Supporting your child with Maths

Leena Clark is a mother of 2 and founder of Educate and Learn. With more than 15 years experience teaching Maths in an outstanding secondary school, Leena is passionate that education should be inspiring and engaging. She has worked as a GCSE examiner, as well as a Head of Sixth Form and Pastoral Care.

We can probably all agree that maths is an essential life skill, but supporting your child in their learning can be daunting. Having taught maths for over 18 years, I’ve particularly enjoyed helping parents and carers develop ways to support their children at home. Here are five of my top tips which I hope will help your child in their maths learning:

1. Create a positive environment

Some adults like to share stories of how they struggled with maths as a child. “Oh, I hated maths at school,” can be an easy throwaway comment but it might negatively affect your child’s perceptions. Instead, try and show genuine enthusiasm for the subject and find moments to celebrate your child’s progress. It’s also helpful if you can create a quiet, comfortable space away from screens and distractions, and set aside a regular time for homework and practice.

2. Encourage independence

It’s normal for children to get frustrated at times. Try and be patient and offer help without doing the work for them - a useful way is to break down complex maths problems into smaller, manageable steps.

Encouraging independent problem-solving is proven to be effective for learning and building confidence. Don’t forget that we all learn and develop at different paces: recognise your child’s individual strengths, set achievable goals and celebrate their successes.

3. Relate it to the real world

Showing how a subject relates to real life can be extremely motivating for students . Try and show how maths is needed in daily activities (for example, working out how much change they’ll get after paying for a train ticket, or weighing ingredients for a family dinner). Are there any games, hobbies or projects you could enjoy together? For example board games or sports such as golf, snooker and darts. Museums and science centres are also fun ways to explore concepts, and there are plenty of online maths resources and educational apps, for example TopMarks, Oak Academy and Corbett Maths.

4. Encourage resilience

Over the years, I’ve seen a lot of my students become fixated on their grades. While entirely natural, it can cause unnecessary stress and encourage students to attach their identity to a certain outcome. Instead, try and show that it’s okay to make mistakes and that it’s often a necessary path to learning. As the saying goes: “If we don’t make mistakes, we don’t make anything!” Get them into a habit of asking questions when they’re stuck. Patience, practise and persistence are the keys to developing great resilience.

5. Connect with professionals

Communication is a powerful tool and no less so when it comes to parent-teacher relations. Keeping an open dialogue with your child’s maths teacher is a positive way to work together to support your child’s learning. Parents’ evenings are a great opportunity to do this. If your child struggles significantly with maths, you might want to consider seeking a tutor or additional help.

We can't overstate how important maths learning is for children. Not only does it support logical reasoning and analytical thinking, it prepares your child with the fundamentals needed for whatever they choose to do in the future.

Leena Clark