The Primary Maths Podcast

Jon Cripwell
  • 5.0 (1)
  • Education

The Primary Maths Podcast is a year-round maths podcast for teachers, leaders and anyone interested in how children learn mathematics. Every Tuesday, join me, Jon Cripwell, for an in-depth interview with an expert voice from across education - teachers, leaders, researchers, authors and thinkers - as we explore what really works in primary maths. We dive into the big ideas shaping maths education, from maths anxiety and fluency to task design, curriculum, reasoning and problem solving. Then on Fridays, Becky Brown and I return for Aftermaths — a shorter, light-hearted, practical debrief where we unpack the week’s key insights, and share clear takeaways for the classroom.. We also share listener stories and discuss The Maths of Life, amongst other topics. Across the week, expect: - Insightful conversations with the people shaping maths education - Clear, actionable takeaways for teachers and maths leads - The Maths of Life — the surprising ways maths shows up in everyday moments - A weekly resource spotlight - New episodes every Tuesday and Friday, all year round If you’re looking for a thoughtful, practical teacher podcast that blends research, real classrooms and conversations that matter, this is the place to start.

  1. 7h ago

    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 genuinely random events. Why is seven the most likely total when rolling two dice? How can just 23 people produce a better-than-even chance of two sharing a birthday? Are 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 genuinely bad lottery numbers? And after choosing between three mysterious doors, why should you abandon your original choice? The episode concludes with the famously counterintuitive Monty Hall problem: three doors, two goats, one car and a very good mathematical reason to switch. Expect hidden maths, questionable gambling strategies and several probability problems capable of making your brain hurt. Explore The Primary Maths Podcast and more from Twinkl: https://www.twinkl.co.uk/resources/twinkl-podcasts/primary-maths-education-podcast-twinkl-podcasts We always love hearing from listeners. Send your questions, episode ideas and examples of maths hiding in everyday life to: primarymathspodcast@twinkl.co.uk Subscribe to the podcast newsletter on Substack: https://primarymathspodcast.substack.com/ Connect with Jon on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joncripwell/ If you enjoyed the episode, please follow the podcast, leave a rating or review, or share it with a colleague. It really helps more teachers discover the show. Thanks for listening, and as ever, keep doing the maths.

    The Probability Problems That Make Your Brain Hurt - AfterMaths Summer Special 2 2026

  2. 3d ago

    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 make the journey home feel shorter even when the distance is the same. The conversation also takes in unusually long post-GCSE summers, children’s television, World Cup statistics and the role of the railways in creating standardised time across Britain. Before that, Jon and Becky discuss Andy Burnham’s arrival in Downing Street and Lucy Powell’s appointment as education secretary. What might the change mean for schools—and can the sector retain some much-needed continuity around SEND, curriculum reform, funding, recruitment and retention? Why Teaching Time Is So Hard and What We Can Do About It: https://www.twinkl.co.uk/l/1abmzu Explore PlanIt Maths Year 2 time resources: https://www.twinkl.co.uk/l/t9r41 Listen to our earlier Summer Special, Making Sense of Time: https://www.twinkl.co.uk/l/1n860n Read the return-trip effect research: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21861201/ Subscribe to The Primary Maths Podcast Substack: https://theprimarymathspodcast.substack.com/ Get in touch with Jon and Becky at primarymathspodcast@twinkl.co.uk. Subscribe to The Primary Maths Podcast so you don’t miss the next Summer Special: What Are the Chances of That?

    Why Do Summer Holidays Feel Shorter As We Get Older? Summer Special 1 2026

  3. Jul 17

    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 missing the expected standard does not mean a child “can’t do maths”, and whether the improving headline figures may be masking a widening gap between different groups of pupils. They also explore new research into pupils’ use of AI for mathematical word problems. Homework accuracy increased and answers were completed in seconds—but performance fell when pupils had to work independently under supervision. Are pupils using AI as a helpful learning tool, or simply outsourcing the thinking that helps learning happen? Read Jon’s blog on using AI tools to support maths learning: https://www.twinkl.co.uk/l/ecwcw Explore the newly updated PlanIt Maths scheme: https://www.twinkl.co.uk/l/ndlp8

    KS2 SATs Results, AI and Outsourcing Mathematical Thinking

  4. Jul 10

    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 tackle one of the classic primary maths debates: when multiplying by 10, is it ever OK to say you “put a zero on the end”? Jon and Becky discuss place value, mathematical shortcuts, misconceptions, decimals, fluency, relational understanding and why seeing the structure matters more than simply getting the answer quickly. Plus, there’s ice cream ratios, hydration breaks, the Fosbury Flop, Richard Skemp, Jerome Bruner and a reminder that the brand-new PlanIt Maths Place Value resources are now available. Explore the new PlanIt Maths Place Value resources here: https://www.twinkl.co.uk/l/ndlp8

    Teaching in a Heatwave and is there a Place for Maths Hacks?

  5. Jul 3

    World Cup Maths, Equity and Oracy in the Primary Classroom

    World Cup Maths, Equity and Oracy in the Primary Classroom In 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 the powerful question at the heart of the day: who gets to participate in mathematical thinking, and what do we need to do differently in our lesson design so that all pupils can take part? Jon and Becky explore the difference between equality and equity, and consider how barriers in maths lessons are not always about individual pupils, but about the structures, routines and expectations around them. They discuss how silent classrooms, prior attainment labels, narrow learning objectives and the rush to find the correct answer can sometimes limit opportunities for mathematical thinking. There is also a focus on oracy in maths: why talk matters, how pupils benefit from explaining, reasoning and justifying, and why an incorrect answer can be just as valuable as a correct one when we take time to explore the thinking behind it. Later in the episode, attention turns to the World Cup and the many ways teachers can use it as a rich context for maths. Jon shares some World Cup facts and figures, including the first men’s World Cup in Uruguay in 1930, goal totals from past tournaments, stadium capacities, group tables, averages and goal difference. Jon and Becky suggest practical classroom ideas across the primary phase, including: counting, sorting, comparing and creating simple pictograms in EYFS and Year 1;using tables, match results and points totals in Years 2 and 3;exploring goal difference, averages, stadium capacities, fairness and predictions in Years 4, 5 and 6;asking open-ended questions such as “What maths can you see?” while watching or looking at images from a match. There is plenty here for teachers looking for meaningful end-of-year maths activities, especially when half the class is at transition day, sports day practice, or mysteriously missing because of something involving a clipboard. Whether you love football, tolerate football, or only notice it when it interrupts your usual television schedule, this episode is full of ideas for using real-world numbers, live data and sporting excitement to get children talking, thinking and reasoning mathematically.

    World Cup Maths, Equity and Oracy in the Primary Classroom

  6. Jun 26

    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 unfamiliar problems with confidence. Jon and Becky discuss six key problem-solving strategies: Spotting patterns Working systematically Using models Trialling and improving Changing the process Making connections They also answer a listener question from Priya, a maths lead in Coventry, about what to do when colleagues feel pupils are not fluent enough to access problem solving. Finally, in Maths of Life, Jon shares a short history of escape rooms and makes the case that they are a brilliant real-world example of problem solving in action. Useful links Twinkl Problem Solving Resources: https://www.twinkl.co.uk/r/8arfi PlanIt Maths: https://www.twinkl.co.uk/r/wke0f Get in touch We’d love to hear your thoughts, questions and ideas for future episodes. You can email the show at: primarymathspodcast@twinkl.co.uk

    Escape Rooms and Problem Solving (AfterMaths)

  7. Jun 18

    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 thinking. From percentage questions that can be solved in several ways to the role of conceptual understanding in arithmetic, they consider how we can help children move beyond simply following procedures. There is also time for Becky’s Maths of Life, where family rounders, mini golf and sporting fairness lead to a chat about the maths hidden in everyday games. Finally, Jon shares a recent meta-analysis on collaborative learning and mathematical creative reasoning, exploring why high-quality tasks, structured discussion and non-routine problem solving can make such a difference. A lively episode covering SATs, shape, strategy, sport, collaboration and, naturally, the enduring power of a hash brown.

    What We Can Learn from This Year’s Maths SATs?

  8. Jun 5

    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 into the very British world of weather watching, comparing forecasts, choosing the one we like best, and wondering what a “40% chance of rain” actually means. Along the way, there’s discussion of probability, percentages, wind speed, temperature, 24-hour time, tide times, and the slightly chaotic business of trying to predict British weather. Jon then shares the story of Florence Nightingale, not just as “the Lady with the Lamp”, but as something else entirely: the Lady with the Graph. Through her use of statistics, record keeping and visual data, Nightingale helped show that far more soldiers were dying from disease and poor hospital conditions than from battle wounds. Her famous polar area diagram became a powerful argument for reform, showing how maths can be used not just to describe the world, but to change it. The Science Museum describes her diagram as showing causes of soldiers’ deaths across two years in Crimea, while the National Army Museum notes the dire conditions at Scutari, where the hospital was dirty, vermin-ridden and lacking basic equipment. There’s also a Derbyshire connection, as Jon explains Florence Nightingale’s links to Lea Hurst near Matlock, the Nightingale family’s Derbyshire home. In this episodeThe ongoing mystery of Samba the capybaraWhy weather apps are full of mathsWhat “chance of rain” really meansBritish weather, rounding, chaos theory and hedging your betsFlorence Nightingale’s Derbyshire connectionsHow Nightingale used data visualisation to argue for hospital reformWhy graphs can sometimes tell a story more powerfully than tables of numbers

    Florence Nightingale: The Lady with the Graph
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About

The Primary Maths Podcast is a year-round maths podcast for teachers, leaders and anyone interested in how children learn mathematics. Every Tuesday, join me, Jon Cripwell, for an in-depth interview with an expert voice from across education - teachers, leaders, researchers, authors and thinkers - as we explore what really works in primary maths. We dive into the big ideas shaping maths education, from maths anxiety and fluency to task design, curriculum, reasoning and problem solving. Then on Fridays, Becky Brown and I return for Aftermaths — a shorter, light-hearted, practical debrief where we unpack the week’s key insights, and share clear takeaways for the classroom.. We also share listener stories and discuss The Maths of Life, amongst other topics. Across the week, expect: - Insightful conversations with the people shaping maths education - Clear, actionable takeaways for teachers and maths leads - The Maths of Life — the surprising ways maths shows up in everyday moments - A weekly resource spotlight - New episodes every Tuesday and Friday, all year round If you’re looking for a thoughtful, practical teacher podcast that blends research, real classrooms and conversations that matter, this is the place to start.

Information

  • Creator
    Jon Cripwell
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    84
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2026 Jon Cripwell
  • Show Website
    The Primary Maths Podcast