Research School Network: Out of the Cupboard and Into Children’s Hands: The Case for Manipulatives in Key Stage 2 Understanding the purpose of manipulatives
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Out of the Cupboard and Into Children’s Hands: The Case for Manipulatives in Key Stage 2
Understanding the purpose of manipulatives
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by Aspirer Research School
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Margaret Daly
Research School Director
Margaret is the Director of Aspirer Research School and has held leadership roles in both primary and specialist settings. With over 33 years of teaching experience, she has educated children aged 3 to 19.Throughout her career, Margaret has taken on leadership responsibilities in areas such as behaviour, safeguarding and attendance, mental health, and SEND.
Somewhere between the Early Years and Upper Key Stage 2, many pupils develop the perception that “real maths” happens without concrete resources. Manipulatives can become associated with younger children or those who need additional support. Yet this view misunderstands their purpose.
Manipulatives help pupils make sense of abstract mathematical ideas. They reveal structures, relationships and patterns that might otherwise remain hidden. Their value lies not in simplifying mathematics, but in making it visible.
Consider fractions. Many Year 5 and 6 pupils can follow procedures for adding or comparing fractions without fully understanding what those fractions represent. Fraction strips, Cuisenaire rods and area models allow pupils to see equivalence and relationships in ways that symbols alone cannot achieve.
The same is true for algebra. Place value counters and algebra tiles can help pupils explore generalisations, represent unknown quantities and understand balancing equations. Rather than reducing challenge, these representations often increase the depth of mathematical thinking required.
The EEF guidance highlights the importance of carefully chosen representations and making explicit connections between concrete, pictorial and abstract forms (Education Endowment Foundation, 2021). This progression is not a ladder to be climbed and then discarded. Instead, pupils should move flexibly between representations depending on the mathematical concept being explored.
Perhaps one of the greatest barriers to the use of manipulatives in Key Stage 2 is adult perception. Teachers may worry that using resources makes the work appear too easy or that older pupils should be able to operate purely abstractly.
However, expert mathematicians frequently use representations, models and visualisations when solving complex problems. The use of manipulatives reflects mathematical sophistication rather than mathematical weakness.
As the Education Endowment Foundation (2021, p. 10) states:
“Manipulatives and representations can be powerful tools for supporting pupils to engage with mathematical ideas. However, manipulatives and representations are just tools: how they are used is important.“
The key, therefore, is ensuring that manipulatives are used purposefully. Resources should be selected because they illuminate mathematical structures, not simply because they are the ones we have in the cupboard. Effective teacher questioning remains essential. What does this representation show? How does it connect to the equation? What patterns can we see?
When manipulatives become a normal part of whole-class teaching, pupils begin to view them as tools for thinking rather than markers of ability. They become resources that everyone can choose to use when exploring a concept.
The challenge for many schools may not be purchasing more manipulatives – many already have them. The challenge is ensuring they leave the cupboard.
If we want pupils to develop deep and connected mathematical understanding, manipulatives must become part of everyday classroom practice. Not just for intervention groups. Not just for those who find mathematics difficult. For everyone.
After all, the goal is not to help pupils move away from manipulatives as quickly as possible. The goal is to help them use manipulatives and representations to think more deeply about mathematics.
References Education Endowment Foundation (2021) Improving mathematics in the Early Years and Key Stage 1: Guidance Report. London: Education Endowment Foundation. Available at: https://educationendowmentfoun… (Accessed: 1 July 2026).
Education Endowment Foundation (2021) Improving mathematics in Key Stages 2 and 3: Guidance Report. London: Education Endowment Foundation. Available at: https://educationendowmentfoun… (Accessed: 1 July 2026).
