--- title: "After the MTC: How to Support Year 3s and SEND Pupils Before Next Year's Times Tables Check | XTables Champions" description: "June's MTC is done. Here's how UK primary schools can support anxious and SEND learners now, and build real readiness for next year's check." lang: en json-ld: | [ { "name": "XTables Champions", "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "WebSite", "url": "https://xtableschampions.com" }, { "name": "XTables Champions", "logo": "https://qtrypzzcjebvfcihiynt.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/base44-prod/public/68cac2c61c34894625d63273/cae3abbca_logo.png", "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "Organization", "url": "https://xtableschampions.com" }, { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://math-magicians-academy-25d63273.base44.app/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "after mtc support send year3 times tables check", "item": "https://math-magicians-academy-25d63273.base44.app/after-mtc-support-send-year3-times-tables-check" } ] }, { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "FAQPage", "mainEntity": [ { "@type": "Question", "name": "Why do timed tests like the MTC cause anxiety in some children?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Timed assessments put direct pressure on working memory, which is one of the cognitive systems most disrupted by anxiety. For children who already feel uncertain about maths, the six-second-per-question format of the MTC can cause a stress response that actually blocks retrieval of facts they know perfectly well in calmer contexts. For children with dyscalculia, ADHD or autism, this effect can be especially pronounced." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "What is the best way to help a child with maths anxiety after the MTC?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "The most important thing in the immediate aftermath is to avoid reinforcing the idea that the child failed or is bad at maths. Focus on positive, low-stakes practice that feels playful rather than test-like. Game-based formats, especially those the child finds genuinely enjoyable, help rebuild the positive associations with multiplication that anxiety tends to erode." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "How early should Year 3 pupils start preparing for the MTC?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "The earlier the better, particularly for children with maths anxiety or SEND needs. Starting in Year 3 gives children a full academic year of low-pressure, regular practice before the check. This is far more effective than intensive preparation in the final weeks before June, which tends to increase anxiety rather than build genuine fluency." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "Are there MTC alternatives for pupils with dyscalculia?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "The MTC is a statutory check in England, so all Year 4 pupils are expected to take it. However, schools can access support through their SENCO and apply for access arrangements in some circumstances. The more effective long-term approach is ensuring that the practice leading up to the MTC is genuinely SEND-friendly, so that children with dyscalculia build real fluency rather than just practising the anxiety of being tested." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "What makes a times tables app genuinely SEND-friendly?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "A genuinely SEND-friendly times tables tool avoids cluttered interfaces, unexpected sounds, fast-moving animations and high visual contrast that can cause sensory overload. It should feel calm, predictable and enjoyable to use. Multiplayer or game-based formats that children choose to return to voluntarily tend to be much more effective for neurodivergent learners than tools that replicate the pressure of a timed test." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "What is the difference between speed drilling and fluency building?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Speed drilling asks children to retrieve facts as fast as possible under time pressure, which often rehearses the anxiety response rather than the knowledge itself. Fluency building focuses on children being able to retrieve facts reliably and comfortably across different contexts. For children with maths anxiety or SEND needs, fluency-focused practice is significantly more effective and less likely to cause distress." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "How can XTables Champions help with post-MTC recovery?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "XTables Champions is designed specifically for children who find traditional maths practice stressful. It uses games children already enjoy as the vehicle for multiplication fluency, with multiplayer modes that make practice feel social and fun rather than evaluative. For schools whose SEND or anxious learners struggled with this year's MTC, it offers a calmer, engagement-first approach to building readiness for next year." } } ] } ] --- [ XTables Champions Part of the ESSTA Kids family ](/Welcome) [About Us](/About)[Rewards ](/OurRewards) Tips & Tricks [Games](/Games)Login [ XTables Champions Part of the ESSTA Kids family ](/Welcome) [Learn](/levels-and-progression) [Games](/GamesOverview) [All Games](/GamesOverview)[Connect Four](/connect-four)[Guess Who?](/guess-who)[Times Tables Bingo](/times-tables-bingo)[Snap!](/snap)[Play with Friends](/games/play-with-friends)[Play against Champion](/games/play-against-champion) [Every Learner](/times-tables-for-every-learner) [Adaptive Learning](/adaptive-times-tables-learning) [Schools](/ForSchools) [Lunchtime Clubs](/LunchtimeClubs)[SENCO Support](/SchoolSencoInfo)[Homework Setting](/SchoolHomeworkSetting)[Whole-Class Games](/SchoolWholeClassGames)[Level Matching](/SchoolLevelMatching) [Wellbeing](/wellbeing-and-safeguarding) [Pricing](/pricing) Log In / Sign Up [Back to all articles](/Blog) # After the MTC: How to Support Year 3s and SEND Pupils Before Next Year's Times Tables Check 14 June 2026 If your Year 4 pupils have just sat the Multiplication Tables Check and some of them found it really hard, you are not alone in rethinking what comes next. The honest takeaway from this year's MTC window, based on what we are hearing from schools, is this: timed, high-pressure assessment formats are genuinely difficult for children with maths anxiety and neurodivergent needs, and the weeks immediately after the check are exactly the right time to make a change before next year. I am Elisa, content writer for XTables Champions, and I have been thinking a lot about the post-MTC moment that primary schools find themselves in right now. This piece is for SENCOs, Year 3 and Year 4 teachers, and senior leaders who want to do something different for their most vulnerable learners well ahead of June 2026. ## Why the MTC Hits Some Children So Much Harder 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. ## What Schools Are Telling Us Right Now 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." ## What to Do Between Now and Next June 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. ## Why SEND-Friendly Design Is Not Optional 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. ## The Post-MTC Audit: Questions Worth Asking Now 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. ## Talk to Us About Supporting Your SEND Learners Before the 2026 MTC 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](https://www.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. ## Frequently Asked Questions Why do timed tests like the MTC cause anxiety in some children? What is the best way to help a child with maths anxiety after the MTC? How early should Year 3 pupils start preparing for the MTC? Are there MTC alternatives for pupils with dyscalculia? What makes a times tables app genuinely SEND-friendly? What is the difference between speed drilling and fluency building? How can XTables Champions help with post-MTC recovery? ## Ready to help your child? Join thousands of families using XTables Champions to make multiplication click. Get Started Free XTables Champions Game-based times tables for children aged 6 to 11. No timers, no tears. For parents, schools and tutors. Part of ESSTA Kids. #### Platform - [Schools](/ForSchools) - [Levels & Progression](/levels-and-progression) - [Our Programme](/Programme) - [Rewards](/OurRewards) - [Pricing](/pricing) - [About Us](/About) - [Learning Philosophy](/LearningPhilosophy) - [Contact](/Contact) #### Community - [Insights](/Insights) - [For Parents Blog](/Blog) - [Tips & Tricks](/TipsTricks) - [Success Stories](/SuccessStories) - [Events & Competitions](/Events) - [Live Results](/Results) - [Lunchtime Clubs](/LunchtimeClubs) #### ESSTA Kids Expert learning programmes for children who need extra support. [Visit esstakids.com →](https://esstakids.com) © 2026 XTables Champions, An ESSTA Kids Programme. All rights reserved. [Privacy Policy](/PrivacyPolicy)• [Terms & Conditions](/TermsConditions)• [Sitemap](/sitemap.xml) XTables Champions Game-based times tables for children aged 6 to 11. No timers, no tears. For parents, schools and tutors. Part of ESSTA Kids. #### Platform - [Schools](/ForSchools) - [Levels & Progression](/levels-and-progression) - [Our Programme](/Programme) - [Rewards](/OurRewards) - [Pricing](/pricing) - [About Us](/About) - [Learning Philosophy](/LearningPhilosophy) - [Contact](/Contact) #### Community - [Insights](/Insights) - [For Parents Blog](/Blog) - [Tips & Tricks](/TipsTricks) - [Success Stories](/SuccessStories) - [Events & Competitions](/Events) - [Live Results](/Results) - [Lunchtime Clubs](/LunchtimeClubs) #### ESSTA Kids Expert learning programmes for children who need extra support. [Visit esstakids.com →](https://esstakids.com) © 2026 XTables Champions, An ESSTA Kids Programme. All rights reserved. [Privacy Policy](/PrivacyPolicy)• [Terms & Conditions](/TermsConditions)• [Sitemap](/sitemap.xml)