Having been a teacher for many years now I’ve always considered it critically important to ensure multiplication tables are taught rigorously and consistently across a school. No teacher wants to revert to teaching basic times tables before moving onto more complicated concepts. Able children should not need to count on their fingers or work out each multiplication fact in their head!

Surely, we need to ensure these fundamentals are taught early in a child’s school career? Experience has taught me that children who make mistakes based on their lack of confidence with tables quickly lose motivation when attempting to learn new mathematical concepts. Success at long multiplication and division, fractions, area, decimals, percentages, ratio and proportion, place value, and a raft of other concepts explicitly relies on a good knowledge and understanding of times tables.

Now, obviously times tables are taught in every school around the country. They are a fundamental part of mathematics for primary aged children. Many teachers reading this will think that times tables are already catered for in their school. But, given the importance of tables, how sure can most teachers be that each child has a sound knowledge of tables and their associated number facts? My experience leads me to believe that many children are not confident with multiplication tables, and we need to do something about it.

I am now a head teacher and more aware than ever that a good understanding of tables will boost a child’s confidence in maths. In my current school, I was going to implement a paper-based testing system for times tables that I’ve used in the past to try and improve the way that these facts are learned by children. This has always been a good approach, but it takes a lot of time to administer and nobody likes paperwork (least of all me!) Instead, I decided to create some software to manage the process of learning tables that would (a) make my life as a teacher easier and (b) promote a systematic learning and testing approach to the most fundamental of mathematical concepts.

Having worked with a close friend to develop this idea further, we’ve now come up with the concept of Times Too, an online tool that schools can subscribe to which will take away the hassle of implementing a school-wide paper-based testing and ensure that children are learning their times tables. Times Too aims to make children learn their multiplication tables quicker, better and with greater enjoyment and motivation.

Here’s what it offers:

• Web-based so accessible from home or school.
• Children work through a set of levels at their own pace.
• Models and images used to support children when they make a mistake.
• Associated number facts are taught and reinforced at every stage
• Times Too will learn which questions a child needs to practise most.
• Teachers have access to a range of assessment data.
• Certificates for success and effort auto-generated for achievement assemblies.
• Parents can elect to receive feedback on their child’s progress.

Try it for free with a single class and help the children learn to love times their tables!