Dyscalculia tutoring is one-to-one maths teaching, paced and structured around how a child learns, that gives the child more time with one adult on the skills school support has identified. It runs alongside the support the school already provides and any specialist or health input, so a parent in England usually starts by looking at what the school's SEN support plan already says, which shows where extra time with a tutor can fit.
What does the SEND Code of Practice say about dyscalculia?
The SEND Code of Practice, the statutory guidance for England issued by the DfE and DHSC, names dyscalculia, alongside dyslexia and dyspraxia, as a specific learning difficulty. It describes specific learning difficulties (SpLD) as affecting one or more specific aspects of learning, and says the category encompasses a range of conditions. Dyscalculia is described only in those terms, so a parent who wants more detail about a particular child's needs can ask the SENCO what the school's own assessment shows.
The Code groups needs into four broad areas, listed below. Children often have needs that cut across these areas, and the needs change over time, so a difficulty with number may be one part of a wider picture that the school looks at as a whole. A parent describing the child's difficulty to the school adds to that picture.
- Communication and interaction
- Cognition and learning
- Social, emotional and mental health
- Sensory and/or physical
How can difficulty with number show up in class?
Health guidance on dyslexia lists difficulty with numbers, telling the time and remembering the order of things among its signs, and those descriptions give a parent plain terms for what a class teacher may see in maths lessons. A list of signs is a prompt for a conversation with the class teacher or the SENCO, who see how the child works alongside classmates.
A practical first step is a short written record of where in maths work or homework the difficulty with numbers, time or sequence appears. Taking that record to the class teacher and the SENCO lets the assess part of the SEN support cycle begin from what the parent has actually seen, and it gives a tutor a clear starting point later.
Maths tutors
Michael
Master TutorI have a First in Economics from York and an MSc from UCL, and have tutored for seven years, including SEN students. I teach maths, economics, physics, chemistry and biology to GCSE, A-Level, IB and AP. I build strong foundations so advanced questions feel intuitive.
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Cheryll
Master TutorI am a Maths teacher and examiner with over 25 years in education, holding a BSc (Hons) Mathematics and a PGCE with QTS from UCL. I tutor GCSE, IGCSE, A-Level and Further Maths, starting with diagnostic assessment, then structured, exam-focused lessons.
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Hannah
Master TutorI am a UK-qualified teacher with 15+ years across private and state schools in the UK and abroad, and hold a BSc from LSE and a PGCE with QTS. I teach English, Maths, Verbal Reasoning, 11+ and Common Entrance preparation. My approach is personalised, confidence-building and rigorous.
Enquire about this tutorWhat do the SENCO and the school do about maths difficulties?
The school runs SEN support as a four-part cycle of assess, plan, do and review, with a support plan agreed with the SENCO. Support can include smaller groups or 1 to 1 sessions, and the class or subject teacher remains responsible for the pupil even where an intervention takes place away from the class, so the class teacher is the person to ask about progress in maths lessons.
Parents should be fully aware of the planned support, and schools talk to parents regularly. Useful questions for the SENCO cover what the support plan currently says about maths, who delivers each intervention and when the review stage is due. A parent who shares the answers with a tutor lets the tutor build on the same plan.
How does a one-to-one maths tutor adapt the teaching?
A one-to-one maths tutor concentrates on the skills a child's needs make harder in a busy classroom, teaching them in shorter steps with more practice and review. Tutoring in maths for SEN covers number sense and written methods, with concrete and visual representations where they help. Each of these is taught at a pace set by how the child learns.
A parent can ask the tutor which of these adaptations a given session used, and pass the answer to the SENCO so that school and tuition describe the child's progress in the same terms. Handing the support plan to the tutor at the start gives the sessions the same targets the school is working towards, and it lets the tutor adjust the size of each step as each review stage produces new targets.
- Concrete and visual representations, used where they help the child
- Smaller steps, with each one secure before the next is introduced
- More practice and review, so earlier work stays in use
- Number sense, built as a skill in its own right
- Written methods, taught as a sequence of steps
What can a maths tutor not do?
A tutor cannot diagnose a need or set statutory provision. Their part is regular, well-paced teaching that carries the strategies in an SEN support plan or an EHC plan into weekly practice, which means the plan, and the school's decisions about it, stay with the school. A parent who wants to find out whether a need exists, or who has questions about the provision itself, takes those questions to the SENCO.
How do exam access arrangements work for maths?
Confirmation of a child's difficulties for exam arrangements comes from an access arrangements assessor, and a tutor cannot take that role. A parent whose child will sit maths papers can ask the SENCO which assessor the school uses and what the assessor needs to see. The key-facts table and the source page give the exact detail for particular papers and arrangements.
Can dyscalculia tutoring happen online or in central London?
Sessions run online for families across the UK, or in person in central London for families who can travel there. A parent can enquire and receive tutor recommendations for the child's age, subjects and needs, and sending the support plan or EHC plan with the enquiry, together with notes on where the difficulty with number appears, gives those recommendations something concrete to work from.
Related guides
- SEN tutors
- GCSE tutoring
- Catch-up tutoring
- SEN support plans in England
- Exam access arrangements
- Processing speed and working memory tutoring
- Study skills and executive function
Maths tutoring with Taylor Tuition
Families who come to us for Maths usually want a tutor who can diagnose where the marks are being lost and then build a steady routine around it, and that is how our programmes are set up. Our tutors are drawn from a pool in which more than half hold Qualified Teacher Status, around three in five hold a master's degree or doctorate, and which includes former heads of department, exam-board examiners and teachers from independent and boarding schools.
Sessions run online for families across the UK and internationally, and in person in central London. Fees start from £50 per 50-minute session and depend on tutor level and subject. There is no registration fee. Every tutor who works with children holds an enhanced DBS check and families receive progress reports after sessions.
Frequently asked questions
- Does my child get a say in the support they receive?
- The SEND Code of Practice says schools should include the pupil's views, so the child's own account of what makes maths lessons harder belongs in the planning conversation. A parent can ask the child before a review meeting which tasks feel hardest and which help, then pass those answers to the SENCO and, if sessions are running, to the tutor. Schools also talk to parents regularly, which gives a natural place to raise them.
- Does the school need a label before it offers support?
- The Code says the purpose of identification is to work out what action the school needs to take, and it bases support on a full understanding of the child's strengths and needs. A parent can therefore describe what the child finds hard in maths and ask what action the school proposes, without waiting for a category to be named first.
- Can school support involve specialists or equipment?
- Schools may involve specialists at any point, and the Code says support should use well-evidenced interventions targeted at areas of difficulty and, where necessary, specialist equipment or software. A parent can ask the SENCO whether either is in place for maths, and whether the tutor should know about it so that sessions use the same approaches.
- How can a parent reinforce maths at home?
- The Code says plans should, where appropriate, seek parental involvement to reinforce progress at home. A parent can ask the SENCO what the plan expects at home, then check with the tutor that weekly practice and home tasks cover the same skills, so the child meets one consistent set of methods instead of several.
- Where do autism and ADHD appear in the Code?
- The Code describes autistic children, including those with Asperger's Syndrome, as likely to have particular difficulties with social interaction, and as possibly experiencing difficulties with language, communication and imagination. It lists attention deficit disorder and ADHD among the disorders children may have within social, emotional and mental health. A parent can make sure the SENCO and the tutor both know about any of these.
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