Practical conversations for primary maths leaders, following the challenges, priorities and opportunities that arise throughout the school year.
Practical conversations for primary maths leaders, following the challenges, priorities and opportunities that arise throughout the school year.
Tom Manners, Liz Hopkins, and Steve Lomax discuss how primary maths leaders can move from setting September’s vision to checking whether it is being put into practice in October. They explore monthly reviews, meaningful assessment, evaluating teaching, and identifying potential challenges early—without creating unnecessary workload. They use their three lenses for maths leadership – Judging standards, Securing improvement and Evaluating teaching and learning each month to help maths leaders create their focus for the month.
Tom shares insights on the importance of separating new learning from revision sessions, encouraging educators to focus on cognitive overload and the effective use of class time. Liz emphasizes the need for a structured, dual-lesson approach that allows for both new content and crucial practice, while Steve discusses the importance of engaging with school leadership to secure necessary curriculum time for math.
In this episode, Liz, Steve and Tom explore what primary maths leaders can focus on during September to set the foundations for a successful year ahead. They discuss establishing a shared vision for mathematics, using evidence to understand current strengths and priorities, engaging staff around clear goals, and choosing high-impact actions that can lead to sustainable improvement throughout the school year.
Liz, Steve and Tom introduce Leading Primary Maths, the thinking behind the podcast and the three core challenges of maths leadership: judging standards, evaluating teaching and securing improvement.
Maths leadership rarely follows a neat plan. If there’s a challenge, question or topic you’d like Liz, Steve and Tom to explore, we’d love to hear it.