New editions published!

New editions of Mathematics Explained for Primary Teachers (5th edition) and the accompanying StudentWorkbook (2nd edition) have now been published and are already on the shelves of the bookshops. Sage Publishing has done a great job with the new editions. The turnover time these days is remarkable. It was less than a month between signing off the final proofs of the main text and printed copies of the book arriving for me in the post!

This is, of course, all related to the rapid development of publishing technology. This has also enabled us to include with the 5th edition of the textbook a one-off electronic download of the book for mobile study, obtained by a unique code provided inside. Plus loads of electronic features, accessed either by clicking on icons in the e-book version or by going to the accompanying website. These include a group of multi-choice self-assessment questions for each chapter, videos of yours truly introducing each section, and about 30 audio-visual clips sprinkled around the book providing explanations and examples of various mathematical procedures. There are electronic links to the relevant sections of the new English National Curriculum for Key Stages 1 and 2; links to Sage journal articles; and links to further practice questions.  A new feature in the book is that for each of chapters 6–29 my colleague and friend, Ralph Manning, has contributed some wonderfully creative ideas for inclusion in lesson plans, related to the content of the chapter (for Years 1–2, 3–4 and 5–6).

For someone who has never possessed an ipad or an ipod or an iphone or even an ipatch, and who thought that an 'APP' was an Accredited Purchasing Practitioner and that getting information from a tablet was what Moses did when he was given the ten commandments, this has all been quite an experience!

Since the fourth edition of this book a new National Curriculum for primary schools in England has been produced and this will be taught in schools from September 2014. This new edition has therefore been expanded and revised to ensure that the content is in line with the mathematics programmes of study for Key Stages 1 and 2 (children aged 5 to 11 years). In doing this I have ensured that the primary mathematics curricula of other countries in the United Kingdom are also covered comprehensively.

If you are familiar with a previous edition of this book I hope you will be pleased to see that I have continued in my commitment to focus on what has always been the key message of Mathematics Explained: the need for priority to be given in initial teacher training and professional development to primary school teachers developing secure and comprehensive subject knowledge in mathematics, characterized by understanding and awareness of the implications for teaching and learning.