Ks2 Maths articles

A formal test of multiplication skills takes place in the summer term of Year 4. Our guide for parents explains how the Multiplication Tables Check (MTC) will work in English primary schools.

From board games to baking, we’ve rounded up the best ways to get your child practising their maths skills without even realising.

Is your child struggling with KS2 maths? Help them learn effectively and boost their number confidence in Year 3, 4, 5 and 6 with some useful calculation strategies and tips from primary teacher Phoebe Doyle.

Children learn to classify triangles as equilateral, isosceles, scalene or right-angled in KS2 geometry. Our guide for parents explains everything you need to know about triangles in primary school, from working out the area to calculating the internal angles.

Can you make a 3D shape from its net? We explain how nets are used in the primary classroom to help children learn more about three-dimensional shapes and their properties in a hands-on, constructive way.

Reception and KS1 children all learn cardinal and ordinal numbers. We explain how your child will be taught to count and sequence numbers correctly and suggest practical, fun activities you can try at home to support your child's early mathematical learning.

Can you tell your hexagons from your heptagons? Your octagons from your decagons? With the help of educational experts, we explain how polygons are taught in primary school, with examples of regular and irregular versions of each multi-sided shape.

Understand the forms of symmetry your child will be taught as part of the primary-school curriculum (line symmetry, reflective symmetry and rotational symmetry) and see how the concepts are applied in the KS2 classroom.

Children are expected to memorise a number of different number facts in primary school, including number bonds to 20 and the multiplication and division facts for the twelve times tables. We explain what number facts your child will be taught when and suggest easy ways to support their learning at home.

Formulae help children to work out answers to mathematical problems. We explain which formulae your child will be taught in primary school, including how to calculate perimeter, area and volume, and how you can help your child feel confident using a formula in primary maths.

If your child is in Y6 in 2024, read on for the most up-to-date SATs information for parents.

If you despair of the amount of time your child spends attached to their tablet, think again: games and apps are an important part of their learning journey, from pre-school to secondary school, and can help to improve problem-solving skills and communication, as well as boost motivation. Lucy Dimbylow finds out why gaming means learning in the twenty-first century.

Fancy a quick game of cards? Studies show cognitive benefits to play and card games teach children new strategies for using mathematical information, categorising patterns, sequencing and sorting. Last but not least, this is numeracy practice the whole family will enjoy (though things might get a bit competitive... beware!). Kate Yelland asked maths teachers and experts why sitting down with a pack of cards and a primary-school child is definitely playing your cards right.

Tips and tricks to help you help your child master the "easy" times tables (5, 10, 11 and 12), plus worksheets, games and activities to put the learning into practice.

The 7 times table is often the hardest to learn, but don't lose heart – educator John Bald has specific tips and a step-by-step learning plan to help you help your child master it.

The 2 times table is the foundation of all multiplication tables learning. Follow educator John Bald's practical and very specific advice to help you support your child with the 2 times table and find links to worksheets and games to make practice fun.

Some of the maths topics your child needs to know by the time they sit their SATs at the end of KS2 can appear daunting, but we suggest simple and effective ways to practise and revise at home.

We explain what a word problem is and give examples of the types of word problems your child might be challenged with in each primary-school maths year group, from Year 1 to Year 6.

We explain what capacity means and how children are taught to understand the concept in KS1 and learn about the relationship between millilitres and litres, and in KS2 use decimal notation to record the capacity of water and convert between units of measurement.