--- title: "Neuro-Affirming Maths in Australia | Times Tables Games | XTables Champions" description: "NSW schools are shifting to neuro-affirming edtech. Here's what that means for maths teaching, and why ditching speed drills matters for neurodivergent learners." 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": "neuro affirming maths education beyond speed drills primary schools", "item": "https://math-magicians-academy-25d63273.base44.app/neuro-affirming-maths-education-beyond-speed-drills-primary-schools" } ] }, { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "FAQPage", "mainEntity": [ { "@type": "Question", "name": "What does neuro-affirming mean in primary school edtech?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Neuro-affirming edtech is software designed to accommodate cognitive differences, such as ADHD, autism, and dyscalculia, without creating additional barriers. In practice, it means no punishing timed mechanics, flexible pacing, clear and predictable structure, and responses to errors that guide rather than penalise." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "Why are speed drills problematic for neurodivergent learners?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Timed drills measure maths under pressure, not maths understanding on its own. For children with ADHD or dyscalculia, a countdown timer introduces a separate cognitive burden that can trigger stress responses and block the very thinking the exercise is supposed to encourage. Research into maths anxiety consistently links early timed testing experiences to lasting negative associations with the subject." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "What are neuro-affirming maths tools for NSW primary schools?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "NSW primary schools are looking for maths software that does not penalise processing speed, avoids high-pressure gamification, and supports diverse learners including those with ADHD, autism, and dyscalculia. Tools like XTables Champions, which focus on building maths confidence through low-pressure, structured practice, align with this procurement direction." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "How can Australian primary schools support students with dyscalculia in maths lessons?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Supporting dyscalculia in a primary classroom means giving students repeated, patient exposure to number relationships without the added stress of timed performance. Choosing edtech that allows children to work at their own pace, that uses clear visual structure, and that treats errors as part of learning rather than as failures makes a significant difference." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "Is XTables Champions suitable for children with maths anxiety?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Yes. XTables Champions is built specifically with maths confidence in mind. We do not use countdown mechanics or public leaderboards designed to create pressure. Our focus is on helping children build a genuine, stable relationship with times tables, particularly those who have already decided maths is not for them." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "What should schools look for in inclusive maths software for primary students?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "The key questions are: does the tool separate fluency-building from timed performance? Does it give learners control over pacing? Does it respond to errors with support rather than penalty? And does it avoid mechanics, such as visible countdowns and competitive leaderboards, that may disadvantage children with processing differences?" } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "Why is neuro-affirming edtech becoming a procurement priority in Australian schools?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Schools in New South Wales and beyond are recognising that many popular maths tools were implicitly designed for neurotypical, already-confident learners. As inclusion becomes a genuine priority rather than a compliance checkbox, procurement teams are asking harder questions about whether their chosen tools serve all children equally, including those with ADHD, autism, and dyscalculia." } } ] } ] --- [ 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) # Neuro-Affirming Maths in Australia | Times Tables Games 3 August 2026 Schools in New South Wales are actively changing how they choose edtech, and the headline criterion is whether a tool is genuinely neuro-affirming. That shift is happening now, and I think it matters far beyond Australia. If your maths software punishes a child for thinking slowly, it was never truly inclusive to begin with. I came across this through reporting in Australian Educational Leader and EdTech Oceania, and what struck me immediately was how specific the language has become. It is no longer enough for a product to claim it is "accessible". Procurement leads in NSW primary schools are asking precise questions: does the tool penalise processing speed? Does it use high-pressure countdown mechanics? Does it leave students with ADHD, autism, or dyscalculia feeling like failures before the lesson has even begun? That kind of scrutiny is overdue, and it is starting to land. ## What Does "Neuro-Affirming" Actually Mean in an Edtech Context? The term gets used a lot, so let me be precise about what it actually describes in a classroom maths tool. A neuro-affirming approach starts from the position that cognitive difference is variation, not deficit. It means the software does not create extra barriers for learners whose brains process information differently, whether that is a student with ADHD who is easily overwhelmed by flashing timers, an autistic child who needs predictability and clear structure, or a child with dyscalculia for whom arbitrary speed pressure actively blocks understanding. In practice, neuro-affirming edtech tends to share a few qualities. It separates fluency-building from timed performance. It gives learners control over pacing. It responds to errors with support rather than penalty. And it does not dress anxiety up as motivation. That last point is the one I keep coming back to. So much of the dominant maths software on the market is built on the assumption that urgency equals engagement. The leaderboards, the countdown clocks, the "beat your score" mechanics: they may work for some children. But for a significant number, especially those with ADHD or maths anxiety, they create exactly the kind of stress response that closes down learning rather than opening it up. ## Why Speed Drills Are a Problem for Neurodivergent Learners **The core issue is this: a timed maths drill does not measure mathematical understanding. It measures mathematical understanding under pressure.** For a neurotypical child who happens to be confident, the distinction may not matter much. For a child with ADHD who loses focus the moment a timer appears, or a child with dyscalculia for whom number retrieval is genuinely harder, the timed format introduces a separate cognitive load that has nothing to do with whether they actually understand multiplication. When I looked into the research base on maths anxiety, one thing that stood out was how consistently early negative experiences with timed testing show up as a contributing factor. Children who learn to associate maths with the feeling of being too slow, or publicly wrong, often carry that association well into secondary school and beyond. The maths anxiety is not incidental. The format helps create it. This is not a fringe concern. In the early conversations we are having with schools, maths anxiety comes up constantly, across year groups and across learner profiles. Teachers are not struggling to identify the problem. They are struggling to find tools that do not make it worse. ## Building Maths Confidence in Students Who Have Already Switched Off One of the things I find most interesting about the NSW procurement shift is that it signals a change in who schools are designing for. For a long time, edtech was implicitly built for the average learner in the middle of the bell curve. The child who was already engaged, already reasonably confident, already not bringing a diagnosis to the lesson. Neuro-affirming design centres the children who have most often been failed by the default approach. For a child with autism, that might mean clear, consistent structure with no unexpected changes in format or reward mechanics. For a child with ADHD, it might mean shorter task bursts with genuine agency over what comes next. For a child with dyscalculia, it means repeated, patient exposure to number relationships without the humiliation of a visible countdown. What these learners often share is not an inability to learn maths. It is a history of maths tools that were not built with them in mind. The moment you remove the pressure mechanic and give a child room to think, the picture changes. As our founder Gal Darrash puts it, "We started XTables Champions because we kept seeing bright kids who'd decided they were bad at maths, and almost always, the tool had done that to them, not the maths itself." ## What This Means for Schools Thinking About Edtech Procurement If you are making purchasing decisions for a primary school, in Australia or anywhere else, the questions NSW schools are now asking are worth borrowing. Does this tool accommodate different processing speeds without penalising slower thinkers? Does it support a child who needs to pause, re-read, or take a breath? Does it treat an error as data, or as a failure? The answers to those questions tell you a great deal about whether a tool was genuinely designed for all learners, or whether inclusion was bolted on afterwards as a checkbox. At XTables Champions, everything we build starts from the position that maths confidence matters as much as maths fluency, and that the two are connected. We focus on times tables because that is where so many children first hit a wall, but our approach is deliberately low-pressure. We do not use countdown mechanics designed to induce anxiety. We do not surface public leaderboards that tell a struggling child exactly where they rank. We work on building the underlying confidence that makes fluency possible. We are a young company, and I will be honest about that. We are not claiming to have the market figured out. But we are paying close attention to what teachers and schools are telling us, and what we keep hearing is that children who have been written off as "just not maths people" respond very differently when the pressure is taken away. ## Talk to Us About Supporting Your Neurodivergent Learners in Maths If you are a teacher, SENCO, or school leader in Australia or the UK thinking about how to better support students with ADHD, autism, dyscalculia, or maths anxiety, I would genuinely love to hear from you. Not to deliver a pitch, but to have a real conversation about what your learners need and whether XTables Champions could be part of the answer. You can get in touch with the team directly through [xtableschampions.com](https://xtableschampions.com). Tell us about your school and the learners you are trying to reach. That conversation is always where the useful stuff starts. ## Frequently Asked Questions What does neuro-affirming mean in primary school edtech? Why are speed drills problematic for neurodivergent learners? What are neuro-affirming maths tools for NSW primary schools? How can Australian primary schools support students with dyscalculia in maths lessons? Is XTables Champions suitable for children with maths anxiety? What should schools look for in inclusive maths software for primary students? Why is neuro-affirming edtech becoming a procurement priority in Australian schools? ## 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)