What maths is taught in Year 6?

In the Year 6 maths mastery curriculum, the main focus is for children to extend their understanding of the number system and place value to include larger integers.  Also to develop the connection of multiplication and division with fractions, decimals, percentages and ratio.   

By the end of Year 6, pupils should be fluent in written methods for all four operations, including long multiplication and division, fractions, decimals and percentages

This video has been taken from the Mathematics Guidance for Key Stages 1 and 2 which was published in June 2020 by the Department for Education (DfE) in association with the National Centre for Excellence in the Teaching of Maths (NCETM).  The guidance is non-statutory but it was designed to be used alongside the National Curriculum to help primary schools develop pupil's maths mastery

Although it is primarily for teachers and schools, we believe parents/carers will also find it helpful and informative in providing an overview to maths in Year 6.  It summarises the most important knowledge and understanding children need to master in order to be ready for Year 7.   These important concepts are often referred to as ready-to-progress criteria.

The following is a more detailed list of all the maths that is learnt in Year 6.  This has been taken from the National Curriculum in England: Mathematics Programmes of Study for Pupils in Year 6 (updated 28th September 2021)

 Year 6 objectives that can be supported with our plavalmat® maths place value resources: plavalmat® place value mats, counters and base ten have been highlighted.  

COMING SOON! 

We are in the process of creating a series of video tutorials that demonstrate how to use our plavalmat® resources with the White Rose Maths schemes of learning to help children to master these areas of the mathematics curriculum.

If there is any mathematical terminology that you are unsure of, you may find the explanations on the Maths Vocabulary section of our website helpful. 

• read, write, order and compare numbers up to 10,000,000 and determine the value of each digit

• round any whole number to a required degree of accuracy

• use negative numbers in context, and calculate intervals across 0

• solve number and practical problems that involve all of the above

• multiply multi-digit numbers up to 4 digits by a two-digit whole number using the formal written method of long multiplication

• divide numbers up to 4 digits by a two-digit whole number using the formal written method of long division, and interpret remainders as whole number remainders, fractions, or by rounding, as appropriate for the context

• divide numbers up to 4 digits by a two-digit number using the formal written method of short division where appropriate, interpreting remainders according to the context

• perform mental calculations, including with mixed operations and large numbers

• identify common factors, common multiples and prime numbers

• use their knowledge of the order of operations to carry out calculations involving the 4 operations

• solve addition and subtraction multi-step problems in contexts, deciding which operations and methods to use and why

• solve problems involving addition, subtraction, multiplication and division

• use estimation to check answers to calculations and determine, in the context of a problem, an appropriate degree of accuracy

• use common factors to simplify fractions; use common multiples to express fractions in the same denomination

• compare and order fractions, including fractions >1

• add and subtract fractions with different denominators and mixed numbers, using the concept of equivalent fractions

• multiply simple pairs of proper fractions, writing the answer in its simplest form [for example, 1/4 × 1/2 = 1/8 ]

• divide proper fractions by whole numbers [for example, 1/3 ÷ 2 = 1/6 ]

• associate a fraction with division and calculate decimal fraction equivalents [for example, 0.375] for a simple fraction [for example, 3/8 ]

• identify the value of each digit in numbers given to 3 decimal places and multiply and divide numbers by 10, 100 and 1,000 giving answers up to 3 decimal places

• multiply one-digit numbers with up to 2 decimal places by whole numbers

• use written division methods in cases where the answer has up to 2 decimal places

• solve problems which require answers to be rounded to specified degrees of accuracy

• recall and use equivalences between simple fractions, decimals and percentages, including in different contexts

• solve problems involving the relative sizes of 2 quantities where missing values can be found by using integer multiplication and division facts

• solve problems involving the calculation of percentages [for example, of measures and such as 15% of 360] and the use of percentages for comparison

• solve problems involving similar shapes where the scale factor is known or can be found

• solve problems involving unequal sharing and grouping using knowledge of fractions and multiples

• use simple formulae

• generate and describe linear number sequences

• express missing number problems algebraically

• find pairs of numbers that satisfy an equation with 2 unknowns

• enumerate possibilities of combinations of 2 variables

(DOTS+TODS™ can be used to support negative numbers and algebra in Year 6)

• solve problems involving the calculation and conversion of units of measure, using decimal notation up to 3 decimal places where appropriate

• use, read, write and convert between standard units, converting measurements of length, mass, volume and time from a smaller unit of measure to a larger unit, and vice versa, using decimal notation to up to 3 decimal places

• convert between miles and kilometres

• recognise that shapes with the same areas can have different perimeters and vice versa

• recognise when it is possible to use formulae for area and volume of shapes

• calculate the area of parallelograms and triangles

• calculate, estimate and compare volume of cubes and cuboids using standard units, including cubic centimetres (cm³) and cubic metres (m³), and extending to other units [for example, mm³ and km³]

• draw 2-D shapes using given dimensions and angles

• recognise, describe and build simple 3-D shapes, including making nets

• compare and classify geometric shapes based on their properties and sizes and find unknown angles in any triangles, quadrilaterals, and regular polygons

• illustrate and name parts of circles, including radius, diameter and circumference and know that the diameter is twice the radius

• recognise angles where they meet at a point, are on a straight line, or are vertically opposite, and find missing angles

• describe positions on the full coordinate grid (all 4 quadrants) draw and translate simple shapes on the coordinate plane, and reflect them in the axes

• interpret and construct pie charts and line graphs and use these to solve problems calculate and interpret the mean as an average