What actually happens in a Big Maths lesson.
Not the theory… the reality. Here’s what you may see if you walked into a Big Maths lesson: what the teacher does, what children experience, and what makes it feel different from the first day. We cannot be precise because we believe in empowering teachers, supporting their decisions and do not dictate what they should be doing.
The lesson has a rhythm. Children learn quickly.
Within a few days of starting Big Maths, children anticipate what’s coming. That predictability isn’t dull, it’s freeing. No one is waiting to be caught out. Everyone knows they’re about to succeed at something.
Counting ~5 mins
The teacher calls out a counting sequence. Children join in together, forwards, backwards, in steps. It’s quick, it’s oral, it’s whole-class. Nobody sits it out. The sequence changes regularly to build breadth.
Learn Its ~5 mins
Addition and Multiplication facts. Five minutes. The teacher shows a fact, children recall it as fast as they can, out loud or on mini whiteboards. 3 to 5 facts, repeated each day for 5 minutes, until they’re automatic, where children respond just as quickly as they would if you asked their name.
It’s Nothing New ~5 mins
The teacher opens the ready-made PowerPoint for today’s step. In this 5 minute revisit of a previously taught skill, the progress from “I do”, to “We do” and finally “You do” is rapid. Children have the Remember To prompts on screen the whole time.
Calculation ~5 mins
The culmination of the 20 minute CLIC session is 5 minutes of calculation, where children revisit prerequisite and complementary steps to reassure themselves before we move into the main part of the lesson, where the teacher has chosen a new skill for the class to learn.
Open their plan. Open the resources. Teach.
Before the lesson, the teacher opens Big Maths Online and checks their lesson plan for the week, which step is today’s focus, which resources they selected to use in the opening 20 minute CLIC session. It takes a few minutes.
In the classroom, the PowerPoint is already built. The teacher doesn’t need to have created anything. The slides have the questions, the “Remember To” prompts, and the worked examples. The teacher’s job is to teach… to model, to respond to what they see on mini whiteboards, to decide when the class is ready to move on.
That professional judgment, reading their pupils and making decisions about pace and support, stays entirely with the teacher. Big Maths provides the structure, tools and the resources to support their decisions. The teaching is theirs.
See Big Maths Online →
What children experience
The same structure every day means children arrive at maths knowing what to do, knowing they can succeed, looking forward to their Beat That! challenges at the end of the week.
Children are never blindsided
Because every new concept is introduced as a small step from something already known, children stumble. The “It’s Nothing New” name is a deliberate reassurance to reduce risk of anxiety, and apprehension.
They use mini whiteboards
During lessons, we recommend that every child writes their answer on a mini whiteboard and holds it up during the ‘We do’ and to begin the ‘You do’ phase. The teacher sees… who is secure, who needs more support without anyone feeling singled out.
They have something to refer back to
The “Remember To” prompts stay on screen throughout the lesson. Children who lose confidence mid-task can look up and find the strategy again reducing the need to ask (which can be critical for anxious learners).
They succeed on first attempt
Because prerequisites are genuinely secure before a new step is introduced, success isn’t hoped for, it’s expected. When children get it right the first time, confidence compounds.
They see their own progress
We encourage teachers to explain the Progress Drives and use the Tracking Area to show children where they are in the learning journey. Stickers mark secured steps. Children can see how far they’ve come and what’s coming next, the journey is visible, not abstract.
They look forward to Fridays
Beat That! is the highlight of the maths week for most children. Not because it’s competitive, but because there’s always something to celebrate, a personal best, full marks, moving up a level, as well as their friends’ successes.
Everything is linked to the step you’re teaching.
In Big Maths Online, when a teacher adds a step to their weekly plan, the full resource set for that step appears automatically. There’s no searching a generic bank and hoping something fits.
Every step has an appropriate set of materials, and calculation steps typically include the full range: a lesson PowerPoint, teacher guidance notes, step poster, step stickers, and spaced practice resources for differentiation, practice and, when the skill needs revisiting later. The resources aren’t generic; they’re written specifically for that step.
For the teacher, this means no evening spent building slides, no searching TES or Twinkl, no adapting something that almost fits. For children, it means the materials they see are always at the right level because they’re linked to where each child actually is, not where the year group is supposed to be.
Lesson PowerPoints
Ready-made slides for every step, designed to support the ‘I do, We do, You do’ teaching style. Questions, worked examples, and the Remember To prompts built in. Simply open and teach.
Teacher Guidance Notes
What to look for as you teach, research insights, ‘What we know, What we are learning, What we will learn’, common misconceptions, how to introduce the step and suggested activities. We aim to support and complement your subject knowledge as you go.
Pupil Practice Sheets
Differentiated practice linked to the exact step to allow more able pupils to get creative with real life maths whilst you support their peers as they build confidence through repeat and revisit stages. Children work at their level, not the government’s guess of where the average should be for the year group!
Prove It! Activities
Deeper thinking tasks for children who are secure and ready to be stretched, we want children to demonstrate understanding and feel comfortable using skills creatively, not just their recall.
The moment the class comes alive.
At the end of every week, the whole class takes the Beat That! challenge. Each CLIC and SAFE challenge includes ten questions, each linked to key skills. In Big Maths Online, the Learn Its challenge is subject to a time limit (average 4 seconds per question), but learners can complete this challenge on paper or on Big Maths at Home where the timer can be turned off or the limit extended if anxiety or another additional support need is an issue. All three challenges have one goal: beat your own best ever score!
It’s them vs. themselves. Children who struggle with maths can beat their score just as easily as children who find it easy. Every improvement gets a certificate. Full marks gets a certificate. Moving up to the next level gets a certificate. Nobody goes unrecognised. Everyone is encouraged to celebrate everyone else’s successes.
For teachers, the data from the Beat That! challenges immediately populates the Learning Gaps tool, which informs planning decisions for the next week such as which children need intervention, who is ready to move on, and where the class as a whole sits right now. Not at the end-of-term. Right now!
See how assessment works →The children know exactly what to expect. That consistency — every lesson, every day — means they walk in confident. The structure takes away the anxiety before we’ve even started.
— Class Teacher, Scotland
The shape of a Big Maths week
The daily lesson is consistent, but the week has its own rhythm too, and it’s designed to make the teacher’s job simpler, not add to it.
Monday
The weekly plan is updated using Learning Gaps from last week’s Beat That! data to identify which children need support, and confirm the new learning steps for the week. Big Maths Online has the plan ready for the teacher to adjust where needed before Monday’s lesson. The emphasis is positive, celebrating last week’s successes, starting the week with energy and enthusiasm for maths.
Tuesday–Thursday
Each daily maths lesson begins with a 20 minute CLIC session, revisiting key facts and skills before using the rest of the lesson to introduce new skills or consolidate learning. Same structure every day, different step or progression point. The teacher uses their lesson plans and the ready-made resources they selected to focus their energy on the teaching, watching, responding, and supporting their pupils.
Friday
Beat That! The whole class takes their challenges. Scores are recorded in Big Maths Online before, most importantly, certificates are printed and celebrated as a class! The data is immediately visible in Learning Gaps, and the Tracking area, ready to inform the following next week’s plan to begin the cycle again.
Every week
Assess → Plan → Teach. The loop closes and reopens. Over time, teachers find they know their class’s maths in a way that end-of-term tests never gave them, because the data is dynamic and ‘live’, not stale and termly.
This works for every child in the room.
The structure that makes Big Maths predictable and manageable for all children is the same structure that makes it particularly effective for children with SEND.
Consistent language and routine
The same wording, the same progression, the same elements to support every lesson. Children who rely on routine and predictability can engage with the maths because the structure never catches them off guard.
Steps sized for success
The framework starts before nursery. No child is too far behind to have a next step. Every child works from where they actually are, and every step is small enough that success isn’t a stretch.
Visible scaffolds
‘Remember To’ prompts stay on screen throughout the lesson and appear on the linked resources. Children who need to refer back to the strategy mid-task can do so without drawing attention to themselves.
Used in
See it for yourself.
Book a free demo and we’ll walk you through Big Maths Online, with time to ask questions.
Want the theory first? Read how the framework works or see the progression structure.