10th June 2022
Why are times tables so important?
Secure and confident knowledge of times tables is vital to children’s success in Maths. They are the building blocks of Maths and with multiplications mastered the doors to many other areas of Maths become unlocked! Here are some ways which memorising times tables can benefit your child:
- Most importantly, knowing their times tables will give your child confidence in their ability in Maths. We aim for all children to be able to mentally recall their times tables, moving away from counting on their fingers as they become more confident.
- Times tables can help your child to grasp other mathematical concepts, such as fractions, division, ratio and percentages to name a few. Children who do not know their times tables will not be able to access more complex procedures.
- If a child is confident with their times table skills, then this can reduce the cognitive load when learning a new method. An example of this is when learning the long multiplication method; if a child is already confident with their times tables then they can solely focus on the new skills with the method, e.g. where to carry numbers, when a place value holder is needed, estimating and checking that their answer is correct.
- This will not only help to ensure that their calculations are accurate, but speed up the process of learning a new method and also boost their confidence as they see that they have been successful.
Expectations for times tables for each year group:
Year 1 Count in multiples of 2, 5 and 10. Recall and use all doubles to 10 and corresponding halves.
Year 2 Recall and use multiplication and division facts for the 2, 5 and 10 multiplication tables, Including recognising odd and even numbers.
Year 3 Recall and use multiplication and division facts for the 3, 4 and 8 multiplication tables.
Year 4 Recall and use multiplication and division facts for multiplication tables up to 12x12.
Year 5 Revision of all times tables and division facts up to 12x12.
Year 6 Revision of all times tables and division facts up to 12x12.
