What is the multiplication tables check?

Do you have a child in Year 4 at Didsbury CE Primary School?  If so, they will be participating in the multiplication tables check in June.

The purpose of the check is to determine whether your child can fluently recall their times tables up to 12, which is essential for future success in mathematics. It will also help us to identify if your child may need additional support.

It is an on-screen check consisting of 25 times table questions. Your child will be able to answer 3 practice questions before taking the actual check. They will then have 6 seconds to answer each question. On average, the check should take no longer than 5 minutes to complete.  This will be completed during the school day, using our school iPads.

 

What if my child cannot access the check?

There are several access arrangements available for the check, these can be used to support pupils with specific needs. The Head of School, SENCo and class teachers will ensure that the access arrangements are appropriate for your child before they take the check in June.

The check has been designed so that it is inclusive and accessible to as many children as possible, including those with special educational needs or disability (SEND) or English as an additional language (EAL). However, there may be some circumstances in which it will not be appropriate for a pupil to take the check, even when using suitable access arrangements. 

 

Do I need to do anything to prepare my child for the check?

We only ask for you to help your child with their times tables in the usual way as part of our weekly practice.  Your child is working their way through our Didsbury CE Timestable Tracker and would benefit from practising these at home (more information can be found at the bottom of this page).

All Year 4 children have had the opportunity to access the 'trial' check online to enable them to familiarise themselves with the check application and try out any access arrangements that may be required.

How will the results be used?

All schools will have access to all their pupils’ results, allowing those pupils who need additional support to be identified.

Will I receive feedback on my child’s check?

Yes. We will share your child’s score with you, as we would with all national curriculum assessments. There is no pass mark for the check.

Further information

Please direct any further questions to Mrs Lugsden (Year 4 teacher and mathematics lead).

For further details you can also visit www.gov.uk/STA.

 

How can I support my child when practising their timetables at home?

At Didsbury CE Primary School, we use our own Timestable Tracker to help children learn their timestables.  It is a way of tracking children’s progress towards learning all multiplication and division facts up to 12 x 12, as is required by Year 4 in the Primary National Curriculum.  This is an opportunity for children to learn the division facts which are the inverse of the times tables they have learned previously.  Traditionally, times tables were learned in order; 1 x 3 = 3, 2 x 3 = 6.  However, this is not useful for the real life application of those times tables or for completing written multiplication or division.  Therefore, children will be tested on multiplication facts, division facts and then a random order of multiplication and division facts.

 

How does the Tracker work?

The tracker works via a set of awards which cover certain times tables (multiplication and division facts):

Award	Tables	Tests (in order) - multiplication and division facts for:
Bronze	10, 5	10 multiplication/ 10 division/ 10 multiplication and division / 5 multiplication/ 5 division/ 5multiplication and division / 5 & 10 multiplication and division
Silver	2, 4, 3	2 multiplication/ 2 division/ 2 multiplication and division / 4 multiplication/ 4 division/ 4 multiplication and division / 8 multiplication/ 3 multiplication/ 3 division/ 3 multiplication & division/ 3 multiplication/ 3 division/ 3 multiplication & division/ 2, 4, 3, 5 & 10 multiplication and division
Gold	8, 6, 9	8 division/ 8 multiplication and division/ / 6 multiplication/ 6 division/ 6 multiplication & division / 9 multiplication/ 9 division/ 9 multiplication & division / 5,10,2,4,3,8,6,9 multiplication and division
Platinum	7	7 multiplication/ 7 division/ 7 multiplication & division / All tables 1-10 multiplication and division
Diamond	11, 12	11 multiplication/ 11 division/ 11 multiplication & division/ 12 multiplication/ 12 division/ 12 multiplication & division All tables 1-12 multiplication and division

 

You can help your child by helping your child practise the multiplication and division facts, encouraging them to give quick responses and celebrate with them when they complete awards!

1. Hang up a times table sheet

2. Teach some tricks

One of the great things about maths is that it’s full of tips and tricks – and times tables are no different. Our favourite trick involves remembering family members' favourite multiplications!  Mrs Lugsden's is 6x6=36 and Mrs Royden likes 3x4=12!

3. Listen to some fun songs

We regularly listen to multiplication songs in class!  Your child will have their favourite but we especially like those by 'Laugh along and Learn' and 'Number rock.'

         

4. Play a multiplication battle

This is one of our favourite games in KS2 that makes learning times tables fun. The game is simple, two players draw a card from a deck. They then flip their cards over and the first person to correctly guess the total of the two cards multiplied together gets to put the cards in their winning pile. For example, if a 3 of hearts and a 7 of diamonds are flipped over, the first person who says 21 gets to keep the two cards. The person with the most cards in their winning pile at the end of the game wins.

5. Log onto Times table Rockstars

This is an online game (available via a free app or website) that all children in years 2-6 have access to.  Playing Studio games helps children to practise all multiplication and division facts up to 12 x 12, Soundcheck is a good practise for the Multiplication Timestable Check (MTC) and Garage allows them to practise the tables set by their class teacher.  

 

 

 

 

Some information provided by https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/multiplication-tables-check-information-for-parents and https://www.whizz.com/