ABSTRACT
In England, as we write this, the launch of a new primary school national curriculum is upon us, a draft version having been released in June 2012 (DfE, 2012a ). In a letter to the National Curriculum Expert Panel, UK Education Minister Michael Gove ( 2012 ) wrote:
In mathematics there will be additional stretch, with much more challenging content than in the current National Curriculum. We will expect children to be more profi cient in arithmetic, including knowing number bonds to 20 by year 2 and times tables up to 12 × 12 by the end of year 4. The development of written methods – including long multiplication and division – will be given greater emphasis, and children will be taught more challenging content using fractions, decimals and negative numbers so that they have a more secure foundation for secondary school.
