What Is Numberblocks?
Numberblocks is a BBC children's animated series produced by Blue-Zoo Animation Studio and Alphablocks Ltd, first broadcast on CBeebies in 2017. Each character is a number — One is a single block, Two is two blocks, and so on — and mathematical concepts are explored through these characters' interactions, adventures, and transformations.
The show's creator, Joe Elliott, worked closely with mathematics education researchers to ensure every episode reflects sound mathematical pedagogy. Numberblocks is now available globally on BBC iPlayer, Netflix, and YouTube.
Why Numberblocks Works: The Mathematical Pedagogy
Numberblocks teaches number sense — the intuitive understanding of quantity, magnitude, and relationships between numbers — rather than rote counting. This distinction is crucial. Many children can count to 20 without understanding that 7 is more than 5, or that 4 and 4 make 8. Number sense is what Numberblocks builds.
Every episode uses visual-spatial representations of numbers (the block characters themselves) that align with mathematical concrete-representational-abstract (CRA) pedagogy. Children see that Five is made of five blocks, that Five can split into Two and Three, and that Ten is made of two Fives — all concepts that underpin later mathematical understanding.
Research on Numberblocks
A 2019 study by the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) in the UK found that children who engaged with Numberblocks showed significantly better number concept performance than control groups. The effect size was notable: equivalent to approximately 3 months of additional mathematical progress.
The study also found that the benefit extended beyond counting to conceptual understanding — children understood part-whole relationships and magnitude more accurately. This is the kind of deep mathematical understanding that predicts long-term mathematical success.
Best Numberblocks Episodes by Concept
- •**One, Two, Three (Episodes 1–3)** — Introduction to the first three numbers as characters with distinct identities.
- •**Four** — Introduction of squares and equal groups.
- •**Five** — Composition (2+3, 4+1) and the concept of a 'hand' of five.
- •**The Numberblocks Way** — How numbers relate to each other through addition.
- •**Ten** — The decimal foundation: Ten as two fives, five twos.
- •**Seventeen and Friends** — Teens numbers and their relationship to ten.
- •**One Hundred** — Place value concept introduced through the character One Hundred.
How to Extend Numberblocks Learning at Home
Numberblocks works best when paired with physical block play. LEGO, Duplo, or simple counting cubes allow children to build the same configurations they see on screen — turning the abstract visual representation into a concrete, hands-on experience. After watching a Five episode, build Five with blocks, then split it into Two and Three.
At snack time, use food as counters: 'You have five grapes. That's like Numberblocks Five! Let's split them into two groups...' This real-world transfer is what moves mathematical understanding from television to genuine number sense.
How Numberblocks Builds Mathematical Confidence
Mathematical anxiety — the fear and avoidance of mathematics — is well-documented in school-age children and adults. Research identifies early negative experiences with mathematics as a primary driver: children who feel they 'can't do' maths avoid it, and avoidance prevents the practice that builds competence. Numberblocks addresses this upstream by making number exploration joyful, visual, and non-threatening.
The block characters celebrate mathematical discovery rather than performance. When Two and Three combine to make Five, it's presented as a happy event, a friendship, a surprising transformation. This affective framing of mathematical relationships — maths as exciting rather than stressful — may be one of Numberblocks' most important developmental contributions.
Numberblocks and the National Curriculum
In the UK, where Numberblocks was developed, the show explicitly aligns with the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) mathematics curriculum and the Key Stage 1 National Curriculum for mathematics. Specific episodes are mapped to specific curriculum outcomes by the BBC and the Mathematics Education Trust.
For parents in other countries, the mathematical concepts covered — subitising, composition and decomposition, part-whole relationships, skip counting, and early multiplication — are universal curriculum content regardless of jurisdiction. Numberblocks is not uniquely valuable for UK children; the mathematical pedagogy is internationally applicable.