Common challenges pupils face in maths – and how tutors can help
For many pupils, maths is more than just a subject – it’s a source of anxiety, confusion, or even frustration. Whether they’re tackling fractions in Year 5 or algebra in Year 11, struggling with maths can chip away at a pupil’s confidence and motivation.
As a tutor, you play a key role in helping pupils overcome those hurdles. Here, we explore some of the common challenges pupils face in Key Stage 2 and Key Stage 4 – and share practical tips to support them.
1. Gaps in foundational knowledge
The challenge: Pupils in both Key Stage 2 and Key Stage 4 often face difficulty because they’ve missed key building blocks earlier on. For example, if a Year 6 pupil hasn’t secured their recall of times tables and equivalence, they’ll likely struggle with fractions. Similarly, a Year 11 pupil who doesn’t feel confident with order of operations may find solving linear equations challenging.
How to help
Don’t assume prior knowledge: use quick warm-up questions or diagnostic questions to check understanding. Ensure they feel confident before progressing to more challenging material.
Use visual aids: Place value charts, number lines, bar models, and balanced scales can make abstract ideas more concrete.
Revisit key concepts regularly: Spaced repetition helps strengthen long-term recall. You’d be surprised how much of what we tutor actually is secured into the pupils’ long term memory. Utilise the time with starter activities to ensure you are revisiting the foundational knowledge each week.
2. Maths anxiety
The challenge: Some pupils develop a fear of maths after repeated struggles or negative experiences. This anxiety can lead to avoidance, lack of focus, or self-doubt – especially under pressure.
How to help
Create a safe, positive space: praise effort and small wins. Make it okay to get things wrong.
Take the pressure off: pupils can be worried about being put on the spot when it comes to quick maths questions. This can be the case when having to recall times tables quickly, and can be a real source of anxiety for pupils that have had previous negative experiences of getting an answer wrong in front of their peers.
To help with this, you can use mini whiteboards so the pupils can show only you, the tutor, their answers. If the answer’s wrong, give them the opportunity to reflect on it so they change it until they are happy.
Even better, model getting the wrong answer and how they can learn from it. As an example you could say: “I got a fantastic wrong answer from my other group. This is what a pupil put for their answer. What do you think the pupil did to get this answer? What can we learn from this?”
Break problems into manageable steps: This can reduce overwhelm and help pupils build confidence through mini-wins.
Model a growth mindset: Use phrases like “This is a challenging question – let’s try working on it together until we master it” to encourage perseverance.
3. Language barriers
The challenge: Maths is full of specialist vocabulary – from “denominator” to “factorise” – which can be a barrier for pupils with English as an additional language or lower reading comprehension.
How to help
Pre-teach key vocabulary: Use matching games, flashcards, or quick discussions to define and reinforce new words.
Encourage talk: Use paired discussion or ask pupils to explain their thinking aloud.
Use visuals and context clues: Real-life examples and step-by-step demonstrations can support understanding. Diagrams are a hugely effective tool to use here – when in doubt, draw everything! For example, if you’re tackling a question about the cost of a t-shirt in a shop, draw the t-shirt with the price tag and a person walking in to buy it. Pupils being able to visualise the real-life situation is key.
4. Struggling to apply maths to real-world problems
The challenge: Many pupils can complete a calculation in isolation but struggle when asked to apply it to a word problem or unfamiliar context.
How to help
Use real-world examples: Talk about money, time, measurements or data in everyday life to make maths more meaningful.
Teach problem-solving strategies: Help pupils identify key information, break the problem down, and check their answers. This is where we use the ‘RULER’ technique that we first introduce in the Y6 workbook. R.U.L.E.R stands for ‘Read’, ‘Underline’, ‘Layout’ (draw out the problem or structure the calculations in a certain visual way), ‘Evaluate’ (work out in maths) and Review answer.
Watch ‘R.U.L.E.R.’ explained:
Encourage estimation: This builds number sense and helps pupils assess whether an answer seems reasonable.
5. Low confidence and disengagement
The challenge: Pupils who’ve fallen behind or been told they’re “not good at maths” often disengage – particularly in Key Stage 4, where the stakes feel high and the content can feel intimidating.
How to help
Set achievable goals: Start each session with a recap of something they can do, and build from there.
Celebrate progress: Remind them how far they’ve come. A pupil who now knows their times tables is making real progress!
Be encouraging and consistent: Your belief in them can be the boost they need to believe in themselves.
Helping pupils thrive in maths
At Action Tutoring, we know that with the right support, every pupil can make meaningful progress in maths. Whether you’re helping a Year 5 pupil master fractions or guiding a Year 11 through exam preparation, your encouragement, clarity, and patience can make all the difference.
By identifying the challenges and tailoring your support, you’ll help pupils build confidence, develop problem-solving skills, and achieve results that open doors to opportunities.
Explore our Key Stage 2 and Key Stage 4 maths workbooks samples for an idea of what a tutoring session looks like:
