"The skill checks are really good because they focus on one thing and help you improve it." (A, age 11)

One of the mistakes many of us make in teaching Maths is pushing on too quickly before children are properly secure. It can be tedious for both the teacher and the children to keep practising the same skills, so we tend to move on when the children have learned something fairly well but are still making errors.

Much of our testing of children encourages this approach. Pupils can 'pass' at a particular level with a score of only 70%, so it is possible for some children to go through their Maths experience in school never being properly sure about anything.

On the other hand, if you waited until everyone was 100% secure you would never move on at all, and some pupils would be bored silly!

The consequence of this is that we hear the persistent moans from teachers and parents that ‘they still don't know their tables' or 'they learned all about fractions and they have forgotten it all again'.

The solution to this is to have activities where pupils can be working on the same skill, but each at their own level.

Many of the photocopiable games, such as the 'Counting Caterpillar' and 'Tap Say Turn' are designed so that you can have pupils working each at their own level independently.

The online skill checks can also be used to give differentiated practice of number skills in school or at home, supported by the self-differentiating, self-marking homework sheets.

All the online activities are also grouped onto 'Steps' on the Learning Ladder. This encourages a step-by-step approach to learning by both children and their parents, with pupils being directed to choose their own activities at a particular level.

To encourage pupils to aim for 100% accuracy and to support the transfer of skills from short term to long term memory, there is a quiz and star system, which requires children to get 100% to score 'green' and to return and retake quizzes that they have already scored 100% in to gain stars.

The children have access to a wide range of quizzes, plus additional activities to stretch their thinking further, so you can have a lesson where they are all working on 'stars and quizzes', each at their own level, and the teacher is free to circulate with the interactive pupil record and home in on children who are needing support.

"I enjoy Maths Investigations as it is a lot different to other maths websites. I like how the teacher can put quizzes on depending on where you are and how well you are doing. I like the vast ranges of activities on offer and the idea of getting 1st, 2nd and 3rd stars." (F, age 11)

"In quizzes you can get stars and when you get your 3rd star you get 100 points rather than only getting 10!" (A, age 11)

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