With the publication of Bold Beginnings, Reception teachers and educationists felt their principles and practices were under attack. The main focus of the debate that ensued targeted the formality of learning, and especially teaching writing sitting at desks. The comments about the mathematics practices of the good schools incorporating Year 1 expectations into Reception classes largely went unchallenged. This article offers a commentary on the findings from Bold Beginnings in relation to mathematics and contrasts them with the recent announcements for the draft expectations at the end of the Reception year.