You don't need to be a maths teacher. You just need to understand what they're learning.
Maths has changed since you were at school. The methods are different, the language is different, and the curriculum has expanded. That's not your fault — and it doesn't mean you can't help.
These guides explain each topic in plain English, show you exactly how schools teach it now, and link to free practice games your child can use. No sign-up. No cost. Just clear explanations from a working maths tutor.
Numbers below zero, the number line, and adding or subtracting through zero.
Read guide → KS3Using letters for unknowns, collecting like terms, and forming expressions.
Read guide → KS3Three ways to write the same thing, and how to convert between them.
Read guide → KS3Comparing quantities, sharing amounts, and the bar model method.
Read guide → KS3Finding the rule behind a pattern and writing the nth term formula.
Read guide → KS3Measuring shapes, compound areas, and the difference between the two.
Read guide → KS3Types of angle, angle rules, and finding missing angles in shapes.
Read guide → KS3Likelihood, sample spaces, and understanding chance in everyday language.
Read guide → KS3Mean, median, mode, range, and what they actually tell you.
Read guide → KS3Plotting points and reading coordinates across all four quadrants.
Read guide →Two unknowns, two equations, and how to solve them both at once.
Read guide → GCSEMultiplying out brackets and factorising quadratics.
Read guide → GCSESOH CAH TOA, and finding a missing side in a right-angled triangle.
Read guide → GCSEFinding missing sides using the most famous equation in geometry.
Read guide → GCSEWriting very large and very small numbers using powers of 10.
Read guide → GCSEIndex laws, fractional and negative powers, and simplifying surds.
Read guide → GCSETranslations, reflections, and how f(x) notation describes them.
Read guide → GCSEHistograms, cumulative frequency, box plots, and interpreting grouped data.
Read guide → GCSEAngles in circles, tangent rules, and the proofs behind them.
Read guide → GCSETree diagrams, multiplying along branches, and adding between paths.
Read guide →Methods have evolved to build deeper understanding. Grid multiplication and bar models are steps on the way to the written methods you learned, rather than replacements for them; long division is still the formal written method the National Curriculum names for Year 6. The answers are the same — the routes are different.
No. These guides assume you've forgotten everything. They start from scratch and explain in plain English.
Show them you're interested, not that you know the method. These guides show the method schools use now so you can support rather than confuse.
Guide, don't do. Ask "what do you think the first step is?" rather than showing them the answer. The struggle is where learning happens.
GCSE maths has two tiers. Foundation tier is graded 1 to 5. Higher tier is graded 4 to 9, and a grade 3 is allowed on the Higher tier.
Yes. MaffsGames is free to use, with no accounts and no sign-up. What it records while your child plays is set out on the privacy page. Every game linked from these guides is completely free.