--- title: "Why MTC Prep Doesn't Have to Mean Maths Anxiety: A SEND-First Approach | XTables Champions" description: "As the 2026 MTC approaches, SENCOs and Year 4 teachers share concerns about standard prep tools triggering maths anxiety in SEND pupils. Here's a better way." 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": "send friendly mtc prep maths anxiety times tables check", "item": "https://math-magicians-academy-25d63273.base44.app/send-friendly-mtc-prep-maths-anxiety-times-tables-check" } ] }, { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "FAQPage", "mainEntity": [ { "@type": "Question", "name": "What is the Multiplication Tables Check (MTC) and when does it take place?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "The Multiplication Tables Check is a statutory assessment for Year 4 pupils in England, administered each June. Children are tested on their knowledge of times tables up to 12x12 through a short, timed on-screen check. Schools are required to submit results to the Department for Education." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "Why do standard MTC practice tools cause anxiety in SEND pupils?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Most standard MTC practice platforms are designed to replicate the pressure of the check itself, using aggressive countdown timers and visually busy interfaces. For neurodivergent children and those with maths anxiety, these features can narrow working memory, trigger a stress response, and make recalling even well-practised facts extremely difficult. The preparation itself can become a source of distress rather than a confidence builder." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "How can schools support neurodivergent pupils preparing for the MTC without increasing their anxiety?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "The most effective approaches prioritise calm, low-stakes retrieval practice built into enjoyable activities. Removing high-pressure timers, using familiar and motivating game formats, and allowing children to build fluency at their own pace all help. Regular short sessions that feel positive and unthreatening tend to be far more effective than intensive timed drilling for children with SEND or maths anxiety." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "What makes XTables Champions different from other times tables apps for SEND pupils?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "XTables Champions was designed with SEND and neurodivergent learners at the centre, not as an afterthought. The platform avoids the high-pressure timer mechanics that commonly trigger maths anxiety, uses popular game formats that children genuinely want to engage with, and incorporates multiplayer elements that make practice feel social rather than isolating. The aim is to build genuine fluency through engagement rather than through stress." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "Are there specific signs teachers should look for to identify MTC-related maths anxiety in Year 4?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Yes. Key signs include avoidance behaviour around times tables practice, physical stress responses during timed activities, a noticeable gap between what a child can recall in relaxed conversation versus under timed conditions, entrenched negative self-talk about maths ability, and a drop in engagement compared to other subjects. These signs suggest the preparation environment is the problem, not the child's capacity to learn." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "Can the same platform work for both SEND pupils and the wider class?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "This is one of the questions we hear most often from teachers. A well-designed SEND-first platform should work across the classroom without requiring teachers to run a separate parallel intervention. XTables Champions is built so that children with very different learning needs can use it in the same session, engaging at their own level and pace, which reduces the workload on the teacher significantly." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "How can London primary schools find SEND-friendly MTC practice resources?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "SENCOs and senior leaders in London can visit xtableschampions.com to learn more about our SEND-first approach to times tables fluency. Local SENCO networks and teaching school hubs are also useful places to share resources and recommendations ahead of the June MTC window. We are actively having conversations with London schools and welcome enquiries from any borough." } } ] } ] --- [ 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) # Why MTC Prep Doesn't Have to Mean Maths Anxiety: A SEND-First Approach 17 June 2026 The Multiplication Tables Check does not have to be a source of dread for your neurodivergent and SEND pupils. That is the short version. But given what I have been reading in teacher forums lately, the longer version really needs saying right now. ## What I Am Seeing in the Run-Up to the 2026 MTC 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? ## Why Standard MTC Prep Tools Fail Neurodivergent Children 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. ## What Actually Helps: The Research Picture and Our Early Conversations 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." ## What a SEND-First Approach Actually Looks Like in Practice 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. ## Five Signs a Child May Be Experiencing MTC-Related Maths Anxiety 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. ## A Note on London Schools Specifically 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. ## Talk to Us Before the June MTC Window 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](https://www.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. ## Frequently Asked Questions What is the Multiplication Tables Check (MTC) and when does it take place? Why do standard MTC practice tools cause anxiety in SEND pupils? How can schools support neurodivergent pupils preparing for the MTC without increasing their anxiety? What makes XTables Champions different from other times tables apps for SEND pupils? Are there specific signs teachers should look for to identify MTC-related maths anxiety in Year 4? Can the same platform work for both SEND pupils and the wider class? How can London primary schools find SEND-friendly MTC practice resources? ## 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)