
In recent years, research has shown that children as young as four years old are showing signs of number apprehension – the foundation of mathematics anxiety. As we know a child’s early experiences lay the critical foundations for their future – as stated by Petronzi et al, if a child’s early experiences of something are negative, it can have a lifelong impact on their perception of, and approach to, future experiences.
Historically, focus on educating children in mathematics has focused on teaching them to rote count and recognise numerals and their mathematics ability perceived based upon these skills exclusively. However, there is a clear commonality between these numeracy related skills and acquisition of language. When supporting children in building language skills our main focus is on nouns – we label things verbally to give children the word they can use. Teaching a child a car is a car, and a dog is a dog is very similar to teaching them numeral 1 is a one and 2 is a two – they are simply labels. It is experience that helps children understand the meaning behind these labels and we must ensure we provide the correct experiences to help children learn what number names and numerals represent.
As a nursery we have been fortunate to have engaged in forward thinking training in which our practitioners have developed practice which focuses on the skills children need to develop before learning to count sequentially. Our mathematics provision creates meaningful, positive experiences that build a deep understanding of numbers and rather than introducing numbers in an abstract concept, it is built into everyday rhythms. From entering the setting our babies are supported in the development of early mathematics skills with opportunities as simple as posting loose parts into containers helping to develop their understanding of object permanency and the concept of capacity and size.
Moving away from asking ‘how many?’ or counting in sequence at every opportunity proved to be difficult habits to break at first, but we have been amazed by the benefits a change in approach has produced. We now centre our focus on subitising skills. Without the involvement of number language, children are born with the ability to recognise variation in quantities, and it is our goal to nurture this ability and provide number-related depth. We focus on helping children develop a deep understanding of the meaning of numbers 1-3, before higher numbers are introduced.
On Friday 7th February we will be celebrating our approach to mathematics in recognition of ‘Number Day 2025’. This event is led by the NSPCC to raise awareness and funds for their vital work whilst encouraging a positive attitude towards mathematics.
