The Primary Maths Podcast
The Primary Maths Podcast is a year-round maths podcast for teachers, leaders and anyone interested in how children learn mathematics. Every Tuesday, host Jon Cripwell interviews an expert voice from across education, exploring topics like maths anxiety, fluency, task design, curriculum, reasoning and problem solving. On Fridays, Becky Brown and Jon return for Aftermaths, a shorter, light-hearted debrief with practical takeaways for the classroom. The podcast also features The Maths of Life segments and a weekly resource spotlight.
Episodes
Cognitive Load: Are we overcomplicating maths lessons?
Are we sometimes making maths harder to learn than it needs to be?In this episode of AfterMaths, Jon and Becky explore cognitive load theory and what it means for teaching primary maths. From trying to remember a recipe to learning a musical theatre routine, they consider why our working memory can become overwhelmed — and what that tells us about the demands we place on children in the classroom.
Why Subtraction Isn't Just Taking Away
Subtraction isn't always about taking something away. So why do we so often teach it that way?Before we get into that, check out our free upcoming CPD sessions: Informal Multiplication: https://www.twinkl.co.uk/l/w7xeg Practical Techniques to Reduce Cognitive Load in Primary Maths: https://www.twinkl.co.uk/l/ij2csIn this episode of The Primary Maths Podcast: Aftermaths, Jon and Becky explore the d
Addition: structures, strategies and why 8 + 7 matters
Addition is one of the first mathematical operations children meet, but that doesn’t mean it’s simple.In this episode of AfterMaths, Jon and Becky take a closer look at what it really means to understand addition. They explore why knowing lots of different strategies matters, why column addition should be a tool rather than the destination, and why Jon has, somewhat inexplicably, developed a favou
Is the maths attainment gap getting wider?
Why do some pupils seem to thrive in maths while others struggle to access the same lesson?Jon and Becky discuss the latest PISA findings and the widening gap between higher and lower attainers, before exploring what that looks like in real primary classrooms. They talk about teaching for mastery, adaptive teaching, pre-teaching, the pressures of a packed timetable and why taking time to simply ob
How Big Is the Universe? | AfterMaths Summer Special
How can the universe be 13.8 billion years old but the observable universe be around 93 billion light years across?In this AfterMaths Summer Special, Jon is joined by primary science specialist Sarah Hutson to tackle some of the wonderfully ridiculous numbers involved in trying to understand the universe.They talk solar eclipses, meteor showers, shooting stars, the speed of light, the size of the
Can Maths Help You Win at Games?
Can maths help you win at games?In this AfterMaths Summer Special, Jon and Becky explore the line between luck and strategy — and whether understanding the maths behind a game can actually give you an advantage.They take in Rock Paper Scissors, Noughts & Crosses, chess, a deceptively simple counting game, the chessboard-and-rice problem, expected value, roulette and the mathematics hiding insi
Can Maths Predict the Future?
Can maths really predict the future?We can predict the return of a comet decades in advance, but tomorrow's weather can still catch us completely by surprise. In this AfterMaths Summer Special, Jon and Becky explore why some futures are easier to calculate than others.From probability, forecasts and projections to Halley’s Comet, the phantom planet Vulcan and Edward Lorenz's discovery of chaos the
The Maths of Getting Away: Routes, Queues & Google Maps
Podcast Show NotesWhat makes a route the best route? The shortest distance? The quickest journey? The cheapest option? Or simply whichever one Google tells you to take?In this AfterMaths Summer Special, Jon and Becky explore the maths of getting away — from Google Maps and traffic predictions to queues, theme parks and an 18th-century puzzle that helped create an entirely new area of mathematics.A
Who Decided How Long a Metre Is? AfterMaths Summer Special 3
Who decided how long a metre should be? Why is a mile 1,760 yards? And what connects the French Revolution, an expedition from Dunkirk to Barcelona and the speed of light?In this AfterMaths Summer Special, Jon and Becky explore the messy, surprising and occasionally bewildering history of measurement.They begin in a world before standard units, when lengths were measured using hands, feet, cubits,
The Probability Problems That Make Your Brain Hurt - AfterMaths Summer Special 2 2026
Probability often feels as though it should be intuitive, right up until the mathematics tells us that our instincts are completely wrong.In this AfterMaths Summer Special, Jon and Becky explore the strange mathematics of chance. From rainy-day board games and rolling two dice to coin-toss streaks, lottery numbers and casino myths, they investigate why humans are so determined to find patterns in
Why Do Summer Holidays Feel Shorter As We Get Older? Summer Special 1 2026
Why did the six-week summer holiday feel endless when we were children, yet now seems to disappear almost as soon as it begins?In the first of the 2026 Aftermaths Summer Specials, Jon and Becky explore the strange relationship between time, age and memory. They consider the popular proportional theory of time, the role of novelty in creating richer memories and the “return-trip effect”, which can
KS2 SATs Results, AI and Outsourcing Mathematical Thinking
What do this year’s KS2 SATs results really tell us about primary maths—and what might they be hiding?Jon and Becky examine the newly released national data, including the rise in maths attainment, the return of greater-depth results to pre-pandemic levels and the growing number of pupils working below the level of the tests. They discuss why a single score can never tell the whole story, why miss
Teaching in a Heatwave and is there a Place for Maths Hacks?
In this episode of the Primary Maths Podcast, Jon and Becky ask whether we need to change the way we teach maths during a heatwave.With classrooms getting hotter and the end of term in sight, they explore what heat can do to attention, working memory, processing speed and classroom engagement. Is it just children being tired and sticky, or is there a genuine cognitive load issue at play?They also
World Cup Maths, Equity and Oracy in the Primary Classroom
World Cup Maths, Equity and Oracy in the Primary ClassroomIn this episode of the Primary Maths Podcast, Jon and Becky talk end-of-year school chaos, transition days, classroom moves, and the strange joy of finding a trolley when you really need one.The main discussion begins with reflections from the East Midlands West Maths Hub summer conference, where the focus was on equity in maths. Jon shares
Escape Rooms and Problem Solving (AfterMaths)
In this episode of The Primary Maths Podcast, Jon and Becky reflect on the realities of summer term: heatwaves, report writing, and the heroic act of trying to teach when everyone is melting.They then turn to problem solving in primary maths, asking whether it should really be saved for the end of the year, or whether pupils need regular, explicit teaching of the skills that help them tackle unfam
What We Can Learn from This Year’s Maths SATs?
In this aftermaths episode of The Primary Maths Podcast, Jon and Becky take a look back at this year’s KS2 maths SATs papers and ask what teachers and maths leads might learn from them.They discuss why the tests should be seen as end-of-key-stage assessments rather than simply Year 6 tests, explore the balance of content across the papers, and reflect on the importance of flexible mathematical thi
Florence Nightingale: The Lady with the Graph
In this lighter half-term Aftermaths episode, Jon and Becky take a wander through some of the unexpected maths hiding in everyday life.First up: Samba the escaped capybara, who, at the time of recording, was still causing confusion somewhere near Hampshire. Is it a capybara? Is it a muntjac deer? Has someone accidentally taken in the world’s largest “stray cat”? Hard to say.Becky then takes us int
Why Problem Solving Needs to be Taught - AfterMaths
In this Aftermaths episode of The Primary Maths Podcast, Jon and Becky chat about the strange, busy, slightly chaotic stretch of the school year just before half term, from transition days and sports events to staffing conversations and year group changes.They reflect on how different primary teaching can feel from one year group to another, and why every phase, from EYFS and Key Stage 1 through t
Building Maths Confidence with National Numeracy
In this episode of The Primary Maths Podcast, Jon is joined by Paul Milner and Julie Pompa from National Numeracy to talk about number confidence, family engagement and the role schools can play in helping children and adults feel more positive about maths.Paul and Julie share the story behind National Numeracy’s work, including why adult numeracy matters and how confidence can be just as importan
Why Doodling Belongs in Maths Lessons - AfterMaths
In this Aftermaths episode of The Primary Maths Podcast, Jon and Becky reflect on a very maths-filled week, from Key Stage 2 SATs to International Women in Mathematics Day, with a little bit of football stadium chat thrown in for good measure.Jon and Becky begin by talking about SATs week and the difficult balance teachers face in preparing children well without making the tests feel bigger than t
Time Zones, Test Week and Teaching with Representations - AfterMaths
Becky is back from America, which means Aftermaths is back to its usual rhythm of maths chat, gentle chaos and slightly overconfident linking between topics.In this episode, Jon and Becky begin by looking ahead to Key Stage 2 SATs week, reflecting on the pressure pupils, parents and schools can feel, while also remembering some of the stranger moments from past SATs papers, including giraffes, war
Why Active Primary Maths Lessons Work
In this episode of The Primary Maths Podcast, Jon is joined by Bryn Llewellyn from Move and Learn, Paula Manser, headteacher at Birkby Infant and Nursery School, and Danielle Laramie, maths lead and assistant headteacher at Birkby.Together, they explore what active learning really means in primary maths and, just as importantly, what it does not mean. This is not about children running around the
Attainment Grouping vs Setting in Primary Maths - AfterMaths Episode
In this Aftermaths episode of The Primary Maths Podcast, Jon is joined by returning guest Ash Morris for a Friday conversation that begins with National Space Day and ends with one of the most talked-about education reports of the week.Ash shares some suitably mind-bending space facts, including moon rocks, sunlight, Apollo, Artemis and why the Moon might be thought of as Earth’s child. Jon also r
How to Encourage Mathematical Thinking In Primary Maths Lessons
In this episode of The Primary Maths Podcast, Jon is joined by Kate Henshall and Kat Martin from Rethink Maths for a conversation about lesson design, task design and how we help children move beyond simply completing work towards deeper mathematical thinking.Kate and Kat share their own experiences of maths at school, including how conceptual understanding, representations and manipulatives trans
AfterMaths: How To Teach Primary Maths Problem Solving
In this Aftermaths episode, Jon and Becky dig into one of the biggest ongoing challenges in primary maths: problem solving.Despite being one of the three core aims of the curriculum, problem solving is still too often treated as something we “do at the end” rather than something we explicitly teach. Drawing on classroom experience, research, and a classic article by Mike Askew, they explore the di
Dyscalculia Explained: The Difficulty Affecting 6% of Pupils
In this episode of The Primary Maths Podcast, Jon is joined by Cat Eadle from The Dyscalculia Network and Baroness Deborah Bull to explore one of the most overlooked areas in maths education: dyscalculia. Dyscalculia affects around 6% of learners, yet many teachers will go through their entire career without hearing it mentioned in training. So what is it? How does it present in the classroom? And
AfterMaths: From Apollo to Artemis - The Maths Behind Space Travel
In this episode of The Primary Maths Podcast, Jon and Becky explore the mathematics behind space travel, inspired by the recent Artemis mission and the return of astronauts from their journey around the Moon. Starting with the sheer scale of the challenge, they unpack the numbers, distances, and precision required to send humans into space and bring them safely home again.The conversation compares
Financial Literacy, Inequality and the Role of Parents - With Dr Paula Fieldhouse
Hello and welcome to this interview episode of The Primary Maths Podcast, the show where we talk all things primary maths. I’m Jon Cripwell.In this episode, I’m joined by Paula Fieldhouse for a wide-ranging conversation about financial literacy, parental engagement, and what it really means to prepare children for the financial decisions they will face later in life.We explore what financial liter
AfterMaths: Kaprekar’s Constant, Odd Numbers and Everyday Problem Solving
In this Aftermaths episode of The Primary Maths Podcast, Jon and Becky return after the Easter break with a lighter, curiosity-driven conversation that blends real mathematics with everyday life.Jon introduces a fascinating mathematical quirk known as Kaprekar’s constant. Starting with almost any four-digit number and following a simple process of rearranging and subtracting digits, you will alway
AfterMaths - The Easter Special: Eggs, Estimates and Everyday Maths
In this Easter special of The Primary Maths Podcast, Jon and Becky take a slightly lighter turn while still keeping one foot firmly in the world of maths. Recorded on Good Friday, the episode reflects on the welcome arrival of the Easter break and the importance of slowing down after a busy term.The conversation explores a familiar classroom question: what do we do with seasonal contexts like East
AfterMaths: From Capybara Escapes to The MTC: Real World Maths
In this Aftermaths episode of The Primary Maths Podcast, Jon and Becky catch up after a short break and reflect on this week’s interview with Professor Lucy Cragg on multiplication and how children learn times tables. The conversation turns to the Multiplication Tables Check (MTC), exploring its origins, purpose and impact since its introduction. Jon shares a short history of the check, from its a
What Cognitive Science Tells Us About Learning Times Tables - with Professor Lucy Cragg
In this episode of The Primary Maths Podcast, Jon speaks with Lucy Cragg, Professor of Developmental Psychology at the University of Nottingham, about what cognitive science reveals about how children learn multiplication facts.Lucy’s research explores executive function skills such as working memory, inhibitory control and cognitive flexibility, and how these shape children’s mathematical learnin
Helping Every Child Feel Like a Mathematician - with Tom Oakley
In this episode of The Primary Maths Podcast, Jon Cripwell speaks with Tom Oakley about one of the most important — and often overlooked — aspects of mathematics education: belonging.Why do some pupils decide that maths “isn’t for them”? Why do confident learners sometimes disengage from mathematics? And what can teachers do to help every child feel like they belong in the maths classroom?Tom draw
AfterMaths: When Children Decide They’re “Not a Maths Person”
Episode 60 of The Primary Maths Podcast is an Aftermaths episode where Jon Cripwell and Becky Brown reflect on mathematical thinking in the classroom, the hidden cost of passive maths, and why pupils’ mathematical identity matters as much as their test scores.The episode begins with a lighter moment as Jon points out that it is Friday the 13th again, one of three Friday the 13ths in 2026, the maxi
Direct Instruction Without Losing Thinking: A Conversation With Will Mcloughlin
In this international episode of The Primary Maths Podcast, Jon is joined by Will McLoughlin, a maths teacher based in Abu Dhabi, founder of AddvanceMaths.com and current Education Doctorate student researching conceptual understanding, animated instruction and cognitive science.The conversation explores what direct instruction or explicit instruction actually means in practice — and what it doesn
AfterMaths: Bean 13, Algebra, And a Little Maths Magic
In this Aftermaths episode of The Primary Maths Podcast, Jon Cripwell and Becky Brown reflect on the week’s conversation about using storybooks in mathematics and share a range of classroom ideas sparked by World Book Day.The episode begins with Jon and Becky recounting their first in-person meeting as colleagues after a slightly confusing start involving two similarly named hotels in Southampton.
Why Stories Might Be The Missing Piece In Maths Lessons - with Hannah Allison
What happens when maths lessons start with a story rather than a method?In this episode of The Primary Maths Podcast, Jon Cripwell is joined by Hannah Allison from Maths Outside the Box to explore the role of stories in primary maths teaching. Drawing on her background in the arts and her experience as a maths leader, Hannah explains how narrative, character and context can help pupils engage more
AfterMaths: Manipulatives Can't Think (But Teachers Can!)
Episode 56 of The Primary Maths Podcast focuses on manipulatives in primary maths and asks a simple but important question: do manipulatives automatically lead to mathematical thinking? Jon and Becky reflect on a recent lesson about commutativity where children were building arrays with cubes but describing the task as “making it with cubes” rather than explaining the structure behind three multip
When Maths Thinking is Messy but Meaningful - with Dr Kate Quane
In this episode of The Primary Maths Podcast, Jon Cripwell is joined by Dr Kate Quade for a thoughtful conversation about language, learning and mathematical thinking.Language sits at the heart of mathematics, but the way pupils talk about maths often remains unnoticed or is tidied up too quickly. Together, Jon and Kate explore why mathematical thinking so often stays invisible, and how children c
AfterMaths: The Million Dollar Maths Problem
In this half-term Aftermaths episode, Jon and Becky take a deep dive into prime numbers and discover that they are far more than a Year 5 objective about “numbers with exactly two factors”.The conversation begins in the classroom, exploring how we define prime numbers and why 1 and 2 are both special cases. They reflect on how primes frustrate our desire for neat patterns, how children often assum
AfterMaths: Is Friday 13th really unlucky?
Happy half term to those who celebrate. In this slightly re-routed Aftermaths episode, Jon and Becky lean into the fact that it is Friday the 13th and explore whether the date really deserves its unlucky reputation.From Gregorian calendar cycles to cultural superstitions across Europe and Asia, they unpack the mathematics behind how often Friday the 13th actually occurs and what the data really sa
Games, Play and Learning in Primary Maths - with Dr Sam Parkes
What does it really mean to gamify maths, and when do games genuinely support learning rather than simply make practice feel more entertaining?In this episode of The Primary Maths Podcast, Jon is joined by Dr Sam Parkes for a thoughtful and practical conversation about games, play and digital learning in primary mathematics. Together, they explore the difference between games that allow pupils to
AfterMaths: School Trips, Maths Engagement and the Trouble with Non Negotiables
In this week’s Aftermaths episode, Jon and Becky reflect on what can get lost when pace, coverage and efficiency become the main drivers of lesson planning.The conversation begins with a light hearted look at memorable school trips, from soggy outdoor museums to luxury coaches that were wildly unsuited to Year 6 energy. From there, the discussion turns to something more serious: how tightly prescr
Choosing the Right Manipulative: What Really Matters - with Jo Austen
How do we decide which manipulative to use in a maths lesson, and why does that choice matter so much?In this episode, I am joined by Jo Austen for a practical conversation about manipulatives, models, and professional judgement. Rather than treating resources as interchangeable or decorative, Jo helps us think carefully about what different manipulatives do mathematically, and what they quietly e
AfterMaths: Engagement, Calculators and Maths Anxiety
In this Aftermaths episode, Jon and Becky reflect on what it really means to do maths rather than watch it.The conversation begins with Jon sharing an experience from a recent maths education conference, where extended time spent grappling with puzzles led to deep engagement, productive struggle and genuine mathematical thinking. Together, Jon and Becky explore why lessons that look slower on the
Sums of Anarchy: Why Maths Isn’t the Problem – How We Teach It Is
In this episode of The Primary Maths Podcast, Jon is joined by Sums of Anarchy co-founder Dominique Miranda to explore why so many people decide early on that maths “isn’t for them” – and what we can do about it.Dominique shares her own journey from academic success through memorisation to realising, at university level, that understanding matters far more than recall. Together, Jon and Dominique
AfterMaths: Scaffolding, Contactless Cash and 11 Missing Days
In this week’s Aftermaths, Jon and Becky unpick two words that are everywhere right now — scaffolding and adaptations — and ask whether we’re accidentally reinventing differentiation under a new name. Then we share listener stories about children’s “money logic” (including the belief that you can simply tap your phone to summon infinite dinosaurs). Finally, Jon takes us down a brilliant history ra
Problem Solving Isn’t a Task -with Steve Lomax & Tom Manners
Problem solving is one of those phrases we all use in maths – but do we actually mean the same thing when we say it?Too often, it becomes shorthand for a set of word problems at the end of a lesson, or a Friday afternoon activity once the “real maths” is done. But what if problem solving isn’t a type of task at all? What if it’s a way of thinking, behaving, and approaching mathematics – something
AfterMaths: Money, Maths and the Cost of Making Learning Passive
In this week’s Aftermaths episode of The Primary Maths Podcast, Jon and Becky cover a lot of ground — from coins and contactless payments to SATs survival tips, curriculum updates, and why talking about maths might matter more than writing it down.🎒 Money in the modern classroomJon and Becky take a light-hearted but thoughtful look at how money is taught in primary schools, and why it’s become tri
What Year 6 Teachers Should (and Shouldn’t) Be Doing for SATs Right Now
SATs season can feel overwhelming — especially in Year 6. In this special interview-style episode, Jon is joined by Becky Brown to talk honestly and practically about how to prepare pupils for KS2 Maths SATs without turning the rest of the school year into one long revision session.Recorded in January, this episode focuses on what really matters from now until May, and why SATs should be seen as a
AfterMaths: Resolutions, Routines & Reality in the Classroom
In the first Aftermaths episode of 2026, Jon and Becky reflect on New Year resolutions, why so many of them fail, and what this means for teachers specifically. Drawing on national data, Teacher Tap insights, and lived classroom experience, they explore wellbeing, workload, work–life boundaries, and the gap between good intentions and sustainable habits.The episode also features a Maths of Life mo
How Maths Lessons Can Lose Confident Learners - with Emma Lockhart
Why is maths one of the few subjects people feel completely comfortable saying they hated at school?In this episode of The Primary Maths Podcast, Jon is joined by Emma Lockhart, Head of Maths at Mill Hill School, to explore what really sits behind that narrative and why it disproportionately affects girls.Together, they unpack how maths so quickly becomes framed as something you are either “good a
AfterMaths: Christmas by the Numbers- A Festive Aftermaths Special
Christmas Is Just One Long Maths Problem (A Festive Aftermaths)There’s no interview this week, no school talk, and absolutely no mention of lesson objectives.Instead, Jon and Becky settle in for a festive Aftermaths special — a lighter, reflective end-of-term episode full of Christmas maths, curious statistics, questionable guesses, and the kind of conversations you can happily listen to while wra
AfterMaths: Fractions, Fatigue & the Future of Teaching
As the autumn term finally draws to a close, Jon and Becky reflect on teacher fatigue, festive chaos, and the sense of relief that comes with making it to the holidays.This week’s Aftermaths dives into fractions — why they’re such a sticking point for pupils (and adults), and how misunderstandings often stem from losing sight of the whole. Jon shares reflections from a full day of fractions work w
Making Thinking Visible: Oracy at Every Stage of a Maths Lesson with Mike Gardner
Oracy is set to play a central role in England’s refreshed curriculum, but for many teachers it still feels abstract or confined to English lessons. In this episode of The Primary Maths Podcast, Jon Cripwell is joined by Mike Gardner to explore what oracy actually looks like in a real maths lesson.Together, they deconstruct a lesson from start to finish, showing how purposeful talk can strengthen
AfterMaths: Spotify Wrapped, Financial Education & The Learning Pit
In this week’s Aftermaths, Jon and Becky unpack a festive mix of maths chat, listener questions, curriculum reflections and some unexpectedly delightful Spotify Wrapped stats.🎧 In This EpisodeA listener question on probability, independence and why a coin can land heads 999 times in a row… yet still be 50/50 on the next flip.Jon explains just how unlikely it is to flip 1,000 heads in a row (spoile
Ep 37: Rebuilding Teacher Confidence in Maths - Insights from Patrick Renouf
In today’s episode, Jon speaks to Patrick Renouf, an international maths educator whose journey is unlike almost any other. As a child, Patrick experienced what he later recognised as maths trauma — a mix of high-stakes testing, procedural teaching, and an early sense that maths “wasn’t for him.” But what followed was a remarkable transformation.Patrick now works with schools around the world help
AfterMaths: Maths Misused - Our Favourite Everyday Errors
In this week’s Aftermaths, Jon and Becky dive into the wonderfully frustrating world of mathematical misuses in everyday life, inspired by a brilliant email from listener Sam Asplund, a Year 4 teacher and maths lead from Ketten Primary School.After a pupil requested a “cheese square” during snack time — while pointing out that Dairylea “triangles” aren’t truly triangles at all — Jon and Becky go d
How to See Maths Everywhere - Rob Eastaway’s Guide for Teachers
In this episode, Jon is joined by the brilliant Rob Eastaway, whose books, puzzles and radio appearances have helped hundreds of thousands of people see the beauty in everyday maths. They explore how curiosity drives mathematical thinking, why written methods can sometimes obscure understanding, and what we can learn from the history of numbers — from Roman numerals to Elizabethan clocks.Rob share
AfterMaths: Six of the Toughest Maths Concepts - Our Definitive Countdown
In this week’s AfterMaths episode, Jon and Becky reunite (voice fully restored!) and unpack a packed agenda: a bit of history, a lot of maths, and some classic year-group trauma. Jon kicks things off with a brilliant history of maths segment — the surprisingly dramatic story of the equals sign, invented in 1557 by Welsh mathematician Robert Recorde, whose parallel-line insight eventually won out o
From Stuck to Successful: Building Problem-Solving Classrooms with Phil Herd
In this episode, Jon sits down with Phil Herd -, maths specialist, and long-time champion of teaching for understanding - to unpick what problem solving really means in primary maths, and why it remains one of the most misunderstood strands of our curriculum.Together they explore why problem solving is far more than a final question on a worksheet, why pupils struggle to get started on unfamiliar
AfterMaths: A Trillion Cornflakes!
In this Aftermaths episode, Jon is joined once again by Sally Cole (standing in heroically for Becky!) for a wide-ranging Friday debrief. Together they unpack a huge week in maths education, from the launch of the brand-new Twinkl Maths app on iOS to the University of Nottingham’s State of the Nation review — plus a Maths of Life segment that dives into the mind-bending scale of a trillion.This we
The Hidden Logic Behind Great Maths Tasks with John Bee
In this episode, Jon is joined by maths advisor, Primary Mastery Specialist and author John Bee, whose new book Teaching Maths for Mastery: Practical Strategies for Primary Schools digs deep into what great maths teaching really looks like.Together they explore variation theory: what it is, what it isn’t, and why it is often misunderstood in primary classrooms. John breaks down the difference betw
AfterMaths: Times Tables, Roman Numerals and Golf!
In this week’s Aftermaths episode, Jon is joined by two special guests from the Twinkl team. Michelle Windridge, National Education Lead for EYFS and returning guest from last week’s episode, and Ashleigh Morris, National Education Lead for Secondary Science and host of the STEM Conversations podcast. Together they dive into the week’s interview with Cate Fearn and explore why times tables are so
Why Times Tables Still Matter and How to Teach Them Better with Cate Fearn
Few areas of primary maths cause as much debate as times tables.We all agree they matter, but how pupils develop fluency, understanding and confidence is still up for discussion.In this episode, Jon Cripwell talks to Cate Fearn — primary educator, maths specialist and creator of Table Stick, a classroom tool designed to make multiplication practice more engaging and sticky.Together they explore:Wh
Aftermaths: Sharing, Grouping, and Getting It Wrong (Why Division Trips Us Up)
This week’s Aftermaths dives deep into one of the trickiest topics in the primary maths curriculum — division. Why do so many pupils (and teachers) find it difficult? Jon and Becky unpack the cognitive, linguistic and conceptual challenges behind division and explore what teachers can do to make it more meaningful.They also reflect on the Curriculum and Assessment Review and Twinkl’s new Curriculu
Emergency Episode: Curriculum & Assessment Review Special
In this special emergency episode of The Primary Maths Podcast, Jon is joined by Becky, Sally and first-time guest Lisa to unpack the government’s newly released Curriculum and Assessment Review – and the official response that landed alongside it.Together, they explore:Why the review was commissioned and what it aims to achieveThe key takeaways for primary maths – from number fluency and multipli
Counting, Comparing and Cooking: How Maths Really Works in EYFS With Michelle Windridge
This week, Jon is joined by Michelle Windridge, Twinkl’s National Education Lead for School-Based EYFS, for a deep dive into what early years maths really looks like - and what it definitely doesn’t.Even the most confident maths leads can find EYFS a bit of a mystery, so Jon and Michelle unpack the Early Years Foundation Stage framework, explore the importance of talk and play, and discuss how to
Number Sense, PIN Codes and Peer Power
This week, Jon and Becky are back for a half-term special that explores the foundations of mathematical understanding — and the curious maths behind our PIN codes.Jon unpacks what number sense really means, why it underpins everything else in maths, and how fragile number sense can often go unnoticed until it becomes a barrier to progress. They discuss what teachers can look out for, from over-cou
Aftermaths: 6, 7, Pi and AI
In this week’s AfterMaths, Jon and Becky unpack the curious rise of the “6-7” meme and how teachers can turn it into a quick-fire classroom maths challenge. From there, Becky’s etymathsology segment dives into the origins of circle-related vocabulary – from circumference to radius – revealing a few surprises along the way.They then debrief Jon’s conversation with Simon Bond, Twinkl’s National Educ
Fractions, Feedback and the Future: What AI Means for Primary Teachers
Artificial intelligence is everywhere right now. But what does it actually mean for the teacher standing in front of a class on a rainy Tuesday afternoon trying to explain fractions?In this episode, Jon is joined by Simon Bond, Twinkl’s National Education Lead for AI, to unpack what AI really is, how it works, and what it might offer teachers: particularly in primary maths. They discuss why large
AfterMaths: Traitors, Trust and Timesing
This week’s Aftermaths episode takes an unexpectedly statistical turn as Jon and Becky explore the mathematics behind The Traitors. From probability and ratios to real-world data on win rates, they uncover why being a traitor is statistically the smartest move. Along the way, they reveal how signal-to-noise problems, conditional probability and human psychology combine to make the programme a perf
Making Thinking Visible: How Maths Journalling Builds Confident Learners With Kirsten Fenton & Holly Drummond
In this episode, Jon is joined by Dr Kirsten Fenton and Holly Drummond, two experienced primary practitioners from Scotland who have been at the forefront of exploring how maths journalling can change the way pupils think, talk and feel about mathematics.Kirsten and Holly are co-creators of the PACE framework and their research on oracy, curriculum design and maths journalling has been featured in
AfterMaths: Curriculum, Crossovers and Colin Firth
In this week’s Aftermaths episode, Jon and Becky dive into a listener question from Amy in Nottinghamshire: What would you change about the maths curriculum?The discussion ranges from curriculum overload to the role of problem solving, exploring whether maths could ever follow pupils’ interests in the same way as history or science. Jon argues that the current focus on calculating with fractions i
Exploding Rainbows - Connecting Science and Maths with Leonie Briggs
At school, maths and science are often treated as separate subjects. But in reality, the two are deeply connected, from data collection and measurement to problem solving and pattern spotting. In this episode, Jon Cripwell speaks with Leonie Briggs, award-winning educator, author, and founder of AmazeLab, about how we can make those links explicit and bring both subjects to life for children.Leoni
Aftermaths: Babies, Benchmarks and Becky’s Latin
Welcome to the very first official edition of The Aftermaths, our new Friday format where Jon and Becky unpack the week’s big ideas, share some classroom-ready reflections, and go off on the occasional mathematical tangent.This week, Jon starts with an unexpected sideline into baby growth charts after overhearing a throwaway comment at his daughter’s netball match. What exactly does it mean to be
Songs, Smoots, and Spatial Reasoning
Welcome to Episode 16 of The Primary Maths Podcast. This week is one of our shorter Friday editions, where instead of a full guest interview we pick up listener comments, share a little research, and reflect on the big themes from the week. Becky is away, so I am joined by Sally Cole for a lively conversation that takes us from tractors to spatial reasoning.We start with some fun listener feedback
SEND in the Maths Experts! Inclusive Practice with Georgina Durrant
In this episode of The Primary Maths Podcast, host Jon Cripwell, Twinkl’s National Education Lead for Primary Maths, is joined by Georgina Durrant, Twinkl’s National Inclusion Lead. Georgina is a qualified teacher, former SENDCO, and author who has written widely on supporting learners with additional needs. She also hosts the SEND in the Experts podcast, speaks regularly at conferences, and has f
From Trust-Wide Leadership to Classroom Lesson Design with Tom Isherwood
What happens when you’ve spent nearly two decades thinking hard about maths, taught in one school for most of your career, and then suddenly find yourself shaping maths teaching across more than 30 schools in a trust?That’s exactly the journey my guest, Tom Isherwood, has been on. Tom is the Lead Practitioner for Maths at the Flying High Trust, as well as Assistant Maths Hub Lead with East Midland
Primary Maths CPD That Works! Collaborative Planning with Lewis Horsley
Welcome to Episode 14 of the Primary Maths Podcast. This week we’re joined by Lewis Horsley, who somehow manages to juggle teaching Year 2, leading maths and KS1, sitting on SLT, supporting ITT students, being a Primary Mastery Specialist with the East Midlands West Maths Hub, and facilitating the NPQLPM course… all while also completing his NPQH.Lewis sat down with us to talk about the joys and c
