Numeracy: Special Educational Needs

(asked on 12th January 2023) - View Source

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions his Department has held with the provider of the Multiplication Tables Check programme to offer an access adaptation for Year 4 students who require additional time through a Education Health and Care or SEND support plan.


Answered by
Nick Gibb Portrait
Nick Gibb
This question was answered on 19th January 2023

The Multiplication Tables Check (MTC) assesses fluent recall of times tables. Pupils answer 25 times tables questions, with six seconds to answer each question. As a check of recall ability, the time available for each pupil to answer is a key element of the MTC.

A range of arrangements are available to support pupils with additional needs. Schools should explore which of these may be most appropriate to support pupils with education, health and care plans and special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) support plans in completing the MTC programme.

Although the check was designed to be accessible to most pupils, in exceptional circumstances, even with the use of the range of available arrangements, headteachers may decide that some pupils will not be able to participate in the check.

If appropriate, a headteacher should discuss this decision with the pupil’s Special Educational Needs and Disability Coordinator (SENDCO), educational psychologist, medical officer, or other specialist staff. When a pupil is not entered for the check, schools must explain the decision to the pupil’s parents in advance. If appropriate, they should provide parents with documentary evidence to support the decision. To mitigate the effect on pupils unable to participate in the check, schools should also explain how they are helping the pupil with their multiplication tables.

Multiplication and division in a wider context will continue to be assessed through the Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 mathematics assessments, enabling further opportunity for pupils to demonstrate their understanding of multiplication tables.

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