Why MTC Prep Doesn't Have to Mean Maths Anxiety: A SEND-First Approach

With the statutory Multiplication Tables Check (MTC) coming round again in June, something has been jumping out at me in the conversations happening across UK teacher and SENCO networks online. The frustration is not really about the check itself. It is about the tools teachers are expected to use to get children ready for it.

The pattern I keep seeing described goes something like this: a Year 4 child, already anxious about maths, sits down to practise on a widely-used platform. A countdown timer flashes. The interface is cluttered. The child freezes, shuts down, or refuses to engage at all. The teacher feels stuck, because the "preparation" is actively making things worse.

This is not a fringe complaint. It is showing up repeatedly in forums where SENCOs and class teachers are asking each other the same question: is there anything that actually works for our SEND pupils without traumatising them first?

Let me be direct about what I think is going wrong. Most MTC practice software was built to mirror the pressure of the check itself, on the assumption that repeated exposure to timed conditions builds readiness. For many children, that logic holds. For a significant number of neurodivergent children, children with dyscalculia, ADHD, autism, or general maths anxiety, it does the opposite.

Aggressive countdown timers are one of the most commonly cited triggers for maths anxiety in primary-aged children. When a child already experiences numbers as threatening, adding a ticking clock does not sharpen focus. It narrows cognitive bandwidth, floods working memory with stress, and makes recall of even well-practised facts almost impossible.

Visually overwhelming interfaces compound this. Many platforms cram leaderboards, pop-up rewards, score counters, and colour-flashing animations into a single screen. For a child with sensory processing differences, that environment is not motivating. It is exhausting.

The result is that the prep itself becomes a barrier, and the attainment gap between SEND pupils and their peers widens, not because the children cannot learn the times tables, but because the tools keep getting in the way.

When I looked into the research on maths anxiety and timed testing in primary children, a consistent thread emerges: anxiety impairs retrieval, not knowledge. Children who know their times tables can still blank completely under pressure. This means that building a calm, low-stakes retrieval practice habit matters enormously, particularly for children who already associate maths with failure.

What we keep hearing from the schools and SENCOs we speak to, even in our early conversations as a brand, is that engagement is the real blocker. If a SEND pupil refuses to open the app, no amount of curriculum alignment matters. The question schools are asking us is not "does this cover the MTC content?" It is "will my pupil actually want to use it?"

That is exactly the question we built XTables Champions around.

As our founder Gal Darrash puts it, "We started from the child, not the check. If a child feels safe and genuinely enjoys what they are doing, the learning happens. If they are scared, it doesn't matter how good the content is."

A SEND-first approach to MTC prep is not about removing all challenge. It is about sequencing challenge in a way that neurodivergent learners can actually process.

For us, that has meant several deliberate design choices. We do not use high-pressure countdown timers that punish slow responses. We lean into the games that children already love and want to play, because intrinsic motivation is far more powerful than external pressure for building fluency. And we use multiplayer formats that make practice feel social and genuinely fun, rather than solitary and stressful.

For SENCOs specifically, this matters because it changes the conversation with parents too. When a child comes home and says they want to play the maths game again, that is a very different school-to-home dynamic than a child who cries every time MTC prep is mentioned.

For Year 4 teachers managing a class that includes a range of needs, having a tool that does not require you to create a separate, parallel intervention just for your SEND pupils is a genuine relief. The same platform can work across the room, with different pupils engaging at their own pace and in ways that suit them.

If you are not sure whether a pupil is struggling with anxiety specifically (rather than gaps in knowledge), here are five things I would look for in the classroom right now:

1. Refusal or avoidance behaviour whenever times tables practice is introduced, even if the child engaged willingly a few weeks ago.
2. Physical signs of stress during timed activities: going quiet, fidgeting, tearfulness, or asking to leave the room.
3. Inconsistency between what a child can recall in a calm conversation and what they produce in a timed test environment.
4. Negative self-talk around maths, phrases like "I'm just bad at times tables" becoming entrenched before the check has even happened.
5. A marked drop in engagement compared to other curriculum areas, particularly if the child previously enjoyed maths activities that were not timed.

None of these signs means the child cannot learn the times tables. They mean the current approach to preparation is not working for that child, and something needs to change.

If you are a SENCO or senior leader in a London primary, this is a conversation I am particularly interested in having. The density of school networks across London boroughs means that what works in one school often spreads quickly through local SENCO clusters and teaching school hubs. From the conversations we have been having in our early days, there is a real appetite in London for SEND-friendly EdTech that has been thought through carefully, rather than bolted on as an afterthought.

We are a young company, and I will not pretend otherwise. But that means we are genuinely listening right now, and every conversation we have with a school shapes what we build next.

If you are a SENCO, Year 4 or 5 teacher, or primary senior leader trying to close the MTC attainment gap for your neurodivergent pupils without making anxiety worse, I would genuinely love to hear what you are seeing in your school.

Get in touch with the XTables Champions team at xtableschampions.com to have a conversation about how our SEND-friendly approach could support your pupils in the lead-up to June. There is still time to make this MTC season a different experience for the children who need it most.