Parent learning support

Maths Anxiety: What Parents Can Do

Understand the sticking points, make maths practice more manageable and agree the right support with school.

Editorial

Lead authorRobin GibbonsFounder & CEO·Latimer Tuition
Reviewed byHeather LatimerTutor Matching & Customer Service·Latimer Tuition

Start with the difficulty

What you need to know about maths anxiety

If your child becomes worried or distressed around maths, start by listening and finding out which situations feel difficult. Ask their teacher to look at both their understanding and their experience of doing maths. Gaps in knowledge and anxiety can occur together; a low mark, a blank page or a good result cannot settle the question on its own.

At home, try a small, manageable piece of maths without making speed the goal. Talk through a method, give room for mistakes and agree the next step with school. This guide offers educational support for UK families from later primary school to GCSE age. It does not diagnose an anxiety disorder or prescribe treatment. School systems and health referral arrangements differ across the UK.

Is the maths unfamiliar, or does doing it feel threatening?

Maths anxiety describes worry or tension associated with maths. It is not another name for low mathematical ability. Use the observations below to prepare a conversation, not as a test or a diagnosis. The Cambridge research report on maths anxiety distinguishes feelings about maths from attainment: children who do well can still feel anxious.

A particular idea may need teaching

Your child repeatedly gets stuck at the same step, such as understanding why fractions need equal-sized parts, even during a calm explanation. Show the teacher the step that causes difficulty and ask which earlier idea needs revisiting. That tells you more than repeating a whole worksheet.

The situation may add pressure

Your child says they fear being wrong, freezes when asked to answer quickly, or avoids starting maths despite being able to explain some of it at another time. Note the situation and their own words. A difference between an unhurried conversation and a timed task is useful information, but is not proof of a particular condition.

Both may need attention

A child may have a genuine knowledge gap and worry about exposing it. Ask school to consider understanding and distress together, rather than waiting for one to disappear before addressing the other. Persistent difficulties with number also deserve a conversation about assessment and learning support; this observation checklist cannot establish their cause.

Make the next maths session manageable

These starting points draw on National Numeracy’s parent advice and OCR’s guidance on thinking time and manageable steps. OCR’s guidance addresses secondary teaching in England; the home suggestions below are adaptations, not a fixed programme or a promise that anxiety will disappear.

Ask outside the difficult moment
Try: “Which part feels hardest: knowing what to do, getting started, being watched or having to be quick?” Listen without deciding that reluctance means laziness. For a teenager, ask what help they would actually welcome before sitting beside them.
Choose one small learning goal
Use a familiar starting point and one manageable next step. For example, work on finding a quarter of an amount before tackling mixed fraction questions. Ask the teacher which method and resources the class uses so home practice connects with lessons.
Take speed out of this practice
Allow thinking time and let your child show their reasoning with paper, a diagram or objects. Avoid turning an explanation into rapid-fire questions. Timed assessment is a separate preparation need to discuss with the teacher; home learning does not always need a stopwatch.
Respond to the method and the mistake
Say what you noticed: “You split the amount into four equal groups.” If an answer is wrong, look together for the step that changed the meaning. “That is easy” or “I was never a maths person either” offers less help than showing how to work through a difficulty.
End with a clear next step
Agree a manageable stopping point rather than adding questions whenever an answer is right. If distress is rising, pause and return to the teacher with what happened. Note what your child could explain and how much help they needed; speed and the number of completed questions are not the only useful observations.

Illustrative learning example

Primary example: finding a quarter without a speed test

Suppose the question “What is one quarter of 20?” leads to “I can’t do fractions”. Start with the meaning: a quarter is one of four equal parts. Draw four circles and share 20 counters equally between them. Each circle has five counters, so one quarter of 20 is 5. Write 20 ÷ 4 = 5 beside the drawing to connect the picture and calculation.

If your child puts four counters in each circle, ask how many counters have been used and what remains. The issue may be the difference between four groups and groups of four. Explain that distinction before offering another question.

For a follow-up, ask whether they would like to show one quarter of 12 with counters or a drawing. Four equal groups contain three each, so the answer is 3. Notice whether they can explain why they divided by four. Answering this question can show what your child understands about fractions; it cannot tell you how anxious they feel about maths. The EEF’s maths guidance for Key Stages 2 and 3 in England recommends connecting objects and pictures explicitly to the mathematical ideas they represent.

Illustrative learning example

Secondary example: separate the steps in a percentage question

A GCSE-age pupil meets “A £40 item is reduced by 15%. Find the sale price” and says they never know where to start. Before giving more questions, ask which part they understand. Is the difficulty finding 15%, or deciding what a reduction means?

One possible method is: 10% of £40 = £4; 5% = £2; so 15% = £6. The £6 is the amount taken off. The sale price is £40 − £6 = £34. Keep those two quantities clearly labelled. If the pupil gives £6 as the final answer, return to the question’s wording rather than assuming they cannot calculate percentages.

Offer a similar untimed question, such as a 15% reduction on £60. The reduction is £9 and the sale price is £51. Ask them to explain the steps they choose. Use the approach taught at school if it differs; the point is to locate the sticking point and make the reasoning visible, not to replace the teacher’s method.

Words to adapt

What to say when your child says “I’m rubbish at maths”

When this applies

Your child is making a judgement about themselves after getting stuck.

Suggested wording

“This feels difficult today. Getting stuck on this question does not tell us everything about your maths. We can look at one step together, or make a note for your teacher. Would it help to draw it, see an example or pause for now?”

Why this helps

The wording acknowledges the difficulty and offers a choice about the next learning step. Avoid promising that the next question will be easy or comparing your child with a sibling or classmate.

Agree a maths support plan with school

Start with the class teacher in primary school or the maths teacher in secondary school. Bring a small number of examples, your child’s words and the situations where things go better. Discuss which changes the school can offer for your child. The EEF guidance for Key Stages 2 and 3 in England supports using low-stakes tasks and discussion to identify what pupils understand. The questions below adapt that principle without assuming the same school arrangements across the UK.

What does my child understand already?
Ask which concepts are secure, which need teaching and how staff reached that view. Request an example of a suitable starting task and the method to use at home. A total test score alone may not show where help is needed.
When does the worry get in the way?
Compare homework, class discussion, independent work and assessments. Discuss whether more thinking time during learning, private feedback or a different way to show reasoning would help. Include your child’s preferences without promising changes the school has not agreed.
What will we try, and how will we review it?
Agree one learning priority, what staff will do, any small home action and a review date. Look for clearer explanations, less adult prompting and your child’s account of how maths feels. If the plan is not helping, revisit it rather than simply adding more practice.

An educational role

Where extra teaching can help

The EEF’s one-to-one tuition review, written for education settings and drawing on international research, recommends targeting learning gaps, linking tuition with classroom content and monitoring progress. Extra teaching can model a method and provide supported practice. If considering tuition, ask how the tutor finds the starting point, responds to wrong answers and coordinates with school learning. Ask what they would change if the child becomes distressed, and how they would report understanding and independence rather than only marks.

Tuition is optional and is not treatment for an anxiety disorder. Promises to cure anxiety or guarantee confidence are not a sound basis for choosing support. If your child’s distress is the main barrier, discuss it with school and an appropriate health professional rather than assuming more maths lessons are the answer.

Decision caveat

When to seek more help

When this advice is not enough

Worry persists, gets worse or is affecting everyday life, school or relationships. Your child may also be distressed beyond maths, or unable to engage with the support already agreed.

What to do instead

The NHS parent guidance for England advises seeking help when anxiety is severe, persists and interferes with everyday life. Talk to your child’s GP, and involve school when school life is affected. Describe the impact and what has already been tried. Local access and referral arrangements vary across the UK; your GP or school can help you find the appropriate local route. Do not wait for a home practice plan to succeed before raising a significant concern.

If persistent learning difficulties need further investigation, ask the school who coordinates additional learning support. For a separate discussion of that process, use our SENCO meeting checklist, which explains the process in England and where to find guidance for the other UK nations.

Support and clarity

Frequently asked questions

Straight answers to the questions people ask most often.

Should we stop doing maths at home altogether?

If a task is causing rising distress, pause it rather than making completion the immediate goal. Then agree with the teacher what a manageable return to learning could look like: a smaller step, a different explanation or less work at one time. A pause in a difficult session is different from leaving the underlying learning need unaddressed. Seek further help when worry persists or interferes with daily life.

What if I am not confident with maths myself?

You do not need to pretend to know every answer. Ask your child to show the method used in class, work together from a teacher-provided example and make a note when you both need an explanation. National Numeracy encourages parents to admit when they do not know something and to avoid presenting being “bad at maths” as a fixed family trait.

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A particular idea may need teaching

The situation may add pressure

Both may need attention

What to say when your child says “I’m rubbish at maths”

Fractions in Years 3–6: parent learning support

Preparing for a school learning-support meeting

Frequently asked questions

Official guidance

Research and evidence

Other sources