Last Update, July 2023: Recently I have become increasingly exercised by what we can do to help those children who struggle with maths, but NOT because they can’t do it. Because life has dealt them a raw deal.

I used to work in very middle-class schools, but since the pandemic I have had the chance to work with some wonderful but less-fortunate children who I suspect are not reaching their potential in school.

For me this is all about giving them life-chances. Like it or not, being able to read, write and talk clearly gives us an unfair advantage.

The same is true of basic maths, yet many children’s lives are so chaotic or challenging that they have little or no chance of academic success, and therefore securing a brighter future for themselves.

This thought angers me, so I’ve decided to try something. If it doesn’t work, so be it, but at least I’ll have tried.

My idea was this – what if I could put on a day of maths activities, NOT for the ‘smart’ mathematicians’ and NOT for the ‘low-ability’ (I HATE that phrase) mathematicians, but instead for those children who are struggling a bit with maths because they are at a disadvantage before they even walk through the door.

Schools call them the ‘PP’ children, or the ‘FSM’ children. I just want to call them mathematicians. 

I’ve started with Y3 and Y4 and see what happens, but in future if it goes well I intend to run similar events for Y5/6, and also Y7 pupils in secondary schools. Our first day was a big hit, judging from the comments from children and teachers (see below)

So far we have run just one day, in Eastbourne on 14th July 2023, and the feedback has been excellent. Here are the teachers’ comments from all five schools who attended:

“Fantastic ideas!”

“This is a perfect opportunity to spend the day out of school learning about maths and gaining confidence.”

“Great for confidence and and strategies.”

“My children loved it and can’t wait to share what they learnt today.”

“Such a great way to improve the children’s confidence in maths – thinking ‘what if’ instead of ‘I don’t know’ “

This is where you come in.

Think about your school. Who can you think of that fits the profile I’ve just outlined? 

Can you think of four children? If so, I’d LOVE you to bring them along to a ‘Hit The Target’ day to work with me and groups of 4 children from a couple of other schools as well.

I’ve thought very carefully about the content of the day. We will learn lots of fun maths games and activities, and for primary children these will focus on Place Value, as well as the relationship between Multiplication and Division and Fractions. In my experience, children who struggle with maths need a solid foundation in these three areas if they are to progress.

For Years 7 and 8, we will include decimals and percentages as well.

There will be certificates, challenges, even races if space permits, but the point of the day is to give these children a bit of self-belief and confidence that they can be mathematicians.

Drop me an email on info @ andrewjeffrey.co.uk if you want to find out more, or if you might like to host an event.

I’ll add to the list below as we finalise more dates.