Signs your child may need extra support in maths

All children find some maths hard. The question is whether the difficulty is specific, persistent and resistant to ordinary teaching.

Patterns worth noticing

• Cannot recall number facts despite years of practice.
• Loses track of counting, even counting objects.
• Struggles to compare quantities — which is more, 0.7 or 0.65?
• Cannot estimate whether an answer is plausible.
• Shows strong reasoning verbally but cannot write the maths down.

Timescales matter

A difficulty that has persisted for two terms despite good teaching is worth investigating. One hard half-term is not.

Who to talk to

Start with the class teacher and the school's SENCO. Ask specifically: is this a pattern you see across subjects? Bring examples of the work.

Early, specific support is far more effective than waiting for a formal diagnosis.