After the MTC: How to Support Year 3s and SEND Pupils Before Next Year's Times Tables Check

The Multiplication Tables Check is a statutory assessment introduced by the DfE, taken by Year 4 pupils in England each June. Children answer 25 multiplication questions on screen, with six seconds per question. For many children, that format is completely fine. For children with dyscalculia, ADHD, autism, dyslexia or significant maths anxiety, it can be a very different experience.

When I looked into the research around timed maths tests and anxiety, what stood out to me is how well-documented the stress response actually is. Working memory, which children rely on to retrieve number facts quickly, is one of the first things to be disrupted by anxiety. So a child who genuinely knows their six times table in a calm moment can completely blank in a six-second window. The test does not always show you what the child knows. It shows you how the child copes under that specific kind of pressure.

For SEND pupils, that gap between what they know and what the test captures can be enormous. That is not a flaw in the child. It is a flaw in the format, at least for that group.

We are a young company and I want to be honest about that. We are not sitting on large datasets or formal surveys. But in our early conversations with schools, we keep hearing a version of the same thing: the children who struggled most in the MTC were already on the SENCo's radar, and the experience left some of them more reluctant about maths, not less.

That matters enormously. A child who walks away from the MTC feeling like they failed is a child who may disengage from maths for the rest of Key Stage 2. The post-MTC window is not just about school evaluation. It is about recovery and rebuilding confidence for individual children.

As our founder Gal Darrash puts it, "The check itself is not the problem. The problem is when children come away from it believing they are bad at maths, because that is simply not true."

If you are a teacher or SENCO thinking about Year 3 pupils who will sit the MTC in 2026, there is a real window here. Starting earlier, and using the right kind of practice, makes a significant difference.

First, focus on reducing the emotional temperature around multiplication practice. Children who associate times tables with pressure and failure need repeated, low-stakes positive experiences before they will start to consolidate the actual facts. That means practice that feels playful, not test-like.

Second, think about fluency building rather than speed drilling. There is a difference. Fluency means a child can retrieve a fact reliably across different contexts. Speed drilling under timed pressure often just rehearses anxiety. The goal is for the knowledge to feel automatic and comfortable, not for children to perform under artificial urgency.

Third, consider multiplayer and game-based practice formats. When I looked at what actually motivates children who have previously disengaged from maths practice, games that they choose to come back to repeatedly show up consistently. The social element of multiplayer formats is particularly interesting. Children who are self-conscious about their maths often relax when the activity feels collaborative or competitive in a fun way rather than evaluative.

This is where I want to be direct about what XTables Champions does, because I think it is genuinely relevant here rather than just a sales point.

A lot of existing times tables tools were designed for typical learners and then adapted for SEND children as an afterthought, if at all. Cluttered interfaces, fast-moving animations, sudden sounds and high-contrast flashing elements can all create sensory overload for children with autism or ADHD. A tool that is stressful to look at will not help a child who is already anxious.

XTables Champions was designed from the start with neurodivergent children in mind. The approach is built around games children already enjoy, used as a vehicle for multiplication fluency, with multiplayer modes that build engagement over time. The design is intentionally calm and the experience is meant to feel like play, not like preparation for a test.

From what we keep hearing from teachers and SENCOs in our early conversations, this distinction matters a lot in practice. A child who genuinely wants to open the app is doing something entirely different from a child who is told to practise for ten minutes before dinner.

If you are a senior leader or SENCO doing a post-MTC review this term, here are the questions I would be asking:

1. Which pupils underperformed relative to what you expected from classroom evidence? Were those pupils disproportionately SEND or anxiety-identified?
2. What does your current times tables provision look like for Year 3, and does it reduce or increase pressure for vulnerable learners?
3. Are you seeing voluntary engagement with practice, or are children avoiding it?

Those three questions tend to surface very quickly whether a current approach is working for your most vulnerable learners, or just for the children who were already going to be fine.

If your post-MTC review has raised questions about how you support anxious or neurodivergent learners with times tables fluency, we would genuinely love to hear from you. XTables Champions is built for exactly this situation, and we are at a stage where conversations with teachers, SENCOs and senior leaders directly shape what we build next.

Get in touch through our website at xtableschampions.com to talk about how we can support your pupils with maths anxiety and SEND needs ahead of next year's check. We are a small, founder-led team and we will respond personally.