Maths Anxiety Awareness Day
What is Maths Anxiety Day
Maths Anxiety Day, on 10th November every year, is an important opportunity to raise awareness about the emotional barriers that prevent many people from engaging confidently with mathematics.
Maths anxiety can affect learners of all ages, leading to avoidance, low self-esteem, and reduced achievement in numeracy. By acknowledging and addressing these feelings, educators and communities can help create more positive, supportive learning environments where everyone can develop mathematical understanding without fear or judgment.
The day encourages open conversations, practical strategies, and empathy — reminding us that with the right support, confidence in maths is something everyone can build.
Maths Anxiety Educators Conference
Rob Jennings
Maths Anxiety in the workplace: Understanding, Impact and Solutions
This presentation explores the phenomenon of maths anxiety and its effects on employees in modern workplaces. It begins by defining maths anxiety as a fear or apprehension that interferes with numerical reasoning and problem-solving. The presentation highlights how maths anxiety can manifest in everyday workplace situations such as budgeting, data analysis, and performance tracking, leading to decreased productivity and confidence. Key sections include:
- Understanding Maths Anxiety: What it is, its psychological roots, and common symptoms.
- Impact on the Workplace: How maths anxiety affects decision-making, team performance, and employee development.
- Identifying At-Risk Employees: Signs managers and HR teams should look for.
- Practical Strategies: Evidence-based methods to reduce maths anxiety, including training, supportive technology, and fostering a growth mindset.
- Organizational Benefits: How addressing maths anxiety improves efficiency, innovation, and job satisfaction.
The session concludes with actionable takeaways for employers and individuals to build mathematical confidence and create a more inclusive, numeracy-friendly work environment.
Read More About Rob Jennings
Rob is the co-founder of The Dyscalculia Network. (www.dyscalculianetwork.com )
The Dyscalculia Network provides training and advice for teachers and parents of pupils who have maths difficulties. He has over 15 years of experience teaching young people with special needs. Over the past ten years, he has focused specifically on helping children struggling with Maths working in both independent and state schools.
As Head of Maths at Emerson House LLP and Head of Learning Support at Westminster Abbey Choir School, Rob worked alongside educators and with parents to create and deliver personalised intervention plans for pupils. Since leaving Emerson House, he has set up a number of Maths inset training and lesson support in a number of West London schools.
Rob qualified as a member of The British Psychological Society, as a Certified Educational Assessor (including Access Arrangements CPT3A). He holds an OCR Level 5 Diploma in Teaching Learners with Specific Learning Difficulties (Distinction) from Helen Arkell and is co-author of The Maths Difficulties and Dyscalculia Assessment, being published by Jessica Kingsley in Summer of 2025. This is a unique test that not only collects information on scoring accuracy, but also looks into techniques and strategies used to tackle the important areas of foundation maths.
Rob is a member of the Crested Council (https://crested.org.uk/index.html) to represent issues about Dyscalculia and Maths Difficulties throughout specialist schools in this country.
Rob has presented across a number of educational exhibitions and school across the UK (Times Education show in London 2023/24 and TES North 2025, Dyslexia/Dyscalculia show at NEC Birmingham 2023/24, Toucan Education in Newcastle 2023/4, FOBISIA – www.fobisia.org The Federation of British Schools in Asia, Isle of Wight SEND Conference 2024, The Dorset SENCO school’s group at Milton Abbey 2024, East Sussex SENCo and Schools group and the Joint-venture with Ulster University for the Dyscalculia conference in Belfast, which included work with the Northern Regional College group at their campuses in Newton Abbey and Coleraine.)
He has been involved in the creation and delivery of Dyscalculia and Maths difficulty courses aimed at different teaching levels: primary, secondary and higher-level education.
He is delighted that his book ‘The Maths and Dyscalculia Assessment’, has now been published by Jessica Kingsley Publishers in July of this year. This is the assessment for all of the key foundations of maths to help formulate a focused teaching intervention plan.
Amanda Keen
Practical tips to reduce Maths Anxiety in the classroom and at home.
Having struggled with maths anxiety herself, Amanda Keen is passionate about helping others in the same situation. Her experience of teaching maths for 29 years in both mainstream and specialist schools has given her the tools needed to help teachers and parents reduce that anxiety. She will discuss the research carried out by the teachers that she led in her Maths Hub groups, and suggest resources and strategies that can be used to reduce maths anxiety at home and in school.
Read More About Amanda Keen
Amanda Keen has thirty years of teaching experience, first in primary school classrooms then as a specialist dyslexia and dyscalculia teacher in Learning Support departments across all Key Stages, as well as in a specialist school. She has tutored students and adults internationally via remote learning platforms and now assesses all age groups for dyscalculia and dyslexia full-time. She is passionate about spreading the word about dyscalculia, specific learning difficulties in maths and maths anxiety, and has spoken at several conferences and led a number of webinars for both teachers and parents.
Sam Sims
Number Confidence
Sam will cover three areas; What we’ve learnt at National Numeracy about low number confidence and maths anxiety in the context of primary school education. The support and strategies available to address maths anxiety for educators, parents, carers and young people. What broader changes are needed to better support educators?
Read More About Sam Sims
Associate Professor Tom Hunt
Dr Heidi Kirkland
Maths Anxiety: Solving the Equation
Do you or your students ever freeze up at the sight of a maths problem? You’re not alone — maths anxiety affects millions of learners worldwide, often holding them back from achieving their full potential. In this engaging talk, we explore what maths anxiety really is, why it happens, and how it impacts not just grades, but confidence, career choices, and everyday decision-making.
Drawing on insights from the book Maths Anxiety: Solving the Equation, the session offers practical strategies for students, teachers, and parents to break the cycle of fear. We’ll discuss the science behind maths anxiety, uncover its root causes, and share proven techniques to create a positive, supportive approach to learning maths. With inspiring case studies and actionable exercises, this talk will leave you feeling empowered to turn maths from a source of stress into a tool for success.
Read More About Associate Professor Tom Hunt
Read More About Associate Dr Heidi Kirkland
Dr Heidi Kirkland is an international primary educator with a passion for Maths and for helping others feel more confident with it. She works with universities to support trainee teachers and master’s students and is one of the authors of Maths Anxiety: Solving the Equation. Heidi also founded Mindful Maths, a platform offering resources, training, and support to help learners and educators build a more positive relationship with Maths.
Julie Sinfield
Julie will talk about – About me
Our journey
What Maths Anxiety can look like?
The Impact
The causes of Maths Anxiety
My priorities as a parent
Lessons learnt & top tips
Q&A
Read More About Julie Sinfield
Maths Anxiety: A Parent’s Perspective
Mia Borthwick
Maths Anxiety, Dyscalculia and Me
Read More About Mia Borthwick
Mia is a theatre maker, musician, actor and facilitator from Weston-Super-Mare.
She was diagnosed with dyscalculia at the age of 10 years old. It wasn’t until she left education that she finally started to talk more openly about dyscalculia. This inspired her to create her one-woman musical comedy show, ‘I Don’t Have A Maths GCSE,’ to share her own experience with dyscalculia while helping to raise awareness for others. Currently, she is touring the show across the UK.