Why number bonds matter
Knowing that 8 and 2 make 10 is the key to adding 8 + 5 in your head: 8 + 2 + 3. Bonds and fact families make that connection visible.Curriculum links in England
- ReceptionChildren recall bonds up to 5, including subtraction facts, and some bonds to 10 and doubles, without counting.
- Year 1Pupils represent and use number bonds and the related subtraction facts within 20.
- Year 2Facts to 20 are recalled fluently and used to work out related facts to 100, such as 30 + 70 from 3 + 7.
Many English classrooms show bonds with the part-whole model and the bar model as well as the bond diagram, and “fact family” is a common phrase from Year 1. The Year 2 statement on the inverse of addition and subtraction is what the four facts in each family show.
The Reception goal asks for recall without counting or using rhymes, so once bonds to 5 are known, use these sheets for quick recall rather than counting on fingers. Bonds to 10 then lead into Year 1 work within 20, such as 8 + 2 and 18 + 2.
Summarised in our own words from the EYFS statutory framework (early learning goals) and the National Curriculum in England: mathematics programmes of study (DfE).
