A recent study by the publisher Pearson, of over 2,000 parents has found that over 30% of parents “don’t feel confident enough in their own maths skills to help their children with their primary school maths homework”.

After French, Maths was classed as the most difficult subject for parents to help their children with, and highlights a trend reflected in previous studies and research, that suggests numeracy levels across both children and adults is an area of concern.

This concern is reinforced by recent research that suggests that improving standards amongst children is significantly enhanced by the support of parents, even to the point where this support can be even more influential than the support received at school. However, if parents are not able to offer this support, therein lies a problem.

The new methods used to teach maths were cited as an issue for 53% of parents, who revealed that they struggled to comprehend them. These methods include ‘chunking’- a form of long division that requires pupils to repeatedly subtract ‘chunks’ from a number, and ‘gridding’- which requires pupils to fill in grids to multiply numbers.

Of the study, Carol Vorderman said “Studies have shown that if parents help their children with homework they are more likely to succeed at school. It is therefore worrying that so many parents lack confidence in their own maths skills. It’s imperative that children are given the opportunity to learn maths in a way that is fun, accessible and engaging, both at home and in the classroom.”

It is hoped that recent decisions by ministers to encourage the use of more traditional methods of calculations in primary school exams will see a greater cohesion between the methods more readily understood by parents and those used in schools by pupils, however parents can also take some additional steps to help support their child with their numeracy:

  • Try and familiarise yourself as much as you can with the techniques and methods your children use (as difficult as that might seem.)
  • Speak to the class teacher and get an idea of the maths resources he or she will teach with, and see if they can recommend any additional resources to aid support outside of class time.
  • Speak to other parents and find out how they are supporting their children.
  • If you want a refresher course or some additional help, many local adult education colleges offer basic courses. There are courses available on the internet too.

We would love to hear from parents about their tips for supporting their child with their numeracy homework, and equally from teachers on what advice they would offer to parents who want to give this support.

Image Credit: OakleyOriginals @ Flickr