Hide some cut-out numbers from 1-10 around the house and see if you child can find them – ask them to shout the number out loud when they find it. At school, if a child is struggling with their work in maths their teacher will give them a simpler question or provide them with more concrete resources like number lines, times tables grids, counters or multi-link cubes to simplify the task. Here are three sample questions from Third Space Learning’s Primary Maths Intervention Programme for Year 4 you could us to find out if your child is struggling with maths. Can your 10- or 11-year-old child explain the linear number sequence from Third Space? Can they write their own statement to describe a linear number sequence? A Year 6 SATs-style question from a Third Space Learning practice paper requiring a child to draw and translate simple shapes on the coordinate plane, and reflect them in the axes. If you’ve noticed or been alerted to an area of a struggle in your child’s maths learning your instinct will likely be to go all guns blazing and to throw the kitchen sink at the issue to get them up to speed.

People often think that it’s only younger children that use these pieces of equipment and supports; however, the best teachers use them with pupils throughout primary school and these resources are more commonly used at secondary school nowadays too. Real world maths. Maths is all around us - so you can use everyday experiences to reinforce and develop maths skills and vocabulary. Measurement, fractions, shapes, time and money all benefit from real world application and often can be naturally harnessed as a way to learn maths. You just need to make a habit of it. Direct, targeted practice based on your knowledge of your son or daughter’s strengths and weaknesses, and complementing their school work. This the core of what is required (and where Komodo maths comes in). But tread a fine balance as too much/too often is likely to burn out even the most enthusiastic learner. (This is why Komodo uses a little and often approach - more of which later.) An example question from the Third Space platform focusing on adding and subtracting fractions with the same denominator – how many pairs of fractions can your child think of to win Euan’s game? These three words are all you need to help your child achieve everything they can in their maths learning, so we’ve looked at them in a little more detail below along with a few additional pointers for parents and carers. 1. Take things slowlyPupils in these year groups are heading towards the end of primary school and are preparing for the SATs or the transition to secondary school and the challenges maths in Year 7 will bring. You could do the same at home by drawing a number line, having a times tables poster at hand, keeping your maths dictionary at the ready , or using pasta pieces or lego to represent amounts. Examples of incremental number lines

Is it worthwhile asking their school about a dyscalculia test. What you can do to help your child if they’re struggling with maths Stay positive – It sounds simple but many forget to do this Numerous studies have proved that a young person’s future attainment in maths can be affected negatively more than any other factor by parents leading them to believe that “I am not a maths person-itis” is a congenital, hereditary family trait .

1. Let your child lead and learn as they play

For children to be good at maths, they need to feel confident about giving it a go. Praising your child for their effort, not their ability, will increase their confidence and make them hungry to learn more. Your child could try keeping a weather chart. Younger children might want to record each day as sunny, cloudy, rainy, and so on. As the chart grows, you can encourage them to talk about how many sunny days there have been, or how many more sunny days than rainy days we have seen in the last couple of weeks. Find out more about Komodo and how it helps thousands of children each year do better at maths - you can even try Komodo for free. if you go for a country walk, collect different types of leaves, look for insects or signs of wild animals, and think about why metal goes rusty or lichen grows on one side of trees