--- title: "Dubai KHDA Inclusion & EdTech | Times Tables Software | XTables Champions" description: "UK schools are reviewing June MTC results. Here's why SEND students disproportionately struggle with the timer format, and what actually helps them thrive." 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": "why send students struggle mtc multiplayer gamification", "item": "https://math-magicians-academy-25d63273.base44.app/why-send-students-struggle-mtc-multiplayer-gamification" } ] }, { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "FAQPage", "mainEntity": [ { "@type": "Question", "name": "Why do SEND students struggle more with the Multiplication Tables Check?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "The MTC's strict 6-second timer and formal test environment trigger anxiety responses that impair working memory. For children with ADHD, dyscalculia, slow processing speed or existing maths anxiety, this means they cannot access knowledge they actually have. The format disadvantages them structurally, not just academically." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "What DfE accommodations are available for SEND students in the MTC?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "The DfE does allow some access arrangements for the MTC, including additional time for pupils with certain identified needs. Schools should check the current KS2 Assessment and Reporting Arrangements guidance for the specific criteria and application process. However, accommodations on the day only go so far, and preparation throughout the year matters enormously." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "What is maths anxiety and how does it affect Year 4 pupils?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Maths anxiety is a genuine psychological response, not simply a lack of confidence. It involves heightened stress and fear specifically in maths contexts, and research consistently shows it interferes with working memory recall. In Year 4 pupils, it can manifest as avoidance, shutting down during timed tasks, or physical signs of distress during maths lessons and tests." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "How does gamification help neurodivergent children learn times tables?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Gamification changes the emotional context of practice. When multiplication is embedded in a game a child already enjoys, the goal becomes playing rather than performing. Mistakes become part of the game rather than evidence of failure. For neurodivergent children who disengage from traditional drills, this shift in framing can dramatically increase the amount of practice they actually complete." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "Why is multiplayer specifically useful for SEND pupils practising times tables?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Multiplayer formats distribute a child's attention across the game and other players, which reduces the intensity of self-monitoring. For children with ADHD or anxiety, this is meaningful. It also makes maths feel social and collaborative rather than isolating, which can help children who have already developed a negative identity around the subject." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "What should schools do after reviewing poor MTC results for SEND students?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Start by identifying which pupils show broader signs of maths anxiety, not just low scores. Then review what their current practice looks like. If it relies heavily on timed drills and worksheets, consider introducing low-anxiety, game-based practice alongside any other interventions. Speak with your SENCO about how multiplication fluency is built across the year, not just in the run-up to the check." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "What is XTables Champions and how does it support SEND pupils?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "XTables Champions is a times-tables and maths fluency web app built specifically with SEND and neurodivergent children in mind. It uses popular game formats children already enjoy, including multiplayer games, to build engagement and reduce maths anxiety. It is designed for use in UK primary schools, particularly with Year 4-6 pupils and those with identified maths difficulties." } } ] } ] --- [ 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) # Dubai KHDA Inclusion & EdTech | Times Tables Software 25 June 2026 The short answer: SEND students are not failing the Multiplication Tables Check because they cannot learn their times tables. They are failing it because the format itself is working against them. If your school has just sat down with its Year 4 MTC results from June and noticed that your neurodivergent and SEND pupils are clustered at the lower end, you are not looking at a learning gap. You are looking at an anxiety gap. ## What Is Happening in Schools Right Now Every June, Year 4 pupils across England sit the MTC, a 25-question online check with a strict 6-second response window per question. For most children, that is fine. For children with ADHD, dyscalculia, dyslexia, processing difficulties or maths anxiety, that 6-second timer is not a neutral design choice. It is actively hostile. Right now, senior leaders and SENCOs are reviewing preliminary results and having difficult conversations. When I looked into what teachers and SENCOs were saying in the weeks following this year's check, a clear pattern emerged: the students who had made genuine progress in their multiplication knowledge during the year were still scoring poorly, because the timed pressure triggered anxiety responses that wiped out recall. That is a significant problem, and it is not one you can fix with more worksheets or more practice tests in the same format. ## The Cognitive Load Problem Here is what the research on maths anxiety tells us, and what I keep seeing reflected in conversations with educators. When a child feels threatened by a timed test, the brain's threat-response system kicks in. Working memory, which is exactly what you need to retrieve a multiplication fact quickly, gets hijacked. The child knows 7 x 8. They have answered it correctly dozens of times. But under a 6-second timer, with the weight of a formal check bearing down on them, that knowledge becomes inaccessible. For neurodivergent children, this is compounded further. A child with ADHD may hyperfocus on the timer rather than the question. A child with dyscalculia may already be carrying significant anxiety about numbers before they even sit down. A child with slow processing speed is structurally disadvantaged by a format that rewards fast retrieval above all else. **The MTC does not measure what a SEND student knows. It measures how well they perform under conditions specifically designed to be stressful.** This is not a criticism of the DfE policy in isolation. But it does mean schools have a responsibility to prepare SEND students in ways that go beyond drilling the same timed questions over and over. ## Why Traditional Preparation Makes It Worse The instinct when children score poorly on a timed test is often to do more timed tests. I completely understand why. It feels logical. But for a child who is already anxious about maths, repeated exposure to the same high-pressure format does not build resilience. It builds dread. Times-tables worksheets, flashcard drills and repetitive online quizzes with countdown timers all carry the same problem: they signal to the child that speed is what matters, that failure is measurable, and that maths is something to survive rather than something to enjoy. For a neurodivergent child who has already internalised the idea that they are bad at maths, every failed drill is confirmation of that belief. What actually breaks the cycle is changing the emotional context entirely. ## What Multiplayer Gamification Does Differently This is where the approach we take at XTables Champions comes from. When children practise multiplication through games they already love, with multiplayer formats that feel social and fun rather than competitive and judged, something genuinely different happens. The emotional stakes change. A child who gets a question wrong in a game is not failing a test. They are playing. They try again. Multiplayer specifically matters for SEND students in a few important ways. First, it distributes attention. In a solo drill, the entire focus is on the child's own performance and their own anxiety. In a multiplayer game, attention is naturally shared across the experience, the other players, the game itself, the goal. This reduces the cognitive load of self-monitoring, which is often exhausting for neurodivergent children. Second, the social element reframes maths as something you do with other people, not something you are tested on alone. From the schools we have spoken with in our early conversations, the children who engage most with multiplayer maths games are often the same children who disengage completely from solo practice. That is not a coincidence. As our founder Gal Darrash puts it, "We built this for the kids who put their head down when the worksheet comes out. If the format is the problem, you have to change the format." ## What SENCOs and Class Teachers Can Do Now If you are reviewing this year's MTC results and thinking about your intervention plan for next year's Year 4 cohort, here are the questions I would be asking. First, look at which of your lower-scoring pupils also show signs of maths anxiety more broadly. Not just on the MTC, but in everyday classroom maths. Are they avoidant? Do they shut down when asked to answer quickly? That tells you something different from a student who simply has not had enough exposure to their tables. Second, think about what their current practice looks like at home and in school. If the answer is timed worksheets and solo apps with countdowns, that is worth reconsidering. The goal between now and next June is not more of the same. It is building genuine fluency through repeated, low-anxiety exposure. Third, consider the role of the SENCO in shaping how multiplication is practised, not just assessed. The MTC accommodations available from the DfE (additional time, for example) help on the day, but the real work happens in the months before. ## Talk to Us About Supporting Your SEND Pupils At XTables Champions, we are a young company and we are honest about that. We are not claiming to have all the answers or a decade of large-scale data. What we do have is software built specifically for children who struggle with maths anxiety and neurodivergent needs, designed around the principle that engagement and emotional safety come before speed. If you are a SENCO, Year 4 teacher or senior leader who has just reviewed your MTC results and is wondering what to do differently for your SEND pupils next year, we would genuinely love to hear from you. Not to pitch. To listen, and to talk through what your children actually need. Visit [xtableschampions.com](https://www.xtableschampions.com) and get in touch. Tell us about your school and your students. That conversation is where everything starts. ## Frequently Asked Questions Why do SEND students struggle more with the Multiplication Tables Check? What DfE accommodations are available for SEND students in the MTC? What is maths anxiety and how does it affect Year 4 pupils? How does gamification help neurodivergent children learn times tables? Why is multiplayer specifically useful for SEND pupils practising times tables? What should schools do after reviewing poor MTC results for SEND students? What is XTables Champions and how does it support SEND pupils? ## 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)