I was home educated myself and I have worked with many home educated children and young people.

I understand that families have a many different reasons for home educating and that every family will have a unique experience. I aim to meet children and families where they are at, without pre-conceptions about their experience or goals.

I am also happy to share my experiences and knowledge about home education generally and to provide support and advice with things like organising exams.

Dyscalculia is a fundamental difficulty in understanding numbers. People with dyscalculia often struggle with maths in every day life - like keeping track of money or timetables - as well as struggling with maths academically.

I have often found my dyscalculic students have strengths verbally and artistically, and to enjoy things like stories, drama or drawing. When this is the case, I sometimes try to use those strengths in our work together, such as by designing colourful flashcards or making up stories about numbers as characters.

I also use a lot of visual manipulatives and spend time working on fundamental concepts at the person’s own pace, to help them start to see some more sense in numbers themselves.

Maths anxiety can stem from many places, but a common factor is a mismatch between how someone has been taught and how they naturally process information. For example, a learner might struggle with spoken or written instructions but find visual explanations far easier to grasp. I try to identify these preferences early on, so I can present ideas in a way that feels intuitive and builds the learner’s confidence.

When working with people who feel anxious about maths, I try to reduce the pressure as much as possible and cultivate a more playful atmosphere. I avoid putting the person on the spot and make a point about being open about my own mistakes and weaknesses.

In maths, dyslexic learners often show strengths in practical problem solving and visual tasks. Working with patterns also often comes easily to dyslexic students, which is a real asset in maths.

Common challenges, on the other hand, can include memorising procedures, times tables, number facts, and terminology, as well as making sense of long, wordy problems or showing working clearly.

Because dyslexic learners often grasp ideas more easily as a whole rather than through step-by-step instructions, my focus on conceptual understanding tends to suit them well. I also tend to lean into presenting concepts visually and practically, with my dyslexic students.

I often encourage students to use their strengths to support areas of difficulty. For example, if someone is struggling with memorising times tables, they might find it easier to use connections between similar sums to jump from a known sum to an unknown sum.

I also gently introduce strategies that may not come as naturally, such as jotting down partial working to support working memory. With older students, I focus on familiarity with exam style questions, to help avoid any confusion about the wording of questions being a barrier to the student demonstrating their understanding.

When working with learners with ADHD, I focus on what each individual finds engaging and motivating. For some, that might mean building in novelty, creativity, or a playful sense of competition. For others, it’s about following their curiosity — exploring questions as they arise, with an eye on the bigger picture but without rigidly sticking to a set path.

With my older students, especially those approaching exam revision, I often focus not just on the maths itself but on helping them find ways to get through the work they want to do outside of the sessions. As someone who has often struggled with organisation myself, I have built up a tool box of resources for helping myself get things done, which I often share with my students.

I’m very aware that individual autistic people can be very different from each other, especially as autism often overlaps with other forms of neurodiversity. I try to keep certain things in mind, but avoid making assumptions before getting to know each person as an individual.

I often find it helpful to be clear, direct, and unambiguous with my autistic students, while still being gentle in my approach. I also welcome directness from them.

Some of my students find it helpful to have a sense of the plan. Some benefit from me keeping the same general structure to each session. Others benefit from me breaking down the specifics of each activity in advance, sometimes with me demonstrating it beforehand.

I try to be aware of my students’ cognitive style — for example, whether they prefer precision, like focusing in depth, or enjoy noticing patterns. I aim to avoid any sense of rush or pressure, and to allow time for concepts to ‘click’. On the other hand, while repetition can be reassuring or confidence-building for some people, I know it can feel meaningless or patronising to others once they’ve grasped something.

Overall, I try to be aware of my students’ preferences and experiences and adapt to what they are comfortable and confident with.

For students with a strong need for autonomy, my collaborative approach tends to be appreciated. I also welcome my students’ input into the sessions. For younger students, that has sometimes taken the form of building a ‘menu’ of different activities that they pick from on the day. With older students, I work closely with them to decide what we work on and how we approach it, depending on their aims and preferences.
I aim to be flexible and non-coercive, while still sometimes sticking to certain things if it feels like they could be helpful in the long run.

I am dyspaxic myself and am always glad to work with other dyspraxic learners.

Dyspraxia is often seen as mainly affecting coordination, it can also influence how people think, learn, and communicate more broadly. In maths, visual topics, such as those involving shapes, can often be more challenging for dyspraxic students, so I am extra aware of working through those topics slowly and deliberately. On the flipside, many dyspraxic learners have particular strengths in verbal reasoning or abstract thinking, and I often lean into those strengths in my teaching.

Some other things I pay close attention to when working with dyspraxic students include reducing visual clutter and supporting working memory, breaking tasks into clear, manageable steps to help with sequencing, and keeping a gentle, steady pace that allows time for ideas to settle and make sense in the student’s own way.

I have worked with a number of gifted or twice-exceptional learners (who are both gifted and have specific learning differences). I greatly enjoy joining them in deep exploration that prioritises curiosity and enjoyment.

I’m aware that such learners are often sensitive people who can struggle with perfectionism. I try to gently counter this by focusing on the joy of discovery, rather than emphasising performance. I’m also open about my own mistakes and areas of uncertainty.