The answer to that is very simple, no? Our home subscription is heavily subsidised to allow parents/carers home schooling to be able to access our programme.

If you are a school using it for one student, you require a school licence and the reason for that is the majority of the schools that we have traditionally worked with have taken it out for one student. End up using it for more students and we know that. So therefore we do require you to take out a school subscription and that is non-negotiable.

We monitor the use of our resources and will block accounts where we can see schools/tutors or other education organisations are not adhering to our terms and conditions.

Firstly, focus your session on a single topic, or on a particular objective within a topic.  Then, if you are an annual subscriber, you can go to our online resource library (and/or use hard copy workbooks if you have them) and pick a variety of worksheets from the levels the students are working at: choosing from Foundations through to Levels 1,2,3,4 and 5.

We have progression workbooks available for a number of topics. A progression workbook is a topic focused workbook that moves through the Maths For Life levels showing the progressive building of the skill. These are very useful when teaching a group of students that are working at different levels with the programme.

You may wish your students to have a choice of worksheets from 2 or more levels, depending on what they feel comfortable with on the day.  Displaying several alternatives allows learners to familiarise themselves with what the next level up looks like – this can boost confidence and motivate them to ‘have a go.’ The code in the footer of each worksheet gives you its level, as well as the topic and objective number the question falls under.

Although the Maths For Life programme was born out of a specific project to address the needs of students with Down syndrome, it has been recognised and evidenced as applicable to all individuals with additional learning needs. 

Oxfordshire County Council were impressed by the results of a parent-led Maths For Life pilot commissioned by and involving students from the Oxfordshire charity, Down’s Syndrome Oxford.  Given the effectiveness of the programme for students with Down syndrome, the Head of SEND at the council asked the question, “Will the Maths For Life programme work for all students with SEND?”.  The conclusion of the 2023/24 academic year pilot study sponsored by council was a resounding ”Yes” - 93% of students increased their overall maths attainment.  The results of the pilot provide compelling evidence of how the Maths For Life programme can benefit a wide range of students with SEND and the staff supporting them.  The pilot report, available here, details the positive impact not only on maths attainment, but also in the wider context, including independence, self-esteem and reading.

30% of the Oxfordshire County Council pilot population were autistic students.  The results demonstrate that autistic students improved more in overall average attainment than the overall sample population.  Staff supporting these students identified that 81% of them improved their engagement in learning maths. 

“I am the Lead teacher for Maths in our SEN school across ages 5-16. Our school is mixed SEN needs and many of our children are autistic. I also have a MEd in Autism, so maths and autism are my areas of knowledge.  I have found the Maths For Life programme to be very successful and we have been using it for a couple of years with all of our children. In my own class, I find my autistic students love the predictability of the worksheets and style of questions.  This has helped them to become more independent with their work, knowing what they need to do.” - Jana-liss Richardson, Maths Lead, Ellesmere College

The team at Maths For Life know that a one size fits all approach doesn’t work and people learn in different ways. Some learners see things very black and white; right or wrong.  We need to understand that there are different ways of viewing the maths world.

Maths For Life has no answers. This could be a struggle for some students (and educators!), especially those with autism, but we want to encourage reasoning, ruling in and ruling out options – there isn’t always just one answer and you may be amazed to find the answers and explanations that some students give for a question.  We call it the importance of why. What are you seeing? Explain if/when you see something different and reassure them that it is ok to see things differently. Validate their view of the world!  

We build foundations. Some students and many of those with autism learn by rote / memory that understanding. So to enable them to move forward it is essential to marry that rote learning with underpinning understanding. That is why you will find a lot of repetition and that we move on in small steps.

Through the Maths For Life assessment process we don’t just assess attainment. Progress for learners may not initially be academic but instead increased engagement and independence and these we know are the key to learners learning and opening the door to them learning the maths they need for life.

“Many of the students in my class have autism……and it is fascinating to see how they are responding to the programme. I would say they need lots of physical manipulation of apparatus such as Numicon, Dienes, 100 squares…. but also I am finding the repetition of practice in the workbooks and the consistency in presentation incredibly helpful. My students are experiencing progress and success in maths….some take much longer than others but the methodical step by step approach is brilliant!” - Catherine Boddy, SENCo, Iffley Academy 

“I work in Specialist Resource base for Children with autism (13 children from Reception-Year 5 and all at very different stages), we are finding that the children are on the whole engaging really well with the Maths For Life programme - some of the concepts they find tricky as they see everything so literally. Using concrete objects to model has helped a lot and after a few times modelling they then get the concept and can work more independently. Each student is very different so we have to use different methods - some really struggle with subtle and category. One who eventually got the concept of same, could get different at all and is really struggling with the concept of match. I’ve moved him to his next target for now and we will keep revisiting. We are finding that the majority of our students are loving the programme, engage well and love the worksheets.” -Mo McDonald, Assistant Head teacher & SENDCo, Gaglebrook Primary

Maths For Life’s strength is in its flexibility, so it doesn’t provide lesson plans.  However, the programme does provide a natural structure to follow. It's very logical and is laid out in our Educator Guides.

Maths for Life is designed to be adaptable. Whether it's an individual you're working with or a small group, whether it's an SEN school, or an SEN class. You may be working with a group who are all following different levels of the programme.  You may be working with one student on a weekly basis, with limited time.  It's very much a programme that can be individualised to suit.

Maths For Life also has the possibility to run alongside an existing scheme of work in a ‘whole class’ setting.  You can follow the same topic as the rest of the class, using Maths For Life to provide differentiated content and workbooks for those that need it. Workbooks are available to buy hard copy, and online for subscribers.

Obviously, students work at their own pace and that's exactly what the Maths For Life programme is designed to enable. Therefore, the speed at which they move through levels will depend on the student themselves: how often they're using it; how receptive they are, etc.

Learners typically work at Foundations, Level 1 and Level 2 for longer than you might anticipate, because with Maths For Life, we are aiming for students to achieve as much independence as possible.  It is the ability to apply their understanding in real life, with as little support as possible, which will really help them to thrive.  We prioritise genuine understanding and the confidence to use maths proactively. 

The flexibility of the Maths For Life programme means that students can work between levels too.  Maybe there's one topic or objective they're finding difficult at Foundations or Level 1. It doesn't preclude you from going on to Level 2 for topics that they're excelling in.  So, you can work between Levels where this makes sense for the student, as long as you're aware of what you're doing and tracking progress accurately.

This very much depends on the student and the level that they're working to. If you have a student who is working at Level 1 and is gaining skills in understanding, I would expect them to go slower through a worksheet.

If that same student were to practise at Foundations level to increase their fluidity and their independence, I would expect them to go faster through worksheets.

So, it really does depend on the student. It also depends on what form you're using the worksheets in. Sometimes if we do them orally on a tablet, we can scroll through them quicker than if they were printed and we were writing on them, for example.

All our workbooks and templates are produced as PDF documents. What you do with them is up to you. PDF documents offer maximum flexibility. They can be printed, enlarged, or even scaled down to print multiple pages per sheet. Our resources are designed in colour for maximum engagement and impact, but they can all be printed in black and white if you wish.

You can download and open PDFs in any media. They can be viewed on an interactive whiteboard, a laptop, tablet, or even on your mobile phone.

If you have a PDF editor, you can edit our documents and get students to write directly on to them in whichever format: with their finger or a using a pen.

It is all too easy to make assumptions about what students know based on their ability to rote learn.  For example, counting up to 100 relies on memory, without the need to understand how to use numbers in real life. Equally, we can miss gaps in knowledge by assuming our students understand the more nuanced concepts that we take for granted.  This is especially true with concepts such as the passing of time, and ‘value’ (i.e. not only greater or lesser, but what makes a purchase ‘good’ or ‘bad’ value for money, etc).  Without this level of understanding, our students are potentially vulnerable, and certainly less able to manage independently.   

To help gauge the correct starting level, the Maths For Life programme created the ‘All-Level Sample Assessment’. This can be accessed as part of our online subscription service, or by joining our free Maths For Life Community.

As the educator, what you’re looking for is the point at which the questions become too challenging. When you start to see massive gaps, or indeed, when you're having to use much more of your own interaction to tackle the question (e.g. direct modelling or direct prompts), you know that you've hit the limit of where the student is working. And that's probably the level at which you want to start.

Be careful though, as there may well be gaps at a lower level that have never been picked up before, so please make sure that you fill those first. It doesn’t hurt to start with questions which the student finds ‘easy’ – that will serve to build confidence and dispel any anxiety, and you may be surprised by the odd gap in understanding that you uncover by starting at the lowest level and working your way up.

Maths For Life is designed to be a complete curriculum, and as such, it's neither an intervention nor a ‘replacement’ maths lesson. The Maths for Life programme is designed to be a differentiated pathway for students with additional learning needs who cannot follow the time scale and structure of the national curriculum.

If you are teaching in a mainstream or special school setting, the programme can be used in whatever way works best for your learners and staff.  The key thing to remember is that it's not a catch-up tool, it's a tailor made learning programme in its own right.

The answer to that is simply that it depends on the students that you're talking about. Obviously, some students will work best in a one-to-one environment. Other students will work best in a small group. It will also depend on the dynamics and who is teaching the programme. Some will be working at home with a parent or tutor; some will be in school. It can be delivered in either setting very easily, and is designed to be completely flexible.

In essence, no, because we have lots of teaching assistants and parents who use the programme by just following the Educator Guides. Full of clear explanations and packed with ideas for teaching, our Educator Guides are written with both parents and professionals in mind. The Maths For Life programme was designed to be picked up and used: to be accessible to as many people as possible.

For those wanting more, we have a range of on-demand courses available to purchase.

Lead educators who really know Maths For Life and invest wholeheartedly in it will see that the programme can benefit a wide range of learners.  Teachers and Maths Leads can support their colleagues in two main ways: firstly in identifying the students that would work best on the programme (this will likely be many more than the one or two that the programme may have originally been acquired for) and secondly in carving out dedicated time and timetabling for learning to take place.

We also encourage educators to share their experience of Maths For Life with each other, and between schools.  The Maths For Life Community Forum and SEN Schools Network have been designed to facilitate this and membership numbers and participation going from strength to strength.

That happens. Please just ask and we will support you!

·        Email the team: learn@mathsforlife.com

· Book a Q&A session to speak directly to Maths For Life founder and author Karen McGuigan.

·        Or simply ask the question on the Maths For Life Community Forum

Maths For Life encompasses a strong, passionate community of educators, parents and SEN professionals who are willing to help each other, so you won't be stuck alone!  And you won’t be stuck for long!

In a perfect world, it would be ideal if assessments were always completed by the same individual with the same student.  This is largely because of the way in which independence is scored. Here, the educator is asked to give a score based on the degree of support given. For example, did they offer an ‘indirect prompt’, or did they ‘model how to answer the question’.  If the member of staff changes frequently, it’s possible that there may be the odd inconsistency in how support is scored, although the assessments will still give you a good reflection of progress.

Any inconsistencies can largely be avoided if educators sit down as a team before embarking on the programme, and agree examples of what constitutes an ‘indirect prompt’ etc.  If everyone is working to the same benchmark, you should be able to assess consistently no matter how many people are involved in the process.

Maths For Life has been specifically designed to equip students with the maths skills they will need in the real world.  So, unless they have successfully completed Levels 1 to 5 of the programme with a high degree of independence, we would encourage students to continue using the programme for as long as they are in full-time education, if not beyond!

In terms of managing the transition to Secondary school, our assessment tool can be used to provide evidence of a student’s progress and level of ability, as well as suggesting targets for future learning.   This, plus recommendation from Primary School teachers using Maths For Life can be enough to encourage the new setting to subscribe.  Schools wanting to know more can speak directly to founder and author Karen McGuigan, by booking onto one of our free Q&A sessions.

Absolutely!  In fact, it was a group of parents in Oxford’s Down Syndrome community who were the first ones to use Maths For Life.  Today, we have parents in various locations worldwide using Maths For Life to support their children – either by supplementing existing provision at school, or as home educators. 

If you are a teacher, you will appreciate the difference it makes when teaching staff and parents work together. And the ideal scenario is that parent, student and school are all working in parallel on the programme.

Schools can easily engage parents by simply sending Maths For Life worksheets home as homework, for example, and our Weekly Workbooks are perfect for this.  Schools can also encourage parents who are not familiar with the programme to join our free Maths For Life Community.  As well as being an excellent way to find out more about what we do, this is a great place to swap ideas, find inspiration and ask for help.

Maths For Life is all about using maths in the real world, and parents are ideally placed to spot opportunities to apply the learning done in the classroom - by using maths language when they’re out shopping with their child, for example. Reinforcing maths in this way is hugely valuable, and collaboration with parents is an integral part of what we do.

Maths is a subject that needs solid foundations to build upon and the GCSE maths content is like a complex skyscraper on top. The content challenges the majority of typically developing children and is unattainable for children with additional learning needs in the time scale given. If more time is spent building the foundations for a solid functional house - the maths needed for life - there is a better chance of a successful build.  And, if an individual continues to enjoy maths, then there is no reason to stop learning and maybe a GCSE maths is attainable at some point.

Yes, in the UK there are a group of qualifications called Functional Skills. The Dearing Review of qualifications for 16-19 year olds (1996) and the Moser Report (1999) Improving literacy and numeracy were the catalysts for the development of the Skills for Life Strategy and the introduction of Functional Skills qualifications in 2011.  Their premise was to tackle basic literacy and numeracy problems among the adult population and their goal was to prepare learners to apply effectively their maths and English skills for the purpose of their career and employment. As well as being a free-standing qualification, Functional Skills qualifications are now widely used in schools, apprenticeships and adult education.  They represent about 7% of all regulated qualifications taken in England and, other than GCSEs, this is the highest volume qualification type that Ofqual regulates.

Functional skills qualifications in English, maths and ICT are currently available.  There are five levels for each subject Entry 1, Entry 2, Entry 3, level 1 and level 2. A Functional Skills level 2 qualification is at the same level as a grade 4 or C and above at GCSE.

The complete Maths For Life programme contains six levels in total - the Foundations up to Level 5 - and they deliver a complete curriculum to attain the essential maths skills needed for life.  Although they do not map directly to the Functional Skills levels,  they provide a pathway to attain these qualifications. Maths For Life Foundations and Level 1 combined are the equivalent of the Functional Skills Entry Level 1 qualification; Level 2, 3 and 4 combined cover all the content of Entry Level 2; and Level 5 enables access to Entry Level 3 and more.

The Maths For Life have collated a comprehensive list of sample examination papers from a number of awarding bodies. If you have a free community membership or a paid subscription, you can access them here.

Although more parents are choosing mainstream education for children with Down syndrome, there has been a recent drop in children moving into mainstream secondary school.  Specialist secondary schools can provide a more tailored curriculum targeted towards skills for life.  Does this mean we have to choose between inclusion and differentiation?  No, inclusion can be more successful with improved differentiation.  There is a need to cater to a wider range of ability within the national curriculum and offer different pathways that allow children to succeed.  Maths is definitely a subject that needs to be differentiated.  Children with additional learning needs would be more successful if they focus on the skills they need, the foundations first and then the building blocks, and not attempt the full breadth of the curriculum before they are ready.  Teachers, teaching assistants and parents need to understand the maths development milestones at a step by step level and ensure that a child has secured all the prior knowledge before attempting the next level.  Or indeed understand what needs to be worked on in parallel for a successful outcome. 

Why is it important for someone with DS to learn maths?

Children and adults with Down syndrome need to understand maths to be able to live an independent life. They need to be able to deal with money, time, weights and measures and do simple calculations. Technology today can support them, like the rest of us, but a calculator is only useful if you know how to use it and can gauge if the answer it gives is sensible.

What are the key challenges?

The way maths is traditionally taught in schools weighs heavily on the use of memory… short term, long term and working memory. We know that Down syndrome is typically associated with a poor short term memory and therefore we need to adapt and develop new ways to teach our children to compensate for this. We know that visual memory is a strength and it is essential that we capitalise on this and use visual maths aids to support learning.

We know that our children are achieving more and more and, with today’s early intervention, they have the potential to keep pushing the boundaries. And as The Maths Mum® I have a professional and personal reason to help this to happen.

When should I start teaching maths to my child?

From birth! Honestly, maths should be an integrated part of life from the beginning. From the singing of nursery rhymes such as “One, two, three, four, five… once I caught a fish alive” to counting fingers and toes, from the learning ‘more’ as your first Makaton sign to understanding more and less. Mathematical words like big, small, slow, fast, tall, short as well as colours and shapes all form part of the pre-number skills needed in maths. It is never too young to start introducing these words and concepts… Would you like the big car or the small car? Which one is the red block? Modelling with things that you find in the toy box and around the house. Maths is based on the ability to be able to tell what is ‘the same’ and what is ‘different’ so it is always useful to point out things that are the same and things that are different starting with obvious differences such as colour and size but then looking at more subtle differences like spotty socks versus stripy socks.

What are some of the key maths milestones?

As a mum of a child with DS I understand that ‘milestones’ can cause much anxiety. Just like with gross motor, fine motor and speech milestones, your child is an individual and will be on their own development path. Within education, some children will flourish and some will be challenged, some children will love to read and others will be happier with maths concepts.

Key maths milestones include:

• Being able to tell if things are the same or different

• Being able to classify objects by colour, shape, size or type of item

• Counting

• Understanding one-to-one correspondence

• Cardinality - understanding that the last number counted is the total number… how many?

• Recognising numbers / numerals

• Understanding place value

• Simple addition and subtraction

There are many more milestones and within each of these milestones there are lots of ‘mini’ milestones. The key is to understand that maths is learnt by building concept on concept and therefore it is important to have solid foundations even if it takes years!

It is also important that other maths concepts such as size, shape, direction & position, time, money and measurements are introduced in practical scenarios that give children situational understanding. I always like to think of it as “what’s in it for them?” - if you can find a reason why understanding it will benefit them, then they will be more motivated to understand it. For example, ‘would you like a big or small ice cream?’ or ‘would you like to spend your £10 on one Paw Patrol figure or three LEGO mini figures?’.

Don’t shy away from maths - embrace it. Make it part of your everyday routine. The more familiar and comfortable our children are with numbers the more willing they will be to give harder concepts a go.

Should a child with DS follow the national curriculum like their peers?

All children are different and will have academic strengths and weaknesses. The speed at which they attain the maths milestones will dictate whether they can follow the national curriculum like their peers. Mainstreams schools typically follow a ‘scheme of work’ which the teacher uses to design the weekly and termly topics and learning. Examples of schemes include Mathematics Mastery, Maths No Problem, Power Maths, Shanghai Maths, White Rose Maths. Most of them use the idea that you cover a topic, leave it, come back to it the next term and review it and then come back to it again in the final term of the year and ensure the learning is consolidated and secured. That might mean that one topic is covered for a week each term.

The learning profile of a child with DS suggests that they benefit from repetition and therefore this method might not produce the best results. We know that, if we haven’t successfully transitioned the learning to long term recall and complete understanding, when we return to the topic we will be starting again from scratch. It is therefore important that we support children with DS with a differentiated curriculum to secure the building blocks via repetition whilst still providing variety so as to avoid boredom. And it is important to concentrate on the core milestones before advancing to more complex maths - it is important to secure simple addition and subtraction before introducing multiplication and division.

There are also topics within the national curriculum that will not necessarily be needed for ‘life’ - for example, memorising how many faces, vertices and edges a 3D shape. This is part of the KS1 curriculum and will take up important long term memory space however it is not needed in everyday life.