Helping you understand your child’s difficulties with maths
Is your child finding maths particularly difficult, even when they’re trying their hardest? Perhaps they struggle to remember number facts, understand quantities or follow steps in calculations. Maybe maths has become a source of frustration or anxiety.
For some children, persistent difficulties with numbers may be linked to dyscalculia or another specific learning difficulty in mathematics.
Understanding why your child is struggling can be an important first step towards identifying the right support.
At SPACE, we offer dyscalculia screenings for children aged 7–14, helping families better understand their child’s mathematical strengths and difficulties.
What does a dyscalculia screening involve?
Our screenings are carried out one-to-one by an experienced, qualified assessor and include:
- A session lasting up to two hours, exploring your child’s mathematical understanding, strengths and areas of difficulty.
- A written report within two weeks, outlining the findings.
- Tailored recommendations to help inform future support.
Screening fee: £225
Please note that a dyscalculia screening is not a full diagnostic assessment and cannot provide a formal diagnosis. It can, however, provide valuable insight into your child’s mathematical difficulties and help guide decisions about their support.
About our assessor
Our lead assessor is an accredited teacher of dyscalculia and a qualified, AMBDA-registered assessor and professional member of the British Dyslexia Association (BDA).
She has over 20 years of teaching experience and currently works as an Assistant Headteacher for Inclusion and SENCO in a primary school.
Understanding dyscalculia
Dyscalculia is a specific learning difficulty affecting a person’s ability to understand and work with numbers.
Children with dyscalculia may struggle with number sense, quantities, place value, calculations and recalling number facts, even when they’re making considerable effort.
Not every child who struggles with maths has dyscalculia, and difficulties can have a range of underlying causes.
The Specific Learning Difficulties Assessment Standards Committee (SASC) updated its definition of specific learning difficulties in mathematics in 2025.
Read the full SASC (2025) definition
The definition for Dyscalculia has recently been updated. Here is the SASC definition of a Specific Learning Difficulty in Mathematics (2025)
Features:
A specific learning difficulty in mathematics is a set of processing difficulties that affects the acquisition of arithmetic and other areas of mathematics.
In dyscalculia, the most commonly observed cognitive impairment is a pronounced and persistent difficulty with numerical magnitude processing and understanding that presents in age related difficulties with naming, ordering and comparing physical quantities and numbers, estimating and place value.
Some individuals may not present with a specific cognitive impairment in numerical magnitude processing but have an equally debilitating specific learning difficulty (SpLD in mathematics) due to other processing difficulties. Difficulties in language, executive function (verbal and visuo-spatial working memory, inhibitory control) and visual-spatial processing may also contribute.
Impact:
Mathematics is a very varied discipline. Difficulties with learning mathematics may present in specific areas (for example, basic calculation) or across of the mathematics studied by the individual in relation to age, standard teaching and instruction, and level of other attainments. Across education systems and age groups, difficulties in arithmetic fluency and flexibility and mathematical problem solving are key markers of a SpLD in mathematics. Persistent difficulties in mathematics can have a significant impact on life, learning and work. This may also have a detrimental impact upon an individual’s resilience to apply mathematical skills effectively.
Presentation:
The presentation and developmental trajectory of a specific learning difficulty (SpLD) in mathematics depends on the interactions of multiple genetic and environmental influences. It will persist through life but may change in manifestation and severity at different stages.
A SpLD in mathematics frequently co-occurs with one or more of the following: attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), dyslexia, developmental language disorder (DLD) and developmental coordination disorder (DCD). Maths anxiety commonly co-occurs with a SpLD in mathematics but is not an indicator in itself.
Is a screening right for my child?
If your child is experiencing persistent difficulties with maths and you’re wondering whether there may be an underlying learning difficulty, a screening could be a useful next step.
If you’re unsure whether the service is appropriate, please contact us at services@spaceherts.org.uk. We’re happy to answer your questions.
Alternatively, you can book a screening directly.