Learning needs · Dyscalculia
Homeschooling a child with dyscalculia
Numbers do not 'feel' like amounts yet, so counting, place value and number bonds need to be seen and handled, not just written. Small, concrete, repeated — with no timer anywhere.
What it often looks like in practice
- Counts on fingers well beyond the usual age
- Cannot see that 7 is 5 and 2 without counting
- Anxiety around anything that looks like a test
- Progress that comes and goes between days
What to switch on
On the child’s learning plan, tick Dyscalculia under Learning needs and these come on by themselves — untick any you don’t want:
- Short chunks with a breather between them
- Read feedback and explanations aloud too
- Bigger buttons and more space
- Read questions aloud (under Accessibility)
Also helpful
- Foundations mode (in Learning needs) prefers visual, hands-on questions — ten-frames, number lines, base-ten blocks — wherever a skill has them.
- When a topic is hard the session steps back to the prerequisite for a short warm-up instead of repeating the same question.
- Pin the maths working level so practice starts where the child is, not where the year group says.
- The printable learning report (Progress → Learning report) lists the accommodations in use, what is mastered, what is developing and suggested next steps — written for SENCO, EHCP (IEP / 504) conversations.
What we don’t do
We do not diagnose dyscalculia; the tag only changes presentation and pacing.