The Primary Maths Podcast
The Primary Maths Podcast
Podcast Description
The Primary Maths Podcast is where classroom conversations meet big ideas.
Each week during term time, join me, Jon Cripwell, and co-host Becky Brown as we chat with inspiring guests from across the world of education - teachers, leaders, researchers and more - about what really works in primary maths.
Whether we’re tackling maths anxiety, diving into lesson design, or exploring the joys and challenges of leading maths across a trust, we keep things practical, thought-provoking, and rooted in the reality of school life.
Expect:
- Weekly interviews with expert voices shaping maths education
- “The Maths of Life” – those everyday moments where maths sneaks in (like holiday currency conversion or splitting the bill!)
- Our top takeaways for teachers and maths leads
- One resource spotlight per episode (because free CPD should come with useful stuff)
- New episodes every Tuesday during term time. Occasional summer specials may sneak in when we just can’t help ourselves.
Podcast Insights
Content Themes
The podcast explores essential themes in primary maths education, including maths anxiety, lesson design, and leadership within maths. Episodes feature practical insights such as addressing maths anxiety with experts like Dr. Heidi Kirkland, and segments like 'The Maths of Life' which discuss real-world applications of maths, as well as a resource spotlight showcasing tools for teachers.
The Primary Maths Podcast is where classroom conversations meet big ideas.
Each week during term time, join me, Jon Cripwell, and co-host Becky Brown as we chat with inspiring guests from across the world of education – teachers, leaders, researchers and more – about what really works in primary maths.
Whether we’re tackling maths anxiety, diving into lesson design, or exploring the joys and challenges of leading maths across a trust, we keep things practical, thought-provoking, and rooted in the reality of school life.
Expect:
– Weekly interviews with expert voices shaping maths education
– “The Maths of Life” – those everyday moments where maths sneaks in (like holiday currency conversion or splitting the bill!)
– Our top takeaways for teachers and maths leads
– One resource spotlight per episode (because free CPD should come with useful stuff)
– New episodes every Tuesday during term time. Occasional summer specials may sneak in when we just can’t help ourselves.
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 Midlands West. In short, he’s seen it all: from lesson design in a single classroom to supporting schools through 20 Ofsted inspections in one year.
In this episode, Tom and I get stuck into:
- Why lesson design is about thinking not templates, and how planning one lesson for two hours can transform every lesson that follows
- The power of collaborative planning and why teachers clutch those “magic bean” lesson plans like gold dust
- How to balance consistency across a trust with giving teachers genuine autonomy
- Why the “I do, we do, you do” model makes Tom nervous (and what he suggests instead)
- The secret weapon of maths teaching that every school should invest in (hint: it’s not a new scheme of work)
- How to prepare for Ofsted without losing the soul of your maths curriculum
- And what it really means to be “up to something” as a maths leader
We also manage to squeeze in conversations about Shanghai exchanges, the joy of coloured pens, and why the number 27 is the most three-ish number of them all.
Whether you’re a classroom teacher, a maths lead, or a leader of leaders, this episode will give you practical insights, some healthy challenges to your current thinking, and a reminder of why lesson design matters more than any single scheme or structure.
Tune in, reflect, and maybe rethink your next maths lesson plan.
Get in touch: [email protected]
#twinklmaths
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