Early years practitioners know what parents are reminded of every Christmas Day--it does not matter how long families spend carefully selecting the presents, the children are likely to spend longer playing with the empty boxes! Children are fascinated with boxes and practitioners can capitalise on this and support early mathematical development…

There have been calls for at least 30 years in American education for a return to basics in mathematics instruction. The problem lies in defining what is basic. Mathematics is more than arithmetic. It is a fabric of ideas, relationships, principles and procedures. But all too often the emphasis in classroom instruction is on static facts and…

One of the most interesting developments in teaching has been the growing importance of the outdoor environment. Whether it be playground, garden or field, the outdoors offers a range of challenging experiences, especially in the delivery of early mathematics. Oral feedback to parents, together with photographic displays, can show them that…

Discussion in maths lessons has always been something encouraged by ATM but can be difficult to initiate for non-specialist and inexperienced teachers who may feel they need material in books to get them going. In this article, the author describes resources aimed at encouraging discussion among primary mathematicians. These resources include: (1)…

This paper discusses the three outreach projects in Kent, a girls grammar school with a mixed sixth form. Due to the selective system in Kent they have around 100 potential feeder schools with their Year 7 intake of around 150 arriving from about 70 different primary schools, some of which are independent. In this article, the author describes the…