Evidence-aware maths teaching. Not just evidence-mentioned.
We don’t just cite research. Every element of Big Maths is designed around what evidence-informed guidance says works for children in primary maths.
What this page covers
How we talk about evidence
We think schools deserve honesty here, not marketing.
What we can say
Big Maths is designed to align with what EEF guidance and Ofsted research reviews say works in primary maths. We can point to named partner schools with verifiable Ofsted outcomes, and to DfE recognition of KS2 results in schools that used Big Maths. We can cite research that has informed the Big Maths pedagogy and framework.
What we don’t claim
We don’t claim that Big Maths alone produces Outstanding Ofsted grades or top 2% results. We don’t use the word “Proven” without an independent evaluation to back it. Outstanding schools are the result of outstanding leadership, teaching, and community. Big Maths provides structure, resources, and assessment tools to support schools.
What evidence-informed guidance emphasises
Six evidence-informed priorities for effective primary maths teaching; drawn from EEF guidance, Ofsted research reviews, and the wider evidence base.
Small steps, sequenced carefully
Curriculum should “identify and sequence, in small steps, declarative, procedural and conditional knowledge” … emphasising secure learning rather than content coverage.
Ofsted Mathematics Research Review, 2021; Subject Report, 2023
Assessment that informs teaching
Assessment should provide “up-to-date and accurate information about the specifics of what pupils do and do not know”, not just track, but directly inform next teaching steps.
EEF, Improving Mathematics in KS2 & KS3, updated 2022
Fluency through regular practice
Pupils should “develop fluency through regular practice.” Lack of practice inhibits remembering, which directly affects fluency. Gaps in addition facts taught in younger year groups often manifest as problems much later.
EEF guidance; Ofsted Mathematics Research Review, 2021
Build on what children already know
Schools should “check that pupils are secure with prerequisite content before moving on” and “connect new learning to prior understanding.” Moving pupils on before they are ready creates compounding gaps.
Ofsted Mathematics Research Review, 2021; EEF, 2022
Confidence through success
“Pupils are more likely to develop positive attitudes if they experience success and know they are successful.” Maths anxiety “is not inherent, it results from failure to acquire knowledge.”
Ofsted Mathematics Research Review, 2021
Reduce cognitive load through explicit, supported steps
Pupils learn best when new content is introduced in small, explicit steps; modelled first, practised together, then independently. This keeps working memory from being overloaded and gives learning the best chance of sticking.
Sweller, Cognitive Load Theory; EEF, Improving Mathematics in KS2 & KS3, updated 2022
How Big Maths maps to what the evidence emphasises.
What follows isn’t a list of marketing “features”. These are the structural design choices Big Maths is built on, refined over time as we learn more, and they align closely with what high-quality research repeatedly highlights about effective primary maths teaching.
We use the phrase “designed to align with” deliberately. It’s the most honest way to describe the connection until we have a formal, independent evaluation (which is something we are working towards).
“Big Maths provides the framework, the resources, and the tools. The outcomes are the result of the school and its teachers using the system well.”
Guidance: Small steps, carefully sequenced
Big Maths: Over 1,200 learning steps organised into Progress Drives, sequenced so each new step builds directly on secured prior knowledge.
Guidance: Assessment that informs teaching
Big Maths: Weekly Beat That! challenges map to specific steps. Results identify Learning Gaps immediately, so teachers know what each child needs in next week’s teaching.
Guidance: Fluency through regular practice
Big Maths: The 20 minute CLIC session builds daily fluency into the lesson structure. Learn Its build automatic fact recall through spaced repetition and jingles. Fluency is not an add-on, it is an explicit objective of the programme.
Guidance: Build on prior knowledge
Big Maths: The “It’s Nothing New” principle frames every new concept as connected to something the child already knows, deliberately reducing cognitive load and maths anxiety.
Guidance: Confidence through success
Big Maths: Children are only taught what they are ready to learn. The Assess → Plan → Teach weekly cycle means children experience success regularly, not occasional success between long stretches of struggle.
Guidance: Reduce cognitive load — model, practise together, practise independently
Big Maths: The gap between steps is deliberately small, to avoid children falling between them, or stumbling. We advocate the ‘I do, We do, You do’ teaching method, and our ‘Remember To’ statements act as the script for lessons, supported by custom lesson PowerPoints and resources.
Partner school spotlight
Named, verifiable schools where Big Maths is central to the maths provision, with publicly available outcomes.
Rockmount Primary School, Croydon
Rockmount Primary School was inspected by Ofsted on 10–11 June 2025 and judged Outstanding in every category.
Mathematics was one of four subjects selected for a deep dive during the inspection.
Rockmount uses Big Maths as part of its mathematics provision and is a Big Maths partner school.
We’re proud of the role Big Maths plays at Rockmount. The Outstanding grade reflects the combined efforts of leadership, teaching, and the whole school community and we are proud to support them.
Read the full Ofsted report →What Ofsted found:
“The curriculum is carefully thought out in a logical order.”
“Pupils with SEND achieve exceptionally well.”
“Staff receive the training they need to deliver the curriculum with precision and consistency.”
Source: Ofsted inspection report, Rockmount Primary School, June 2025. Quotes are Crown copyright, used under Open Government Licence.
Schools using Big Maths and the DfE top 2%
Schools using Big Maths have been recognised by the Department for Education for Key Stage 2 mathematics results in the top 2% of primary schools nationally.
In January 2020, the Minister of State for School Standards wrote to congratulate schools across England that achieved 100% of pupils at expected standard in KS2 maths. Big Maths schools were among those recognised. We hold copies of these ministerial letters.
The schools in question have since changed leadership and approaches, so we don’t name them, but the DfE recognition of their results during the period they used Big Maths is a matter of record.
We don’t claim that Big Maths alone produces top 2% results. We do claim that the Big Maths framework is designed to give every school the best possible foundation for maths achievement.
Curriculum alignment
Big Maths is mapped to the national curriculum expectations for England, Scotland, and Wales.
England
Fully mapped to the National Curriculum. Every learning step in Big Maths is aligned to the relevant year group expectations. Curriculum mapping documents available to download.
See how the framework works →Scotland
Aligned to Curriculum for Excellence (CfE). The Big Maths step framework maps to CfE early, first, and second level outcomes for numeracy and mathematics.
Request Scottish curriculum mapping →Wales
Aligned to the Curriculum for Wales. All Beat That! challenges are available in Welsh (Cymraeg) (both online and in printed format) making Big Maths accessible for Welsh-medium and bilingual schools.
Request Welsh curriculum mapping →Choosing a maths programme: questions worth asking
Whether you’re evaluating Big Maths or any other programme, we suggest these are the questions that matter, grounded in what evidence-informed guidance actually emphasises.
Does it sequence learning in genuinely small steps?
Not just topic blocks, but actual small, sequenced learning steps that ensure prerequisite knowledge is secured before moving on.
Does assessment directly inform next week’s teaching?
Not half-termly reviews or end-of-unit tests, is there weekly assessment that changes what the teacher teaches on Monday.
Is fluency built into the lesson structure?
Not an optional add-on… daily, routine fluency practice that is part of the design, not something teachers have to add separately.
How does it support SEND pupils?
Does it require separate provision, or does the same framework work for every learner? Can SEND pupils work at their own step within the same lesson?
Is there a clear path from EYFS to Year 6?
One coherent system or a different approach at each key stage that teachers have to translate between?
What happens to workload?
Does the programme reduce planning time, or create more? Are resources linked to the steps teachers are teaching, or in a separate bank they have to search?
These are the questions we’d want you to ask of us, and of any programme you’re considering. We’re confident in our answers. A demo is the best way to see them in action.
Book a Free Demo →Evidence we’re building
We want to be transparent about where our evidence base is now — and where we’re heading.
What we have now
A named, current, verifiable Outstanding Ofsted partner school with a maths deep dive. Ministerial DfE recognition of top 2% KS2 results in schools that used Big Maths. Platform data from 23M+ challenges and 231K+ lesson plans. Curriculum alignment documentation for England, Scotland, and Wales.
What we’re working towards
A growing partner school pipeline; diverse contexts, different regions, different challenges. A formal teacher workload survey, and an independent evaluation. We’re committed to building an evidence base that schools can point to with confidence, not just a page of citations.
Are you a school using Big Maths with results or recognition you’d like to share? We’d love to hear from you.
Get in touch →We achieved our highest ever results in the history of our school for this year’s SATs results, thanks to Big Maths. Almost 20% above national average.
— Headteacher, Primary School, England
References
educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/education-evidence/guidance-reports/maths-ks-2-3
gov.uk/government/publications/research-review-series-mathematics
gov.uk/government/publications/subject-report-series-maths/coordinating-mathematical-success
Based on Sweller (1988); accessible overview via EEF:
educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/education-evidence/teaching-learning-toolkit/cognitive-load-theory
files.ofsted.gov.uk/v1/file/50282656
All Ofsted material is Crown copyright, used under the Open Government Licence v3.0. EEF content is used for reference and attribution only.
Want to see the framework in action?
Book a free demo and we’ll walk you through how Big Maths works and answer your questions.
Have a question about our evidence? Send us a message, we’re happy to discuss it directly.