The Surrey Maths Coach

11/04/2026

Focused. Targeted. Ready 📈💪

11/04/2026

Easter at The Surrey Maths Coach = focused revision, growing confidence, and serious progress 📈

✔️ GCSE 1:1 sessions
✔️ Exam technique + problem solving
✔️ One final mock
✔️ Targeted feedback to make sure nothing is missed
✔️ In-depth online parents’ evenings w/c 20th April

From focused, independent study to structured, targeted support — every step is designed to build confidence and secure marks.

This is where the final gains are made — small improvements, big impact.

Final push… 💪

17/03/2026

17/03/2026

You weren’t a “difficult parent” at the start…
You became one when nothing changed for your child.

A moment many parents of children with additional needs will recognise…

At the beginning, you’re the “easy” parent.

You’re appreciative.
You trust the system.
You assume that if you communicate clearly, the right support will follow.

And in most cases — you believe everyone is doing their best.

But then something changes.

Your child may begin to fall behind.
Support that was discussed doesn’t quite happen in practice.
You start asking questions… and learning more about what should be in place.

So you speak up.

You send another email.
You ask for a meeting.
You ask for clarity, for consistency, for accountability.

And gradually, the perception shifts.

You’re no longer the “easy” parent.

You’re seen as “difficult.”

⸻

But here’s what we know:

When support is inconsistent or communication breaks down, parental advocacy increases.

What can be labelled as “challenging” is very often a parent responding appropriately to unmet need.

Not personality — pressure.
Not confrontation — care.

Because when systems struggle, there is ONE person who doesn’t get to step back:

The parent.

And sometimes, persistence becomes the only way forward.

✨ If this resonates with you, you are not alone.
At The Surrey Maths Coach, I support families navigating exactly this — helping children rebuild confidence and giving parents clarity and reassurance along the way.

22/01/2026

🧠✨ Important new research for parents & schools

A newly published study of over 700 neurodivergent teenagers (autistic, ADHD and AuDHD students) has revealed what really causes distress at school.

The biggest stressors weren’t academic ability.
They were things like:

• Last-minute changes to plans
• Teachers not understanding them
• Chaotic classrooms
• Not being allowed to use coping strategies
• Struggling to complete tasks
• Bullying & social exclusion
• Being treated unfairly

📊 The research found that:

➡️ School takes TWICE the emotional toll on neurodivergent teens compared to their neurotypical peers
➡️ Having both ADHD and autism didn’t increase distress – it was already high
➡️ The more intense the negative school experiences, the higher the risk of anxiety & depression

💡 The key message?
The problem isn’t the child.

It’s the environment.

We need to stop asking “What’s wrong with this child?”
And start asking “What about this system isn’t working for them?”

Support looks like:

✔️ Calmer, more predictable classrooms
✔️ Proper staff training
✔️ Allowing coping strategies
✔️ Flexibility instead of rigid rules

As an experienced teacher and previous Head of Year, this really resonates with me.
Neurodivergent students are not broken.
They are often just trying to survive in systems that weren’t designed for them.

If we want children to thrive, we must make school feel safer, kinder and more human 💚

16/11/2025

25/10/2025

Luna’s puppies🥰 looking for loving homes🤗

18/09/2025

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/17EkTstGDE/?mibextid=wwXIfr

What’s the most important thing when a teenager stops going to school?

It’s not buying the books so they can follow the curriculum at home.

It’s not making sure they understand the consequences of missing school by threatening them with a miserable future.

It’s not taking their phone away so they can’t contact their friends unless they go back to school.

It’s not showing them you’re the boss and making their home life miserable.

The most important thing is hope. Not going to school is an unhappy place to be for lots of teenagers. School makes them desperately unhappy, but staying at home makes them anxious. They think they’ll have no future. They are caught.

The adults around them need to give them hope. We need them to know that no matter what, they’ll have a future. We need them to know that we have faith in them and their abilities and that we’ll be there with them. We need to show them that there’s light at the end of the tunnel, and that we’ll be right there besides them as they find their way towards it

10/09/2025

05/09/2025

🌀🌀🐚🌈🦋🌴🎯✋🏿🐌🩴🦞🌎🐥🦈🌻🧠

1. https://www.landmarkschool.org/landing-pages/reading

2. https://www.stateofdyslexia.org/

3. https://dyslexia.yale.edu/dyslexia/signs-of-dyslexia/

4. https://youtu.be/BhTa8pdl-s8

5. https://www.wpspublish.com/content/research-brief/dyslexia-assessments

6. https://www.flipsnack.com/B88EAE88B7A/perspectives-winter-2024.html?

7. https://dyslexia.yale.edu/dyslexia/dyslexia-faq/

8. https://www.decodingdyslexia.net/decoding-dyslexia-states/

9. https://ca-literacy-dyslexia-collab.ucla.edu/e-learning-modules/

10. https://readwritejen.substack.com/p/why-dyslexia-myths-persist?

11. https://www.patoss-dyslexia.org/news/the-new-delphi-definition-of-dyslexia-has-been-agreed/268782

12. https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/training/modules/empower-dyslexic-thinking-schools/

13. https://www.cooperhealth.org/services/cooper-learning-center/famous-people-gift-dyslexia?

14. https://www.wpspublish.com/dyslexia-assessments

15. https://www.coursera.org/learn/dyslexia

16. https://coxcampus.org/

17. https://www.weareteachers.com/things-about-dyslexia-every-teacher-needs/?

18. https://magazine.hms.harvard.edu/articles/dyslexia-and-developing-brain

19. https://www.thetestingpsychologist.com/ttp-71-dr-steve-feifer-learning-disorders-a

20.https://nyasp.wildapricot.org/resources/Documents/NYASP%20Evaluating%20for%20Dyslexia%20in%20the%20Schools.pdf

Super important. Key resource. Share widely. Nurture strengths. Support struggles. Know better. Do better. Problem solve way beyond the broken system.🌀

No teacher ever again needs to tell a family they can’t help a child due to funding, training or district problems as so much free info is now available.