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Maths anxiety

Now that children are doing schoolwork at home, you may find that your child feels a little anxious at times. This is not always a bad thing as a small amount of anxiety can show that new learning is taking place.

Anxiety keeps our brain alert and open to new ideas. Most children will be enjoying their maths lessons at school and the activities planned for remote learning. Hopefully, they will feel challenged at points and, although they may feel some confusion or anxiety at times, they are able to manage these feelings and continue learning.

For some children, however, this anxiety can be overwhelming and can stop them from learning. When a child who has maths anxiety is given a maths problem, they may panic, cry or even feel sick. Overtime, the child may not learn as much in their maths lessons as they cannot take in the information they are being given.

Solihull Early Years and Education Improvement team has produced some guidance and resources for parents who are interested in learning more about maths anxiety:

What is maths anxiety?
An overview of what maths anxiety is, how to know if your child is experiencing maths anxiety, what causes maths anxiety and why your child may feel like this.

How to help my child by using the growth zone chart
An explanation of the ‘growth zone chart’ and how you can use this to help your child understand their feelings and begin to manage their anxiety

How to help my child develop a ‘can do’ attitude
An explanation of how to help your child develop a more positive attitude towards maths and a look at what a ‘good’ mathematician could look like (…and it’s not always the person who is the fastest at getting an answer or the person who always gets the maths questions right!)

More information about maths anxiety
Suggested websites for parents who wish to explore maths anxiety further