If you’re wondering whether the NumberClub games can support a ‘mastery approach’ to learning maths in your school, read on! Each of its games; BrickUp, Stick and Split and NumberRamble, embody the NCETM’s ‘5 Big Ideas’ where deep understanding is the route to success, not an optional outcome.

Coherence is central to NumberClub’s game design. Mathematical ideas are presented as connected and cumulative, with each task building logically on previous experiences. Progression is driven by deepening understanding of the same core structures, rather than by disconnected questions or rapid jumps in difficulty.

Representation and Structure underpin every game. Carefully chosen representations expose the underlying mathematical structure and remain consistent as children progress. This enables pupils to focus on relationships within number and supports secure, generalisable understanding.

Mathematical Thinking is required at every step. Children must make decisions, choose strategies, notice patterns, and adapt their approach. There are no timed drills or right-or-wrong prompts. Instead, feedback is intrinsic to the task, encouraging reflection and reasoning rather than performance.

Fluency is developed in line with the NCETM’s definition: flexibility, efficiency, and accuracy grounded in understanding. Pupils become fluent by repeatedly engaging with meaningful structures, learning how facts relate and can be derived, rather than memorised in isolation.

Variation is carefully designed so that small, deliberate changes draw attention to what stays the same and what changes. This supports comparison, generalisation, and deeper insight.

So, NumberClub doesn’t retrofit mastery principles onto its games. They each embody coherence, representation and structure, mathematical thinking, fluency, and variation in a digital learning environment that genuinely supports mastery of mathematics for all pupils.

Have you played the NumberClub in your school yet? We’d love to hear about the mathematical thinking and conversations it has sparked in your classroom!

For more information on the ‘5 Big Ideas’, visit the NCETM website