Help Your Child Prepare for Year 2 Maths Assessments
Fun, expert-aligned maths games for parents, grandparents and carers — no teaching experience needed, just quality time together.
Are you wondering what you can do to help your child prepare for their Year 2 maths assessment? You are not alone. Every parent, grandparent and carer wants to give their child the best chance to show what they can do — without the stress, without the pressure and without the cost of private tuition.
The good news is that you really can make a difference, even if maths was never your strong point at school. And the even better news is that the best way to help your child is not worksheets or revision — it is playing games together, finding the maths in everyday life and sharing some genuinely enjoyable time.
That is exactly what Number Chase is designed to help you do.
You Don't Need to Be a Maths Expert
When you follow the Number Chase course you can be sure that you are covering all the right topics in a way that really supports your child's learning. Every game and activity in our new course has been expertly designed and carefully aligned to the KS1 Year 2 maths curriculum — covering all seven areas your child will be assessed on including number, addition and subtraction, multiplication and division, fractions, measurement, geometry and statistics. You don't need to worry about whether you are saying the right things or doing the right things. Spend some quality time together and let the games and activities do their magic.
It doesn't matter if you think you are rubbish at maths. It doesn't matter if you have no teaching experience. What matters is that you are there, playing alongside your child, finding the maths all around you in a relaxed and fun way. That is precisely what makes this different from formal teaching — and precisely why it is so effective.
While Year 2 SATs maths tests, produced by the government, are now optional for schools to use — this changed in 2023 to reduce the number of formal tests children take, well over half of primary schools choose to use them voluntarily, so your child's school may well still be taking part. Your child will definitely have a maths assessment in Year 2, it may be based on a test or it may be a less formal teacher assessment. Whatever the case sharing the Number Chase games and activities will be a brilliant way to support your child to confidently complete their key Stage 1 maths curriculum.
For the official government guidance you can visit the GOV.UK information for parents page.
Fun Maths Games You Can Play at Home Today
Our printable maths games and activities are designed be practical, quick and easy. Print or draw the game boards, grab some coins, buttons or lego bricks, add a dice and you are ready to play. No special equipment, no expensive resources.
Each activity follows a simple three step journey:
Every activity is carefully designed to feel nothing like a workbook or a test. Instead of drilling your child with questions, you are building their genuine understanding and giving them a confident, positive relationship with maths that will benefit them long into the future.
Swap Tutoring for Quality Time
Private maths tuition can be expensive, time consuming and sometimes adds to a child's anxiety rather than easing it. With Number Chase you can swap the travel time and the waiting around for quality time at home — playing together, laughing together and quietly building the maths skills your child needs to complete their Year 2 assessmentconfidently
If your child already . some maths anxiety or is lacking in confidence, finding the maths in everyday life alongside someone they love and trust can be extraordinarily valuable.
Ready to Get Started?
Our course, Help Your Child Prepare for Year 2 Maths Assessments, is waiting for you. No experience needed. Just you, your child and a willingness to have fun together.
Frequently Asked Questions
The Year 2 maths assessment is part of the KS1 national curriculum tests, sometimes still called SATs. The government recommends schools use them during May, and they are carried out by your child's own teacher in their familiar classroom — not a formal exam hall. They are not strictly timed and are designed to give teachers a helpful picture of how your child is getting on as they prepare to move into Key Stage 2.
Since 2023 the tests have been optional for schools rather than compulsory. Well over half of primary schools choose to use them voluntarily and numbers are growing, so there is a good chance your child will be taking part. Your child's teacher can tell you whether your school is joining in this May. You can also find full details on the GOV.UK information for parents page.
The KS1 Year 2 maths assessment covers everything your child has been learning throughout the year — number and place value, addition and subtraction, multiplication and division, fractions, measurement, geometry and simple statistics. Our Number Chase course covers each of these areas through fun, carefully designed games and activities, all expertly aligned to the Year 2 curriculum. You never need to plan what to cover or worry about whether you are doing the right things — we have done all of that for you.
The best thing you can do is make maths feel fun, familiar and stress free at home. Playing simple games together, finding maths in everyday situations and keeping things relaxed and enjoyable makes a real difference to a child's confidence and understanding. Our Number Chase new course gives you everything you need to do exactly that — with no teaching experience required. The activities feel nothing like homework or revision. They feel like quality time together. And that is exactly what makes them work.
You do not need to be good at maths to help your child. Every game and activity in our course has been expertly designed and aligned to the Year 2 curriculum so all the hard work has been done for you. You simply follow the easy instructions, play alongside your child and enjoy the time together. Many parents tell us that playing these games together is the moment they stopped worrying about maths and started enjoying it alongside their child. That change alone makes a real difference.
No — since 2023 the tests have been optional for schools to use. The government made this change to reduce the overall number of formal tests children take in primary school. However, the government actively encourages schools to use them and provides them free of charge, and well over half of primary schools choose to do so. If you are not sure whether your school is taking part, your child's teacher is the best person to ask. And even if your school does not use the formal tests, everything we cover in the Number Chase course is exactly what your child will be learning in Year 2 regardless.
No special equipment is needed at all. You simply print our game boards and cards, grab some everyday items like coins, buttons or lego bricks and add a dice. That is genuinely all you need. We have deliberately designed everything to work with things you already have at home, so you can get started straight away without spending a penny on special resources.
Number Chase is particularly well suited to supporting Year 2 children with special educational needs. Because every activity is built around play, conversation and shared discovery rather than written questions or timed tests, children who find traditional maths formats overwhelming or stressful can engage in a much more natural and relaxed way. There is no pressure to perform or sense of being tested.
The games are designed to be played in short bursts, which works beautifully for children who find it difficult to concentrate for long periods. The hands on nature of the activities — using physical objects like coins, buttons and counters — also makes them particularly accessible for children who benefit from a more tactile and multisensory approach to learning.
Because you are playing together in a safe, familiar home environment with someone your child loves and trusts, there is no fear of getting things wrong. Children can take their time, revisit games as many times as they need and build their confidence gradually and gently. That combination of expert curriculum alignment, playful low pressure activities and the warmth of a trusted adult alongside them can be genuinely transformative.
Most maths apps and workbooks are essentially a series of questions or tests presented to your child on their own. Number Chase is completely different. Our activities are designed to be played together, with conversation, laughter and genuine shared discovery at the heart of every game. This builds real understanding rather than just practised answers, and it builds your child's confidence at the same time. It is precisely because this feels nothing like formal teaching that it works so well.
Even short, regular sessions make a real difference. Each game is designed to last only a short period of time but to be played again and again, so you can fit it around normal family life without it feeling like another commitment. Little and often is absolutely the right approach — and the more you play, the more natural and enjoyable it becomes for both of you.
Absolutely. Number Chase has been designed for any caring adult in a child's life, whether that is a parent, grandparent, childminder or other family member. If you spend time with a Year 2 child and want to support their maths in a fun and relaxed way, this course is for you. No maths knowledge, no teaching background, no preparation — just you, your child and a willingness to have fun together.
You can find our course, Help Your Child Prepare for Year 2 Maths Assessments, on our website. Visit numberchase.co.uk to find the link and get started today.
Try more topics from the Number Chase parent advice hub
Why playing games is a brilliant way to help your child with maths at home How to help a child with maths anxiety How to avoid tears when your child has a times tables test A parent's guide to subitisingPlease let me know if you have a topic idea for the Number Chase advice hub. Sue @numberchase.co.uk
