The Primary Maths Podcast

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...

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...

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 assu...

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 s...

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...

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 presc...

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...

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...

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 Dominiqu...

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 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...

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 classroom Jon and Becky take a light-hearted but thoughtful look at how money is taught in primary schools , and why it’s becom...

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 a...

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 m...

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 “go...

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 w...

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...

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 strengthe...

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 Episode A 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 (...

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 he...

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 g...

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 sha...

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...

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...

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 w...