Arithmagicians receives scaling support to bring mental maths app to more schools
More than half of adults in England have numeracy skills broadly equivalent to the level expected of primary school leavers. Poor numeracy has been estimated to cost the UK economy £20.2 billion a year through its effects on individuals, employers and government. Research also shows that a student achieving just one grade higher in maths GCSE will earn an average £73,000 more in their lifetime.
The foundations for success in maths GCSE are laid much earlier. Pupils who struggle to recall basic number facts can find it harder to tackle more complex mathematics, potentially affecting both their progress and their confidence in the subject.
Arithmagicians, a digital maths platform created by a teacher, aims to address this challenge by helping primary pupils build fluency and confidence in mental maths.
Ebrahim Tafti first developed Arithmagicians as a paper-based resource for his own classroom. Now, with a £150,500 grant from SHINE, the digital mental maths platform aims to reach hundreds more schools over time and help an estimated 70,000 children strengthen their mathematical foundations.
The three-year scaling phase aims to engage around 200 primary schools across the North of England, while strengthening the evidence of Arithmagicians’ impact on attainment.
Recruitment will prioritise schools serving disadvantaged communities, particularly those with higher proportions of pupils eligible for Pupil Premium and identified gaps in maths attainment. Up to 100 schools in disadvantaged parts of the North will receive free or subsidised access linked to taking part in the evaluation.
Arithmagicians addresses a problem familiar to many primary teachers: pupils who struggle to recall basic number facts quickly and accurately can find it harder to tackle more complex mathematics.
Without secure foundations, children may rely on written methods even when a calculation could be completed mentally. This can slow them down, make problem-solving more difficult and undermine their confidence. The challenge can be particularly significant for disadvantaged pupils, whose gaps in number fluency may widen over time without consistent, structured support.
Arithmagicians combines short, game-based practice sessions with explicit teaching of mental calculation strategies. It covers the primary mathematics curriculum from Year 1 to Year 6, helping pupils build their understanding of numbers as well as recall key facts.
For Ebrahim, a former primary teacher, the problem is personal. His own early experience of mathematics was difficult, and he knows how easily children can come to believe they are simply not good at the subject.
“I was predicted a D in my GCSE maths. I eventually got an A, but that was because of hard work and I pushed myself. My early experience of maths was that it’s hard and that I wasn’t good at it.”
He wants more children to leave primary school with the skills and confidence to succeed, regardless of the support they receive outside the classroom.
“I’m just hoping that this will really help children across the country so that they leave primary school secure in those foundations and be able to do well in life, because it’s an important skill.”
Ebrahim first received SHINE funding in 2022, when he won the Let Teachers SHINE competition. The award enabled him to turn his classroom resource into a digital product that could be used by pupils and teachers far beyond his own school.
Since then, Arithmagicians has developed considerably. What began as a tool for Year 6 pupils now covers the full primary curriculum, with features designed to make practice more engaging and help teachers identify gaps in pupils’ knowledge.
An independent evaluation by ImpactEd found a statistically significant relationship between the amount of practice pupils completed and their highest scores. Teachers also reported improvements in recall speed, accuracy and confidence.
These findings are promising, and the next phase will seek stronger evidence of the platform’s impact on attainment.
The scaling grant will support recruitment and onboarding of schools, continued platform development and more systematic collection of pupil engagement and attainment data. Schools will be invited to share baseline and end-of-year assessment results, allowing Ebrahim to explore how use of the platform relates to progress, particularly among disadvantaged pupils.
The project is also responding to teachers’ feedback. One recent development is a digital version of the arithmetic assessment taken by pupils at the end of primary school as part of their national tests.
Ebrahim said teachers had repeatedly asked for a way to practice the full assessment digitally, including questions requiring written methods. As a former Year 6 teacher, he understands the workload involved in printing papers, marking them and analysing the results to identify gaps.
“We’ve digitised that. And the feedback we’ve had so far from teachers has been overwhelmingly positive, because we’re saving them time.”
The new feature is part of a wider effort to give teachers practical resources that fit into their existing routines. The platform also provides ready-to-use lesson slides, tutorial videos and automated analysis to help staff identify misconceptions and target support.
During the scaling phase, Ebrahim will work with schools and regional partners, including Maths Hubs and education trusts, to help them embed Arithmagicians consistently across year groups. The focus will be on making regular practice part of the school day rather than relying on pupils to use the platform independently at home.
As Arithmagicians grows, a central aim is to become financially independent, with school subscriptions covering the costs of running and developing the platform.
Ebrahim now works on the project full time, having previously developed it alongside his teaching role. The scaling grant will help bridge the gap between early growth and a sustainable model, with investment in school recruitment, technology and systems that reduce administrative work.
“I was overwhelmed. I couldn’t believe it,” he said of receiving the latest funding. “I never thought in a million years I would achieve what I have achieved. None of that would have been possible if it wasn’t for SHINE.”
For Ebrahim, the value of SHINE’s support goes beyond funding. As a teacher, he believes classroom experience gives him an understanding of the problems schools face, and the solutions teachers are likely to use.
“Teachers are the ones in the classroom who see the problem, who know what the problems are. When charities like SHINE come along and say, ‘We believe in your idea. We’re going to give you the funding you need, the support you need to really take this out of your classroom and across the North of England and beyond’ – it’s just brilliant.”
The ambition is for Arithmagicians to continue growing long after the grant period ends, reaching more schools while building a stronger understanding of what works