EYFS

Mathematics in EYFS

The EYFS framework is structured very differently to the national curriculum as it is organised across seven areas of learning rather than subject areas.

The table below outlines the most relevant statements taken from the Early Learning Goals in the EYFS statutory framework and the Development Matters age ranges for Three and Four-Year-Olds and Reception to match the programme of study for mathematics.

The most relevant statements for mathematics are taken from the following areas of learning:

Communication and Language
Mathematics

Mathematical Vocabulary
Three and Four-Year-Olds	Communication and Language		Use a wider range of vocabulary. Understand ‘why’ questions, like: “why do you think the caterpillar is so fat?”
Reception	Communication and Language		Learn new vocabulary. Use new vocabulary throughout the day.
ELG	Communication and Language	Speaking	Participate in small group, class and one-to-one discussions, offering their own ideas, using recently introduced vocabulary.

Number and Place Value
Counting
Three and Four-Year-Olds	Mathematics		Recite numbers past 5. Say one number name for each item in order: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. Know that the last number reached when counting a small set of objects tells you how many there are in total (‘cardinal principle’).
Reception	Mathematics		Count objects, actions and sounds. Count beyond ten.
ELG	Mathematics	Numerical Patterns	Verbally count beyond 20, recognising the pattern of the counting system.
Identifying, Representing and Estimating Numbers
Three and Four-Year-Olds	Mathematics		Fast recognition of up to 3 objects, without having to count them individually (‘subitising’). Show ‘finger numbers’ up to 5. Link numerals and amounts: for example, showing the right number of objects to match the numeral, up to 5. Experiment with their own symbols and marks as well as numerals.
Reception	Mathematics		Subitise. Link the number symbol (numeral) with its cardinal number value.

ELG	Mathematics	Number	Subitise (recognising quantities without counting) up to 5.
Reading and Writing Numbers
Three and Four-Year-Olds	Mathematics		Link numerals and amounts: for example, showing the right number of objects to match the numeral, up to 5. Experiment with their own symbols and marks as well as numerals.
Reception	Mathematics		Link the number symbol (numeral) with its cardinal number value.
Compare and Order Numbers
Three and Four-Year-Olds	Mathematics		Compare quantities using language: ‘more than’, ‘fewer than’.
Reception	Mathematics		Compare numbers.
ELG	Mathematics	Numerical Patterns	Compare quantities up to 10 in different contexts, recognising when one quantity is greater than, less than or the same as the other quantity.
Understanding Place Value
Reception	Mathematics		Understand the ‘one more than/one less than’ relationship between consecutive numbers. Explore the composition of numbers to 10.
ELG	Mathematics	Number	Have a deep understanding of numbers to 10, including the composition of each number.
Solve Problems
Three and Four-Year-Olds	Mathematics		Solve real world mathematical problems with numbers up to 5.

Addition and Subtraction
Mental Calculations
Reception	Mathematics		Automatically recall number bonds for numbers 0-10.
ELG	Mathematics	Number	Automatically recall (without reference to rhymes, counting or other aids) number bonds up to 5 (including subtraction facts) and some number bonds to 10, including double facts.
Solve Problems
ELG	Mathematics	Numerical Patterns	Explore and represent patterns within numbers up to 10, including evens and odds, double facts and how quantities can be distributed evenly.
Reception	Mathematics		Subitise. Link the number symbol (numeral) with its cardinal number value.

Measurement
Describe, Measure, Compare and Solve (All Strands)
Three and Four-Year-Olds	Mathematics	Make comparisons between objects relating to size, length, weight and capacity.
Reception	Mathematics	Compare length, weight and capacity.

Telling the Time
Three and Four-Year-Olds	Mathematics	Begin to describe a sequence of events, real or fictional, using words, such as ‘first’, ‘then…’

Properties of Shapes
Recognise 2D and 3D Shapes and their Properties
Three and Four-Year-Olds	Mathematics	Talk about and explore 2D and 3D shapes (for example, circles, rectangles, triangles and cuboids) using informal and mathematical language: ‘sides’, ‘corners’, ‘straight’, ‘flat’, ‘round’. Select shapes appropriately: flat surfaces for a building, a triangular pattern for a roof, etc. Combine shapes to make new ones – an arch, a bigger triangle, etc.
Reception	Mathematics	Select, rotate and manipulate shapes in order to develop spatial reasoning skills.
Compare and Classify Shapes
Reception	Mathematics	Compose and decompose shapes so that children can recognise a shape can have other shapes within it, just as numbers can.

Position and Direction
Position, Direction and Movement
Three and Four-Year-Olds	Mathematics	Understand position through words alone – for example, “The bag is under the table,” – with no pointing. Describe a familiar route. Discuss routes and locations, using words like ‘in front of’ and ‘behind’.
Reception	Understanding the World	Draw information from a simple map.
Patterns
Three and Four-Year-Olds	Mathematics	Talk about and identify the patterns around them. For example, stripes on clothes, designs on rugs and wallpaper. Use informal language like ‘pointy’, ‘spotty’, ‘blobs’, etc. Extend and create ABAB patterns – stick, leaf, stick, leaf. Notice and correct an error in a repeating pattern.
Reception	Mathematics	Continue, copy and create repeating patterns.

Statistics
Record, Present and Interpret Data
Three and Four-Year-Olds	Mathematics	Experiment with their own symbols and marks, as well as numerals.