Are Private schools teaching maths differently to State schools?

[yvette37]

Hello,

I am not trying to create a debate between Private versus State.

We live abroad. In order for our DD to keep up with her English maths, my DH is using the Bond Papers.

He had a look at some of the new techniques for multiplication and division as described by

www.mumsnet.com/learning/maths/maths-introduction-section-one

Most of it is totally new to him (he is in his forties).
However he has not seen any these new techniques in the Bond papers he is using yet.

This prompts the question: why is there a difference? or do we have an old version of the Bond papers?

Many thanks for your help

y.

DDs private primary followed the National Curriculum (with extra bits and bobs). But private schools don't have to (nor, I think, do the new Free schools).

It depends on the school. Traditional methods of calculation are part of the ethos of some independent schools who trade on traditional values. This would be some selective schools I guess. Others would teach modern methods as a range of strategies as in state schools.

and remember not all state schools follow the methods described on MN

My children learn the new techniques and the traditional way, they are free to use whatever technique suits them best.