ABSTRACT
Being curious about how young children learn, watching and listening as they play and trying to understand what it all means is an intriguing, exciting and worthwhile undertaking that is not without its challenges. Talk for Maths Mastery began as a year-long initiative with 12 primary schools in Sheffield to ensure that firm foundations for mathematical development and learning were laid from the start. It focused on how we could support children’s progress and attainment through the adult’s knowledge and understanding of children’s early mathematical development and increase parental involvement as part of the process. For young children, mathematics is a part of their everyday world, not a separate enterprise; their learning and development are connected in complex sequences and patterns, as their brains and bodies begin to make sense of experiences and actions through play.
