The start of a new term is a great time to think about ways you can help your child with their schoolwork.

One key area you can really help your child with, whatever their age, is mental arithmetic. Mental arithmetic is being able to add, subtract, multiply and divide in your head and to solve problems using method and logic. These skills are the key foundations of maths skills, and speed and accuracy makes everything else in maths so much easier.

Building confidence in maths early on will pay back many times over. Repetitive learning increases confidence, improves speed and builds connections in the brain; skills that last a life time. Once your child has strong mental arithmetic abilities, they can tackle all sorts of problem solving.

Here are some fun and easy ideas of how you can support your child’s learning.

Key Stage 1 (Years 1 and 2)

In Key Stage 1, your child will:

• cover counting in twos, threes, fives and tens knowing both the multiplication and division facts for the twos, fives and tens multiplication tables
• work out a number that is one more, or one less than a given number
• work with number bonds to ten and twenty
• add and subtract two-digit numbers
• halve and double numbers.

Here are some ideas of how you can help them:

1. Flashcards

Don’t underestimate the need for repetition! It is amazing how many times a child needs to repeat times tables and number bonds before they are consolidated.

Flashcards are a great way of having fun while learning. Try taking them with you when you are out and about – spending a quick 5 minutes here and there can be fun and can make all the difference. Why not use the stopwatch on your phone for an element of challenge? Can they tell you the multiplication facts for the two times table in one minute? How about the division facts?

2. Number bond targets

Try this fun game to add, subtract or multiply to reach a target. Give your child a target of 10 and then shout out any one-digit number (including 0) and they have to add one other number to reach 10.

You can then vary this by making the target 0 and you shout out any one-digit number that they have to take away from 10 to reach 0. Once they know these bonds off by heart, try working with a target of 20.

3. Double and halve

This is a great game for waiting rooms, in the car – whenever you have a minute to spend. Say an even number and ask your child to double the number and then halve the number. Begin with a single-digit number, then up to 20 and then a multiple of 10.

Key Stage 2 (Years 3 to 6)

Your child will know their multiplication table from ones to twelves by the end of Year 4. They will be able to add and subtract three-digit numbers and to solve problems using more than one operation at a time.

Here are some fun ideas to support them with their learning:

1. More flashcards!

Flashcards continue to be a useful resource as your child gets older. There are many sets available, or it is easy to make your own.

Use the flashcards for all of the multiplication tables. Older children might enjoy seeing how many correct answers they can give in a set time. Doubling and halving bigger numbers and doubling and halving odd numbers are all brilliant ways of extending your child’s mental arithmetic skills.

Try these  from Bond.

2. Puzzles

Lots of puzzles require knowledge of number patterns. Puzzles such as Sudoku, number crosswords, maths mazes and number riddles are all excellent ways of learning by stealth!

Bond have a range of ‘brain training’ books and the number puzzles book is especially good for developing mental arithmetic. The  also has some free puzzles to try!

3. Logical thinking

Giving your child challenges that develop their logic and reasoning is perfect practice. Ask them to halve, double or triple a recipe, or to round up or down the cost of items in the supermarket and to give an estimated total. You could ask them to work out how much water to add to cordial, how many weeks of pocket money it would take to save up for something or how much the total cost will be at a café or day out.

4. Mental arithmetic games and apps

There are lots of great games and apps that make mental arithmetic more fun for children. Take a look at the free downloadable and interactive activities available on the 

More from Oxford Owl

• Blog post: Times tables tips
• Web page: What is the Year 4 multiplication tables check?
• Web page: Fun maths games and activities

Books and flashcards

What are reading schemes?

A reading scheme is a series of books that have been carefully written to support the process of learning to read and to help children make progress as readers. What educational researchers know about how children learn to read – and how best to motivate them to learn – is changing and improving all the time. The best reading schemes reflect this research and help teachers to deliver the best teaching in order to improve outcomes for children.

When I learnt to read in the 1970s I had a tin full of words and when I’d learnt these words I practised by reading Peter and Jane stories. Peter and Jane had a dog and a ball and often went out to play and run and jump; they also did fun things with Mummy (mostly involving baking) and Daddy (when he came home from work). And when I’d finished with Peter and Jane there was a world of other Ladybird Books to choose from.

In the 1970s, Ladybird Books provided a Key Word Scheme and I was one of the lucky ones who successfully learned to read in this way. I was lucky because my teachers, parents and grandparents read me stories and talked to me about stuff and took me to interesting places. They gave me enough words and language to be able to work out – or at least make an educated guess at – what new words were when I met them in books. Many thousands of children did not learn to read in this way because they simply didn’t know what to do when they met a word that wasn’t in the tin! And very soon, they stopped trying …

Synthetic phonics

We now know that the Synthetic Phonics method is the best way to ensure that all children – regardless of ‘lucky’ backgrounds or external experiences – have strategies for working out any word they meet. They are taught the letter sounds and how to blend them as well as some ‘tricky’ words that are essential for reading in English: words such as the, said, there, was. By the age of 6 or 7, most children should have enough phonics knowledge to be able tackle and at least ‘decode’ any new word in a book. However, it’s important to remember that understanding what the words mean – both individually and in the context of the story or information text – is also vital for reading progress and is really important for motivation. Keeping children reading beyond the age of 7 can be a challenge so the earlier they develop a reading habit, the better.
The very best reading schemes ensure children have both the SKILLS they need and the WILL to want to read!

What do the different colours, bands and levels mean?

All reading schemes have a careful structure designed to support the teaching in class and to ensure that when a child takes a book home they can read it successfully, build confidence and make progress. Educational publishers consider a number of factors when determining the ‘level’ of a book including phonic knowledge, vocabulary, sentence length, number of words on a page and use of illustrations.

There are a number of different ‘levelling’ systems used including Oxford Levels, Cliff Moon levels, Reading Recovery Levels and Read, Write, Inc. However, the most commonly used structure in schools is Book Bands because this is a system that has been applied to lots of different reading schemes and other books. Book Bands consists of a series of coloured bands that reflect progress in reading from early phonics through to fluent, competent reading around the age of 7 or 8. There are also Bands beyond this but these are much broader and more about age-appropriateness than reading ability.

Lists: Book Bands and Oxford Reading Levels

Age 4–5

Year: Reception

Band: Lilac / Level: 1

Band: Pink / Level: 1+

Band: Red / Level: 2

Band: Yellow / Level: 3

Age 5–6

Year: 1

Band: Blue / Level: 4

Band: Green / Level: 5

Band: Orange / Level: 6

Age 6-7

Year: 2

Band: Turquoise / Level: 7

Band: Purple / Level: 8

Band: Gold / Level: 9

Band: White / Level: 10

Band: Lime / Level: 11

Download the full 

Moving up?

The point at which your child is ready to move up a band or level depends on your child and the teacher’s approach. Generally, a teacher will want to know that a child is secure and confident at a given level before moving them on. It’s also important to bear in mind that not all levels are of equal size. In the first few years of school, the steps of progress are fairly small, and children will move through a number of levels quite quickly. As children move up the levels, the steps become broader and ‘moving up’ happens less frequently. It’s also important to remember that different children develop their reading skills at different rates so comparing your child with others is not helpful. If you think your child is ready to move on, talk to their teacher – there may be good reasons why they are being ‘held back’ for a bit, for example to work on their comprehension, fluency or expression.

In many schools, children become ‘free readers’ once they’ve come to the end of the reading scheme. This is a fantastic achievement to be celebrated and means your child will be able to choose their own reading book from a much wider range. However, it’s important to ensure that your child continues to get a varied and appropriately challenging reading diet.

If you have any concerns about your child’s reading, read our advice about struggling readers.

More from Oxford Owl

• Bookshop: Learn to read at home with Read with Oxford
• µþ±ô´Ç²µ:ÌýHow can I support my child with phonics?
• Oxford Owl: Five ways to encourage reluctant readers
• Oxford Owl: Free eBook library to practice and develop reading skills
• Oxford Owl: About Oxford Reading Tree and Oxford Levels
• Oxford Owl: Reading tips by age
• µþ±ô´Ç²µ:ÌýYour local library – a forgotten treasure trove

Books to support learning to read at home

Please note: all book links lead to more information on Amazon.co.uk

National Numeracy Day is a celebration of everyday maths that’s taking place on Wednesday 19th May 2021. Your child’s school may be taking part in a host of activities, competitions and online events to raise awareness of the importance of numeracy, and there are lots of ways that you can join in too.

National Numeracy Day is designed to empower children – and grown-ups! – to build their confidence and competence with numbers. So if you’re a bit wobbly when it comes to helping your child with maths homework, or home-school maths was a struggle, it’s the perfect time to take your first steps towards stronger numeracy.

How can you take part in National Numeracy Day?

You can get involved by signing up for the National Numeracy Challenge. It’s a free and easy-to-use website for improving your everyday maths, aiming to help you get on better at work, make your money go further, and support your child with learning maths.

National Numeracy have also created a hub full of resources to help you support your child, which includes fun number activities from their celebrity ambassadors. Whether you’re dancing with Strictly’s Katya Jones, or making cupcakes with Bake Off winner Peter Sawkins, the activities will get you and your child thinking differently about numbers.

We’ve also gathered together some of our favourite maths activities and top tips from across Oxford Owl to help you support your child with maths at home and to boost your confidence with numbers.

Find out what your child learns in maths at school

• The curriculum for maths in each school year
• Maths glossary
• Numicon guide for parents

Read our top tips to support your child with maths at home on the Oxford Owl blog

• Overcoming maths anxiety and being positive about numbers
• Times tables tips
• How to help your child with mental arithmetic
• Everyday activities to practise subtraction

Download maths activity sheets (PDF download)

• (Age 3–4)
• (Age 4–5)
• (Age 5–6)
• (Age 5–7)
• (Age 5–7)
• (Age 6–7)
• (Key Stage 1)
• (Age 7–9)

You can also .

Try these interactive maths activities

• (Age 3–4)
• (Age 3–4)
• (Age 4–5)
• (Age 4–5)
• (Age 4–5)
• (Age 5–6)
• (Age 6–7)
• (Age 7–9)

51ºÚÁÏÍø is delighted to be a lead delivery partner for National Numeracy Day.

Maths activity books and flashcards

Explore our full range of maths activity books or take a look at some of our bestsellers below.

Spring is here.

As I write this, the sun is shining in through the window, blossom garlands the trees outside, and birds are perched on the fence, singing merrily. Obviously, it has snowed this week and there have been torrential gales as well, but hey, that’s the Great British Springtime. I’m choosing to concentrate on the sunshine. After what’s been a difficult year for everyone, spring is a time for optimism, a time to look forwards. So, in an optimistic mood, let’s look forward to the school term ahead.

The great majority of primary-aged children in England returned to school for a few weeks at the end of last term. Every school is different, but for most the focus was on children socialising with their friends again, getting back into routines, and for teachers to run some assessments to see where children were and what they had learnt while they were at home. In the summer term, the focus is likely to move to learning, with teachers using the results of their assessments to decide what they need to teach next.

So, what can we do to help our children to make lots of progress over the term ahead?

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1. Don’t tell children they’ve ‘fallen behind’

There’s a gloomy narrative that has pervaded the newspapers and wider media at times that says this generation of children have missed out on so much schooling during the pandemic that they’re doomed never to fulfil their potential. They’ve fallen behind and if they don’t catch up quickly, they’re in trouble.

As parents, I think we should do everything we can to resist this point of view.

First of all, it’s just not true. Most children will have carried on learning lots of things at home – perhaps because of the online learning offered by their school, perhaps because parents have stepped in and worked wonders with them, or perhaps just because of all the incidental learning children do all the time. Whether it comes from reading, watching interesting tv programmes or films online or from playing, children are hard-wired to learn new things and it’s really difficult to stop them learning, even when they’re stuck at home during a global pandemic.

Secondly, even if the things they’ve been learning at home are more closely-related to the Xbox or Lego than maths or reading, and there are some parts of the school curriculum they still need to master, telling someone they’ve ‘fallen behind and need to catch up or else’ is unlikely to be terribly motivating.

If we can frame the return to school positively, as a chance to learn lots of interesting new things, then children are far more likely to be enthusiastic learners.

2. Don’t try and do everything – pick some priorities

Of course, there might be some areas of the curriculum where your children would benefit from a bit of extra focus. These might be things that are difficult to teach online – discussion and debate in English lessons, for example, or practical subjects like PE or music. There might be things linked to the core subjects that your child finds particularly tricky, things they would have had a bit more support with had they been in school.

The trick here is to focus on the really important areas so children’s attention and energy isn’t spread too thin. It might be that you’ve spotted these areas while children have been working at home – perhaps you’ve noticed that they find working with fractions hard because it takes them a long time to work out their multiplication tables (they’re not fluent yet) or that they find it difficult to answer questions about a book because they’re using all their energy sounding out the individual words (a different kind of fluency). The At School page of the Oxford Owl site has lots of information and ideas for how you can support your child with their next steps.

If you’re not sure about where you might best focus your efforts, the first thing to do is to talk to your child’s teacher (perhaps putting your new Zoom skills to good use). Hopefully, they’ll have a good idea of where your child is in their learning at the moment, based on any assessments they’ve carried out, and they can point you in the right direction.

3. Make use of ‘stealth learning’

If you do want to help your children in a particular area, perhaps there is a way of building the skills and knowledge without having to make it seem like extra schoolwork. Fun activities like cooking or going for a walk can be effective, enjoyable ways of developing children’s maths. Likewise, there are few more enjoyable ways of learning than curling up together with a good book.

4. Keep ±ð±¹±ð°ù²â´Ç²Ô±ð’s wellbeing at the heart of things

Things are slowly starting to open up again at the moment and, all being well, there’s the chance to meet up with family members that we haven’t seen for a while, spend time with friends at the park and in gardens (and before long inside their houses – just imagine!). We’ll be able to go and do many things that have been off-limits for the winter: the sports clubs, dance classes, and trips to wildlife parks and museums. Now might be the time to embrace the world opening up again, rather than spending every day after school ‘catching up’ on schoolwork at the kitchen table.

And I use the word ±ð±¹±ð°ù²â´Ç²Ô±ð’s with good reason – it’s not just children’s wellbeing that’s important, but parents’ too. The last year has been hard and home-learning has probably been difficult at times. For the sake of ±ð±¹±ð°ù²â´Ç²Ô±ð’s wellbeing, the summer might be the time to focus on getting some other aspects of life back on track before we start worrying about fronted adverbials and simplifying fractions.

5. If you feel like they’re not on track at the moment, don’t panic

As any teacher will tell you, learning is a messy process. It doesn’t happen in a neat straight line, with every child mastering the same things at the same time. Even in a normal, uninterrupted school year, every child will have a spell where they find something difficult, before it suddenly clicks and they make a flurry of rapid progress. For most children, we can think of the pandemic as one of those slower spells – if circumstances mean that they haven’t had the chance to learn something over the last year, what will hopefully follow next will be a sudden burst of learning now they’re back at school.

Also, it’s very possible that children will find learning something new easier now than they would have last year because they’re that little bit older. This is especially true of younger children where a year makes a huge difference. Something that is difficult for a 5-year-old to understand will hopefully be much easier for a 6½ -year-old to pick up simply because they’re that little bit more mature.

And where that doesn’t happen automatically, we’ll be there as parents to support and help our children. As I said at the start, Spring is a time for optimism!

More from Oxford Owl

• What your child learns each year at primary school
• Ideas to sneak learning into everyday activities
• Cooking with kids
• Discovery walks – fun outdoor learning ideas

51ºÚÁÏÍø learning books from Oxford

Browse more books for children from 51ºÚÁÏÍø.

Despite much of our lives becoming digital, learning to tell the time using both analogue and digital clocks is still an important skill, and it’s something that children can find tricky to master.

In the English national curriculum, analogue time is taught first, in Key Stage 1, with children later being introduced to digital clocks in Key Stage 2. Time is a hard concept to grasp, because it is very abstract (we cannot touch or see it). This isn’t helped by using time-related sayings that don’t refer to time accurately. I often say ‘Just a second…’ when asking my twins to wait, but in reality this second can be anything from a few seconds to what seems like forever!

Here are some ideas to try when supporting your child’s growing understanding of time:

Spot the clock

With younger children, look for clocks in the local environment and talk about their purpose. For example, the purpose of the church clock’s bell striking each hour was to support the local people in their daily routines as people didn’t have watches. Train station clocks help keep the trains running on time and show travellers the time easily when they’re rushing to catch a train. Look out for watches and devices around the house which display the time, too – how many can they spot?

Sand timers

The passing of time and how long things take to do can be hard for young children to understand. Using sand timers for familiar routines and activities such as brushing teeth and getting dressed helps your child develop their awareness of time passing, and how long tasks take to complete. Focus on questions like: ‘Which takes longer – eating breakfast or brushing your teeth?’, ‘How long will the pizza take to cook?’, ‘Are you at school longer that you are asleep?’, ‘Which is quicker: making a cup of tea or putting the washing out?’

Just a minute!

Build an awareness of how long a minute is by playing this game. Use a stopwatch, a digital timer or the stopwatch function on a smart phone and ask your child how many star jumps they think they can do in a minute. Time them: how close was their estimation? Repeat with other activities or actions. What can they do the most of in a minute? What did they complete the least of?

Dicing with time

This game is fun to play with older children. You will need:

• 2 x 6-sided dice of the same colour
• 1 x 6-sided dice of another colour
• A toy clock, or paper plate with the hours marked on and something to use for the clock’s hands

The two dice of the same colour represent the hours (add the 2 numbers together to get hours up to 12) and the other dice represent minutes in tens (e.g. rolling a 4 is 40 minutes).
Take it in turns to roll the dice to make a time, then move the hands on the clock to show the time.

Highlighting where time is important in everyday situations will support your child’s growing awareness and their understanding of time whilst demonstrating how essential skills such as telling the time and time management are for successful daily life.

More from Oxford Owl

• Learning to tell the time: tips and free activities.
• Activities: Time: free activity sheets to print and use at home.
• Maths activity books: books to build confidence in maths, for children aged 3–11.

Activity books and kits

The phonics screening check is used by teachers to assess children’s phonics skills learned through Reception and Year 1. It usually takes place in the summer term of Year 1, but due to school closures, the check didn’t take place this summer. Instead, Year 2 children will be doing it over the next half-term, in November and December.

What does the phonics screening check involve?

There are two sections in this 40-word check. Your child will read up to four words per page for their teacher and they will probably do the check in one sitting of about 5–10 minutes. Although the check is compulsory, it isn’t a formal test and is usually carried out by the class teacher, one-to-one, in a relaxed environment. The check also includes some nonsense words that are phonically decodable but are not real words. These check children’s decoding skills, making sure they cannot guess the word.

You can find more information on our phonics screening check page.

How can I help my child’s reading at home?

Sharing books together

Reading phonetically decodable books at home is very useful for developing children’s phonic skills.

• Before your child starts reading, look at the cover and title together. Encourage them to think about what the book might be about to get them engaged and in the right frame of mind to read.
• Talk about the book as you read, recapping and asking questions as you go to check your child’s understanding of what they’re reading.
• Point to the words as your child reads, encouraging them to try every word to the very end (children learning to read often neglect suffixes).
• If they’re struggling with a word, help to break it down into individual sounds, then blend the sounds together. Breaking words down into syllables can also help. With longer or compound words, support children to identify elements of the word they might know or find easier to decode, for instance, rain/ing, kind/est, foot/ball. Cover up part of the word and encourage children to read it in smaller chunks.
• If your child is still struggling, it’s OK to tell them the word.
• Finally, don’t forget that praise is really motivating for children as they read.

Make practice fun!

Here are some quick, fun games you can play at home using the focus phonemes in your child’s reading books. These will all help to increase confidence reading and blending sounds.

• Write down all the phonemes on separate pieces of paper and get your child to practise reading them quickly, one after the other. Mix up the order to make sure your child isn’t reciting them!
• Stick up different phonemes around a room and ask your child to hop to one phoneme, skip to one and jump to another as you call them out.
• Get your child to write as many words which include the focus phonemes as they can in 30 seconds. Make it easier or harder by giving them more or less time.
• Choose six phonemes and give each one a number. Roll a dice and ask your child to say the phoneme that the dice lands on.

More from Oxford Owl

• The Year 1 phonics screening check: frequently asked questions.
• Free eBook library: free eBooks from 51ºÚÁÏÍø.
• Phonics activities: free phonics activity sheets and online activities.
• : tips and games to help you support your child’s learning at home.
• Oxford Reading Tree and Levels: learn about Oxford Levels, used in schools around the world, and find the right level for your child.

Books, kits and flashcards for phonics practice