There were smiles and high-fives all around as Dave the Minion officially launched a new initiative to encourage children and parents at a primary school to learn maths by playing together.

Queen's Hill Primary School, in Costessey, has set up an area in its library which will now act as a maths hub, where children can do maths-related activities during quiet times, and borrow games that will develop their maths skills to take home to play with their families.

The school hailed the special launch event on Friday afternoon, which saw 28 parents borrow materials to use after school, as a great success.

Maths teacher Cathy Thurlow said: 'We believe strongly that maths should be fun, and maths should be part a child's everyday life, so they learn about the world around them. We wanted the children to be engaged in maths at home, but in a fun and exciting way, because children learn best when they enjoy their learning.

'Rather than sitting down and learning their times tables, we wanted them to play bowling games where one pin might be worth six points, so if they get three down, its three times six.

'Particularly, we wanted to encourage parents to be doing more maths with their children at home. We wanted them to be enjoying maths, and it's not something to be scared of.'

Other games on offer include Monopoly, where children have to add up different amounts of money, snakes and ladders, where they learn about the order of numbers, and dominos, where they match patterns, as well as other card games and board games. The maths hub will be used for an after-school games club – which parents are welcome to attend – which teaches different games they can play, and the school has also started a rewards system, which will see children who do maths at home receive certificates.

Speaking after Friday's launch event, Mrs Thurlow said: 'It's just been a really exciting event. We had so many parents and children laughing and smiling. For the opening of anything, it's the biggest event we have had.'

The new maths hub forms part of the school's efforts to improve maths at the school.

One of the recommendations in the school's most recent Ofsted report, published in July, was that the school raise achievement in maths.

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