Can one simple tool transform primary maths? Amy How is putting it to the test
With £60,000 in new funding, Amy How is scaling up her rekenrek programme to help pupils build stronger foundations in mathematics.
When Amy How first piloted the rekenrek as a tool for improving times-tables fluency, she passionately wanted to show just how versatile this maths resource could be.
Now, with new support and fresh momentum, she is leading a whole-school initiative across seven primary schools, with the aim of testing exactly that.
Amy’s aspiration is that the rekenrek – a Dutch calculating rack – can transform the teaching of primary maths.
In previous years, Amy’s work, which has been funded by SHINE since 2021, focused specifically on multiplication. Now, she is driving a far more comprehensive vision: embedding the rekenrek from Year 1 to Year 6 to support foundational knowledge, including everything from number sense to fractions.
A new pilot programme has received almost £60,000 in funding from SHINE, with the aim of reaching full sustainability in the future.
“We have shown that the rekenrek can improve recall and understanding for the times tables but there’s so much more to it,” said Amy.
“Let’s use it for everything that it can: number sense, addition, subtraction, place value, mental maths strategies, times tables, multiplication, but also decimals, fractions, percentages, everything. Let’s show the versatility of this tool and roll it out across the school.”
“By trialling this whole-school approach, I aim to gather strong evidence that this versatile, visual tool builds solid number sense, deepens understanding, boosts confidence, and improves overall maths achievement for all children.
“I want to prove that the rekenrek is the key tool for establishing a strong foundation in mathematics – from Reception through to Year 5.”
Amy’s long-term ambition is that teaching maths with the rekenrek will become as indispensable as Dienes blocks – the cubes and rods that have long been a familiar part of primary classrooms.
“I don’t want the rekenrek to be a fad, Amy said.
“My teaching approach helps children clearly show their understanding, uncover misconceptions, and engage with maths in a mess-free, hands-on way that truly brings learning to life.”
Building on early evaluation findings, which emphasised the importance of consistent classroom implementation, Amy now plans to work with I&I Insight to see the measurable changes her newly improved offer to schools can deliver.
The new pilot includes six Delta Academies Trust schools across Yorkshire, plus Hawthorn Primary in Newcastle.
One major innovation in the new project is a suite of on-demand video training videos to deliver support to teachers to implement the approach well.
“These will be created to see if this flexible, high-quality professional development experience achieves the same or better results as face-to-face training,” Amy explained.
Since first receiving a Let Teachers SHINE award, in 2021, Amy’s belief in the rekenrek has grown, she says, largely because of unprompted positive feedback from classrooms.
“I can’t imagine teaching without it,” one teacher told her. Another described how it helped a previously disengaged child shine – so powerfully that the teacher cried while sharing the story.
On receiving the new grant from SHINE, Amy said: “I am honestly SHINE’s biggest fan. SHINE allows teachers with innovative ideas to share those ideas on a larger scale. We want to make a positive difference in the lives of children, and SHINE allows us to do that.
“It’s more than the funding, it’s the support… I wouldn’t be where I am today if it wasn’t for me taking the chance to apply for a SHINE grant. SHINE said yes and believed in me.”
Amy is such a fan of her fellow SHINE projects that she hopes to see schools combining multiple SHINE projects, in areas like maths, literacy, and parent engagement, to create something truly transformative.
“I think you would have a school that would outshine every other school,” she said.