Our story
Maths For Life has a mission to bring the love and benefits of maths to everyone. Rather than shoehorning all students into a ‘one size fits all’ curriculum, we address the unique needs of the unserved minority.
We are a small and passionate team bringing a wealth of knowledge and experience; we are teachers, teaching assistants and parents.
We believe (indeed, our evidence-based research increasingly shows) that by building solid foundations and nurturing independence, the Maths For Life Programme unlocks the potential for students to achieve and flourish in today’s world. We prioritise the maths needed for life – the numeracy skills that we use every single day.
The ethos behind our approach to maths learning and resource design is this:
What do our students need to know to successfully navigate the modern world?
What is the understanding that will empower them as they make decisions?
What do neurotypical learners take for granted, and how do we provide this as a scaffold for those who have additional learning needs?
We love maths and find it inspirational. How can we teach in a way that engages our students so that they can begin to share our passion and find their learning fun?
Founder, Karen McGuigan, studied maths at a degree level as part of her Masters in Chemical Engineering at Imperial College. Originally from Northern Ireland, she lives in Surrey, England with her partner, Mike, and three sons, Dexter, Lance and Cal. She set up The Maths Mum® in 2018 with the aim of ‘Helping parents help their children’. Inspired by her middle son Lance, who has Down syndrome, she began the development of the Maths For Life programme in 2019.
When teaching the topic of money there is little to be gained from the ability to work out how much change I get from 50p when buying an apple, if I cannot first appreciate the concept of value. So, instead of “what change do I get from 50p?”, our first question is: “would you pay 50p or £5 for an apple?”
In lockdown, I published videos of Lance and I working through maths concepts. It seemed selfish not to share my knowledge. Parents of children with additional learning needs contacted me and, following repeated requests for my knowledge to be written down, I decided to sacrifice sleep for the greater good. I wrote either side of home schooling my three boys. The Maths For Life Book 1 was self-published in August 2020.
I am aware that Lance will face challenges ahead. I worry that moving into adulthood and independent living will come with risks. Without solid maths skills, Lance could get taken advantage of in many circumstances – especially with money. I am convinced that ensuring he can do simple maths well and independently will mitigate against the risk. He will know that he should never pay £5 for an apple… unless it comes cooked in a pie with a side of ice-cream!
~ Karen McGuigan, Founder and CEO
