The Primary Maths Podcast

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 b...

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...

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 explo...

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 Curricu...

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 achieve The key takeaways for primary maths – from number fluency and mult...

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 t...

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-co...

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 Ed...

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 larg...

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 per...

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 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...

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. Leo...

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 b...

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 feedba...

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...

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 Midla...

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 an...

In this episode of the Primary Maths Podcast, Jon and Becky are joined by a special guest to help tackle one of the perennial challenges in maths education: the transition from primary to secondary. Why does it so often feel like pupils are treading water in Year 7, revisiting content they’ve already covered? And how can schools work together to make that move a smoother, more purposeful step forw...

In the final episode of our summer specials, Jon and Becky wrap up the holidays with a mix of puzzles, pop culture, and polygon talk. Becky recounts her weekend at the Rubik’s Cube UK Championship, where maths hides in everything from official timing rules to the mysterious “God’s Number.” Jon takes us from the beach (counting grains of sand!) to the history of charity singles, comparing Band Aid’...

This week’s bite-sized summer special takes us from the sun-drenched costas of Spain to the seagull-infested arcades of Whitby, with some fascinating insights into how young children record their maths along the way. Jon and Becky swap holiday stories and uncover the surprising maths that follows you everywhere – even when you’re meant to be switching off. From suitcase scales gone wrong (pounds v...

In this episode of The Primary Maths Podcast, Jon and Becky celebrate the role of the maths subject leader. Whether you’ve been leading maths for years or have just been handed the responsibility as September looms, this conversation explores the challenges and opportunities of the role. Jon shares his own journey of unexpectedly becoming a maths lead during his NQT year, while Becky reflects on h...

In this bite-sized summer special of The Primary Maths Podcast , Jon and Becky tackle one of the trickiest topics in primary maths: telling the time. From the quirks of analogue clocks to the ubiquity of digital displays, they explore how our approach to teaching time might need a rethink in light of how children experience the modern world. They discuss: Why telling the time is more cognitively d...

Summer Special #2: Mastery Schemes vs Teacher Subject Knowledge – and the Maths of Big Numbers This week, Sally Cole joins Jon as guest co-host while Becky continues her well-earned beach break. Sally is an Education Content Lead at Twinkl, working on digital maths resources including the Twinkl Maths app. In this second summer special, Jon and Sally explore two big ideas: The Maths of Life How bi...

This week on The Primary Maths Podcast, we're kicking off a special run of summer episodes with something a little different. I’m digging into the history of school summer holidays – where they came from, how they’ve changed, and whether they were really designed so children could help with the harvest. (Spoiler: not quite.) Along the way, I explore the rise of seaside holidays, the Grand Tour, an...