SEN – ASN & Big Maths
How Does Big Maths Support Teaching Learners with Special Educational Needs (SEN) & Additional Support Needs (ASN)?
Teaching maths to students with additional needs is often overlooked in curriculum discussion, and any advice can be overly academic and complex. However, the key is for teachers and support staff to recognise and adapt to each learner’s needs. This approach is at the core of Big Maths: when you know what a child knows, you know what to teach next.
* To reduce reading time, SEN will be used throughout this page, but please read this as ASN if you are more comfortable with that description.
While multi-sensory strategies are widely recommended for learners, it’s crucial to remember that every child learns differently. Big Maths supports learners by focusing on these essential principles:
- Recognise each individual
- Break learning into small, clear steps
- Stay consistent with structure and pace
- Empathise and celebrate progress
- Collaborate with families and specialists
By following these steps, educators can create a more inclusive, effective maths experience for all learners.
Why does Big Maths work well for learners with additional needs?
A core principle of Big Maths is that teachers and support staff must understand what each learner already knows, so we can effectively support their next steps in learning. This is especially important for learners with SEN. Too often, children progress through primary school without their individual needs or strengths being fully recognised, particularly when teaching follows a strictly chronological scheme. Such an approach may not align with how these learners develop and can overlook their true potential.
In Big Maths, the curriculum is divided into Basic Skills and Wider Maths skills, with a strong emphasis on prioritising a learner’s Basic Skills level. For learners with SEN, introducing Wider Maths content too early can be counterproductive and may hinder overall progress, lead to frustration and a loss of confidence. By focusing on securing basic skills first, we give children the best opportunity to build confidence, experience success, and develop the practical maths skills they need for everyday life.
‘Mathematical learning difficulties’ are certainly not in their infancy and are very prevalent and often devastating in their impact on schooling, further and higher education and jobs. Prevalence in the UK is at least 25%.
Each curriculum provides guidance with regard to inclusion. For example:
The statutory ‘inclusion statement’ in the National Curriculum (England) suggests a framework for modifying the curriculum to include all pupils, in which they recommend that you:
- set suitable learning challenges
- respond to pupils’ diverse learning needs, and
- overcome potential barriers to learning and assessment for particular individuals and groups of pupils.
How does Big Maths Support Teaching Learners with Additional Needs?
Big Maths is inclusive by nature
Big Maths is a trusted approach that supports both teachers and children who find maths challenging. With our Beat That! challenges, you can implement true Assessment for Learning by identifying each child’s gaps and celebrating their progress. When you know what a child knows, the next step becomes clear, and unlike other approaches, we encourage you to prioritise and work from the learner’s reality rather than an age driven chronological approach.
Our framework of small steps begins well before the expectations of nursery, allowing learning leaders to identify the most basic learning gaps to establish a solid foundation which can be built upon. Regardless of age, we recommend all learners complete a Baseline Assessment to identify their knowledge and the next steps that they can learn. For SEN this means that learners are empowered because the content they encounter is accessible.
You have full control over the pace of learning, allowing time to introduce and secure key concepts. Encouraging pupils to explore and communicate in their own way supports deeper mathematical understanding. As a result, Big Maths is increasingly used in SEN and intervention settings. Its strong focus on Basic Skills and clear learning journey makes it an ideal tool to support every learner with confidence and clarity.