Supporting Your Child In Maths

We all use maths every day, often without realising it. We believe that every child can develop the numeracy skills they will need, both at school and throughout their lives. Helping your child feel confident about maths now gives them a head start.

"Parental involvement has a large and positive impact on children's learning"

Review of Best Practice in Parental Engagement" (Department for Education, 2010)

"The effect of parental involvement at home was stronger than that of either socio-economic status or parents' level of education"

The impact of parental involvement, parental support and family education on pupil achievement and adjustment (Desforges and Abouchaar, 2003)

Top tips:

• Talk positively about maths. Children learn from example, so avoid saying things like “I can’t do maths” or “I hated maths at school.” It’s easy for children to take that on board themselves. Keeping things positive is more likely to help children develop confidence with maths.
• Point out the maths in everyday life. Maths is all around us – it’s not just something that happens in school! Showing children the numbers in things like cooking, using money and travelling is a simple way to bring maths to life. This will help children see the value of learning maths.
• Praise children for effort rather than talent. Giving children praise is important, but the type of praise we use can have an impact on how they feel about maths. Praising children for the hard work they’ve put in, or for working out the steps to get to an answer, is more helpful than simply telling them they’re clever. It helps them see that it’s not about natural ability – but that by working hard they can always improve.
• Asking your child to explain their method – get them to teach it to you.
• Explaining that with maths there is often more than one way to solve a problem. Show each other how you do it – and remember, neither of you are wrong!

• Whatever the method, remember that being positive about maths is just as important in supporting your child’s learning! Make sure you talk positively about maths and how you use it in real life – this will help your child stick with it.

Home Learning Parent Guides

Please find below a resource pack for some of the key learning domains within our maths scheme of work. These packs can help support your child with challenging concepts. 

Free Key Stage 1 Maths App 

As we follow the White Rose scheme of work for maths, we have access to a Key Stage 1 maths app. 

What’s the app about?

This first version of the app is aimed at Key Stage 1 pupils (ie, age 5-6 years). Individual one-minute tasks focus on adding and subtracting – and on ‘Subitising’, the skill of instantly recognising the number of items in a group without counting. Multiplication and division topics are also now available!

How do we use it?

Your child can choose any topic they want to try. They then answer a unique series of questions (so it’s a different set of questions every time). If they’re struggling with a question, a ‘Hint’ button will give a helpful clue by showing the question in a different but familiar way.

When the one minute’s up, they’ll see a feedback screen telling them how they’ve done.

Check out these 7 top reasons for using 1-minute maths!

1. Excellent practice – and no distractions.
2. A clear, intuitive process that children pick up straight away.
3. No login or internet access needed. Just download and play.
4. Enjoyable and motivating… How many can they get correct in one minute?
5. Helpful hints match those used in class.
6. Brilliant for building number fluency and confidence.
7. It’s FREE!

Available on the app stores below: 

Parent Homework and Support

Please click your year group star. This will take you to a selection of videos and resources at home.