I was worried my daughter was behind in maths but an online tool showed she was right on track; Lockdown had scuppered the routine of my child's first proper year in school.
Byline: By, Millie Reeves
It's safe to say that there hadn't been a school year like it.
Yet for my daughter and thousands of her peers it was the first experience of full time education.
The reception class of 2019/2020 was unique in that as soon as the little ones found their feet and were really getting into school life -in came lockdown. While you could argue that a similar situation happened again to their 2020/2021 successors, there was certainly a period of 'what on Earth are we going to do' in spring of last year that hasn't exactly been repeated.
Home-schooling, classes on tablets and doing PE in your PJs with Joe Wicks. Throw in the havoc of home-working parenthood -it was an odd time.
And while our children have been every bit as resilient and adapting as we often give them credit for, I wouldn't be a typical parent if I didn't wonder -even if only fleetingly -as to whether the disruption has affected my daughter's education.
For English, particularly in the key foundation years, it's quite easy to get a rough idea of how they're doing. You can see how their writing is shaping up or they'll surprise you by reading something on the shopping list.
But when it comes to maths I find it trickier. Apart from counting and basic addition and taking away, I'm never sure what a five to six-year-old should be able to tackle.
Thankfully there is something that does and it's given me a good insight into how my daughter is faring.
Maths-Whizz is a virtual maths tutor for children five years and up. It's like a human tutor except it's a computer programme and it challenges a student on things it knows they need help with.
How does it know what they need to work on Well, before a child gets started with Maths-Whizz they are asked to take an initial test about 45 minutes long and this allows the programme to work out where they are with their maths -what they're quick at figuring out and what needs some more practice.
It also works out something I think is particularly interesting, especially during these 'unprecedented times' -a maths age.
A maths age is essentially a child's core mathematical knowledge put in a number. That might sound like an abstract concept but it is easy enough to understand -a maths age of 8.5, for example, means a student is performing at the overall level you would expect of an eight-and-a-half year old.
...To continue reading
Request your trial