Mathematics and Numeracy in the Curriculum for Wales

Overview

Mathematics and Numeracy is one of the six Areas of Learning and Experience in the Curriculum for Wales. It covers the number system, algebra, geometry and measurement, and statistics and probability. It has four statements of what matters. Financial literacy sits inside the number statement, so it has no separate strand.

Hwb (the Welsh Government's digital learning platform, where the curriculum guidance lives) treats mathematics and numeracy as two linked things. Mathematics is the discipline of abstract ideas, symbols and reasoning. It "teaches the difference between conjecture, likelihood and proof". Numeracy is "the application of mathematics to solve problems in real-world contexts". Progression rests on five proficiencies with no hierarchy: conceptual understanding, communication using symbols, fluency, logical reasoning and strategic competence. Hwb also wants learners to build mathematical resilience. In the early years, "play forms an important part".

The statements of what matters Code is made under the Curriculum and Assessment (Wales) Act 2021. It requires your curriculum to incorporate all four statements. You decide how to organise and sequence the teaching. Hwb's guidance says sequencing should be informed by "the hierarchical and connected nature of mathematical concepts". Algebra, geometry and statistics cannot be understood without a prior understanding of number. Numeracy is one of the three mandatory cross-curricular skills, so every practitioner in the school shares responsibility for it. For the full framework, read the Mathematics and Numeracy guidance on Hwb.

What does Mathematics and Numeracy look like in practice?

Number

Reception learners count conkers gathered in a Wrexham park, count claps and jumps they cannot touch, and share small sets between toy bears. This is early work on the number system statement and a chance to practise counting in Welsh in both the traditional and decimal ways.

Algebra

Year 9 learners compare two mobile phone tariffs for a family in Merthyr Tydfil. They write each tariff as a linear equation, plot both lines, and find where one plan becomes cheaper. This serves the algebra statement. Learners see how changing the constant or the coefficient moves the graph.

Geometry and measurement

Year 3 learners measure a Gwynedd village green in strides, then in metres, and sketch a map. They describe where the bench sits in relation to the gate and the tree. This serves the geometry and measurement statement and moves from non-standard to standard units.

Statistics and probability

Year 11 learners take a stratified sample of how pupils travel to school across Swansea and draw box plots. They estimate the chance that a pupil picked at random walks. They critique a Swansea news graph for how its data has been manipulated. This serves the statistics and probability statement.

Financial literacy

A Year 6 class in Aberystwyth plans a stall for the town's summer fair. Learners cost their materials, set prices, track income and expenditure on the day, and work out the profit or loss. Financial literacy belongs to the number system statement. This is it in action.

Statements of what matters

The 4 statements below are the official wording from the Curriculum for Wales. Together they set out the big ideas learners should come to understand in Mathematics and Numeracy.

The number system is used to represent and compare relationships between numbers and quantities

Number is the first abstract system learners meet and the base for algebra, statistics, geometry and financial decision-making. Plan for fluency with the four operations and the links between them. This prepares the ground for algebra. Read it on Hwb

Algebra uses symbol systems to express the structure of mathematical relationships

Algebra is about generalising and spotting structure. It moves "away from context to structure and relationships". Hwb wants links between arithmetic and algebra made "from an early age". Start with patterns well before formal notation. Read it on Hwb

Geometry focuses on relationships involving shape, space and position, and measurement focuses on quantifying phenomena in the physical world

Learners compare and classify shapes, grow towards conjecture and proof, and measure in standard and non-standard units. Plan for learners to measure with their own units before standard ones. Plan for them to justify a geometric claim before they meet formal proof. Read it on Hwb

Statistics represent data, probability models chance, and both support informed inferences and decisions

Learners collect, represent and analyse data. They model chance to test hypotheses, draw conclusions and make predictions. Plan whole data-handling cycles that end with learners judging how reliable their data is. This builds the critical thinking behind ethical and informed decisions. Read it on Hwb

Progression in Mathematics and Numeracy

Progression step 1

Around the end of reception, about age 5, learning is practical and playful. Learners meet numbers in number-rich indoor and outdoor spaces. They count sets using one-to-one correspondence and compare "more than", "shorter than" and "heavier than". All five proficiencies develop at every step. Conceptual understanding shows in concrete experience: "I can count objects that I can touch, and ones that I cannot". They spot and extend patterns, use money in play, and collect data from their surroundings.

Progression step 2

At about age 8, around Year 3, learners read and write numbers to at least 1000, round to 10 and 100, and meet unit fractions. They add and subtract mentally and on paper. They recall the 2, 3, 4, 5 and 10 times tables. Communication using symbols shows here: "I can use the equals sign to indicate that both sides of a number sentence have the same value". Measurement moves to standard units. They sort data with Venn and Carroll diagrams.

Progression step 3

Around Year 6, about age 11, number stretches to a million, negative numbers, decimals, fractions and percentages. Fluency shows and matters more as ideas get harder: "I can fluently recall multiplication facts up to at least 10 x 10". Multiplicative reasoning grows into ratio and scale. Finance appears through income, expenditure, profit and loss. Learners use function machines and simple equations, find perimeter and area, calculate the mean, and give probability numerical values.

Progression step 4

At about age 14, around Year 9, learners use standard index form and all four operations with fractions. Finance covers interest, depreciation, budgets and foreign currency. Logical reasoning shows as justification moves from words and diagrams to symbols: "I can manipulate algebraic expressions fluently by simplifying, expanding, substituting and factorising". Geometry brings transformations, pi, Pythagoras' theorem and bearings. Statistics introduces hypotheses: "I can choose a sensible hypothesis to investigate."

Progression step 5

Around Year 11, about age 16, learners work with surds, fractional indices, quadratics, simultaneous equations, trigonometry and circle theorems. Strategic competence shows in choosing an approach: "I can explore and use efficient methods of solving simultaneous, quadratic and trigonometric equations". Finance extends to AER, APR and the Welsh rates of income tax. In statistics, learners compare sampling methods, draw histograms, and critically analyse how data can be manipulated to tell a particular story.

How does Mathematics and Numeracy relate to the four purposes?

Ambitious, capable learners

Hwb says mathematical activity teaches learners "not to be afraid of unfamiliar or complex problems", because a hard problem can be broken into simpler ones. Reflecting on their own approaches builds metacognitive skills. That resilience, plus the habit of explaining and justifying an answer, grows ambitious, capable learners. This is the purpose the Area serves most directly.

Enterprising, creative contributors

Hwb's guidance asks learners to "play, experiment, take risks and be flexible in tackling mathematical problems". Open problems with more than one route do this well. The guidance links numerical modelling and forecasting to entrepreneurial thinking. A costed fair stall or a tariff comparison is creative work as well as calculation.

Ethical, informed citizens

The statistics statement gives learners "tools to analyse data critically". They can form informed views on social, political, economic and environmental issues. Critiquing a misleading graph, checking a sample size, or questioning a headline percentage are practical ways in. Hwb ties judging reliability to making ethical and informed decisions.

Healthy, confident individuals

Hwb frames this purpose around "contexts involving health and personal finance". Learners interpret information and data to assess risk, manage their own money, and become critical consumers. Interest, APR and income tax at the later steps, complemented by Health and Well-being work on risk and personal debt, give this real weight.

Cross-cutting themes

Local, national and international contexts

Hwb asks practitioners to "explore local sources and resources, using a school's unique environment". Measuring the school grounds, pricing a stall at the town fair, or calculating income tax at the Welsh rates set by the Senedd all count. Hwb also suggests teaching the traditional vigesimal way of counting in Welsh alongside the decimal one. It notes Wales's proud history of mathematicians.

Careers and work-related experiences

Hwb wants learners to meet mathematics and numeracy "in authentic contexts from the world of work". That includes entrepreneurial skills, analysing labour market information, calculating budgets, and working out basic tax on goods and services. A visit from a local business owner with real costs and prices gives learners numbers worth working with.

Relationships and sexuality education

Hwb's guidance gives maths "an important role in promoting inclusivity and avoiding stereotypes through chosen examples, case studies and scenarios". In practice, check who appears in your word problems and data sets. Choosing varied names, families and roles is a small change that this Area can make every week.

Cross-curricular skills

Literacy

Hwb wants learners to have "regular opportunities to describe, explain and justify their understanding" using mathematical vocabulary. Ask for written and spoken reasoning, comparisons of two methods, and descriptions of how a shape is visualised. Close reading of a statistics report is literacy work.

Numeracy

This Area teaches the mathematics itself: concepts, symbols, reasoning and proof. Numeracy means applying and connecting those proficiencies in real-life contexts across the curriculum. All practitioners in all Areas share that duty. Schools run personalised numeracy assessments from Year 2 to Year 9. The Literacy and Numeracy Framework is non-statutory supporting guidance.

Digital competence

Hwb gives examples such as "creating a graph by using a spreadsheet" and "developing algorithms to support the understanding of patterns". Use dynamic geometry or spreadsheets when they show what paper cannot, such as how a graph changes as a value moves. The Digital Competence Framework is non-statutory supporting guidance.

Thinking tools for Mathematics and Numeracy

Practical classroom strategies that develop thinking skills across Mathematics and Numeracy. Each tool is ready to use in your next lesson.

Exploring Wrong Answers

A feedback strategy where wrong answers are examined rather than dismissed, helping learners trace exactly where their thinking went off track.

Assessment for learning

Living Graphs

An interactive graph where learners place statement cards at the correct position on pre-labelled axes, exploring cause and effect, change over time, and spatial relationships.

Visual organisers

Mini-Whiteboards

A whole-class response tool where every learner writes their answer on a small whiteboard and holds it up simultaneously, giving the teacher instant feedback on understanding.

Assessment for learning

Odd One Out

A quick classification tool where learners choose which item doesn't belong in a set and, crucially, explain why.

Ranking & sorting

Think-Pair-Share

A three-stage discussion framework where learners first think individually, then discuss with a partner, then share with the wider group, ensuring all learners engage with the question before whole-class discussion.

Discussion

Whole and Part

An analytical tool where learners examine how individual parts contribute to a whole, developing understanding of systems, structures, and the relationships between components.

Visual organisers

Common questions about Mathematics and Numeracy

Yes. Under the Curriculum and Assessment (Wales) Act 2021, your curriculum must incorporate all four statements of what matters (the statements of what matters Code). It must also follow the principles of progression (the Progression Code). You need a plan that shows both.

Hwb's guidance says sequencing "should be informed by the hierarchical and connected nature of mathematical concepts". Number comes first, and later ideas build on it. Hwb says the four statements "should not be viewed in isolation", so plan the links between number, algebra, geometry and statistics.

Use the progression steps as reference points to check that learners are moving on in all five proficiencies: conceptual understanding, communication using symbols, fluency, logical reasoning and strategic competence.

Progression steps are reference points on a continuum. Hwb says the five steps "broadly correspond to expectations at ages 5, 8, 11, 14 and 16". The descriptions of learning at each step are not assessment criteria or year-group targets.

In Mathematics and Numeracy, progression rests on five proficiencies: conceptual understanding, communication using symbols, fluency, logical reasoning and strategic competence. Each step describes learning across all four statements of what matters. At step 3, learners use function machines and simple equations with unknowns, an early form of the algebra they formalise later. Use the steps to inform planning and assessment, and to talk honestly with learners about where they are and where they are heading.

Every teacher shares responsibility for numeracy. Hwb says literacy, numeracy and digital competence are mandatory cross-curricular skills. It is "the responsibility of all practitioners, across all curriculum areas, to develop and ensure progression in these skills". Plan for numeracy where it already appears in your subject: interpreting data in Humanities, measuring in Science and Technology, reading a timeline in history. The Mathematics and Numeracy Area teaches the underlying mathematics. Numeracy is applying it in real contexts. The maths team can share the vocabulary and methods learners use, so the whole school builds on the same foundations. The Literacy and Numeracy Framework is non-statutory supporting guidance.

The other Areas of Learning and Experience

Expressive Arts

3 statements of what matters

Health and Well-being

5 statements of what matters

Humanities