{"id":7600,"date":"2026-02-09T21:44:17","date_gmt":"2026-02-09T21:44:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mathletics.com\/blog\/?p=7600"},"modified":"2026-02-09T21:45:08","modified_gmt":"2026-02-09T21:45:08","slug":"how-bryn-awel-primary-kept-mathletics-despite-budget-cuts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mathletics.com\/blog\/educators\/how-bryn-awel-primary-kept-mathletics-despite-budget-cuts\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cMathletics makes teachers\u2019 lives easier!\u201d \u2013 How Bryn Awel Primary Kept Mathletics Through Budget Cuts"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201c<\/span>We really, really do love Mathletics.<\/span>\u201d<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Those words \u2013\u00a0spontaneous\u00a0and genuine \u2013 came from Anna Jones, a Reception\u2013Y1 teacher and maths leader at Bryn Awel Primary School in Rhymney, Wales. And throughout our conversation with Anna, those two words kept appearing together:\u00a0\u201clove\u201d\u00a0and\u00a0\u201cMathletics.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This sentiment extends beyond the staffroom. At this tight-knit primary school of just over 120 pupils, where staff <\/span>\u201cpride ourselves on being able to get to know every child and family individually,\u201d<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span>Mathletics, our online maths program for ages 5\u201316<\/span><\/a>,\u00a0has transformed students’ attitudes toward mathematics\u00a0in a way that every teacher strives for:\u00a0<\/span>children have gone from saying\u00a0<\/span><\/b>\u201cugh, we’ve got maths\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/b>\u00a0to<\/span><\/b>\u00a0\u201cwe love maths!\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

When budget pressures forced the school to make\u00a0difficult decisions\u00a0about which resources to keep, the choice was\u00a0\u201ca no-brainer\u201d:\u00a0<\/span>Mathletics was simply too precious\u00a0to lose<\/span><\/b>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Letting it go at a point where it had been reducing teacher workload and\u00a0maintaining\u00a0high levels\u00a0of engagement among students seemed impossible.\u00a0So\u00a0it stayed\u00a0\u2013 and months later,\u00a0we\u2019re\u00a0here talking to Anna about its impact on Bryn Awel Primary.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Bryn<\/p>\n

<\/h2>\n

The challenge: Tackling tight budgets and plummeting parent engagement<\/span><\/span><\/h2>\n

Like many schools across the UK, Bryn Awel Primary\u00a0operates\u00a0in a context where every pound counts. Serving a deprived area with\u00a0very high\u00a0numbers of free school meals, the\u00a0school works\u00a0hard on parent engagement, trying to bridge the gap between what happens in the classroom and what happens at home.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This had been a challenge before Mathletics.\u00a0Physical resources were problematic: reading books would go home but\u00a0wouldn’t\u00a0always come back, and the cost of replacing them was a burden both for the school and for families. More fundamentally, Anna and her colleagues knew that\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

“children need to do more to remember more, and that extra practice <\/span>they’re<\/span>\u00a0having at home to reinforce what\u00a0<\/span>we’ve<\/span>\u00a0been doing in school has made all the difference<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0really<\/span>.”<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

For a time, the school used both Reading Eggs and Mathletics, accessing them via the\u00a0<\/span>3 Essentials<\/span><\/a>\u00a0dashboard, a single sign-on solution that made it easy for staff and students to use both programs\u00a0<\/span>through one integrated platform<\/span><\/a>.<\/span>\u00a0\u201cThat dashboard where you can have one login now\u00a0<\/span><\/i>[to 3 Essentials]<\/span>\u00a0is such a good feature,\u201d<\/span><\/i>\u00a0Anna recalls.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Then came the\u00a0budget crunch that many school leaders will recognise all too well.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Something had to\u00a0give, when\u00a0a new phonics scheme was introduced across the school. The budget simply\u00a0couldn’t\u00a0stretch to cover both Reading Eggs and Mathletics. As maths leader, Anna knew Mathletics inside and out. The team loved it, could see the tangible benefits in student engagement and teacher\u00a0workload\u00a0and appreciated the clear progress tracking it provided.<\/span><\/p>\n

Challenging times demand tough decisions. Between the two programs, the school chose to keep Mathletics, which\u00a0continued doing what it did best:\u00a0<\/span>boosting student engagement and progress while making teachers’ lives easier.<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/h2>\n

Weekly celebrations and the Mathlete of the week: Bryn Awel\u2019s model approach to engagement<\/span><\/span><\/h2>\n

Bryn Awel Primary has become a model example of how to turbocharge student\u00a0(and parent)\u00a0engagement with Mathletics, making the most out of built-in motivators like student certificates.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Every Friday, the entire school gathers to announce the class of the week and the Mathlete of the week \u2013 recognitions based on Mathletics effort and achievement. It’s transformed how students approach maths both in the classroom and at home.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The competitive element has sparked enthusiasm even among the youngest learners.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

“I’ve<\/span>\u00a0never had such good uptake from my Reception as\u00a0<\/span>I’ve<\/span>\u00a0had in the last couple of weeks.\u00a0<\/span>I’m<\/span> like, ‘Come on boys and girls, we’re going to be the class of the week!’ And parents are so competitive with that.”<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

This all happens in a context where parental engagement can be challenging \u2013 and suddenly, parents have become the biggest supporters of their children’s successes.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe love the fact that we can do it in\u00a0school\u00a0and the children want to do it at home because we’re in an area where the children can be challenging and parenting could be an issue,\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/i>Anna says.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\u201cIt’s\u00a0not about all these parents having to win. The children want to do it, and their engagement is perfect,\u00a0really.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The students love the challenging gaming elements \u2013 again, Anna emphasises that word \u201clove\u201d when she talks about it. And because <\/span>Mathletics allows teachers to differentiate easily<\/span><\/b><\/a>, tapping into year groups above or below as needed, every child can work at the right level to build those essential building blocks.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As proof,\u00a0Anna told us a moving story about a student with\u00a0additional\u00a0learning needs who normally hates assembly \u2013 but Friday assemblies are different.<\/span>\u00a0“He will love Mathletics on Friday assembly. He will come in because he knows\u00a0he’s\u00a0been working hard all week in class and at home to get a certificate,”<\/span><\/i>\u00a0Anna explains.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

“F<\/span>or us it’s the greater issue than just maths.\u00a0<\/span>It’s<\/span> that self-esteem and that self-recognition of ‘I can do it.’ He might not be the best at maths in the class, but he’s got the best effort in the class when it comes to Mathletics.”<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\"Assembly<\/p>\n

<\/h2>\n

Teacher wellbeing matters: How Mathletics lightens the load<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

Ask about planning and resources, and Anna has plenty to say, which could be summed up in one sentence:\u00a0<\/span>Mathletics makes\u00a0teachers\u2019\u00a0lives easier.<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Anna\u00a0demonstrated\u00a0the program’s resources at a staff meeting, showing teachers the problem-solving materials and other tools available.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

“When we saw all the other resources that they have, especially around problem solving \u2013 <\/span>it’s <\/span>just great<\/span> for the teachers. We love it.”<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The fact that it covers both English and Welsh curricula matters too, particularly in a school where staff may have taught across the border. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

“You’ve got the English curriculum, you’ve got the Welsh curriculum, and that’s a great feature.”<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Then Anna gets to the heart of it:\u00a0<\/span>\u201cAnd for the wellbeing of teachers \u2013<\/span> and\u00a0that’s\u00a0the buzzword\u00a0at the moment, isn’t it? The wellbeing of everybody. It really does make our lives easier.\u201d<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In a profession where teachers are asked to do more with less, a resource that reduces planning burden is worth holding onto.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/h2>\n

\u201cIt’s filling the gaps for us\u201d: Student progress visible at a glance<\/span><\/span><\/h2>\n

One of Mathletics’ most valuable features for Bryn Awel is<\/span>\u00a0the clear visibility it provides into student progress.\u00a0<\/span><\/b>The school regularly checks activity and\u00a0usage reports,\u00a0achievement\u00a0and improvement data\u00a0and compares class usage,\u00a0particularly when it comes to certificates.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you can look at that grid, you can see\u00a0\u2013\u00a0right, they’ve done that three times, but now they’ve got 100%,\u201d<\/span><\/i>\u00a0Anna explains.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

“You can highlight what they need to work on because if they <\/span>haven’t<\/span>\u00a0quite got this, we need to work on that.\u00a0<\/span>It’s<\/span> filling the gaps for us.”<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Perhaps more<\/span>\u00a0importantly, Mathletics provides an honest assessment of what children can\u00a0<\/span>actually do<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201c<\/span>We know time after time that children do not always perform the best on written assessments or the national tests or SATs in England. But when this is at their own leisure, it’s not under pressure<\/span>\u00a0\u2013<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>they love doing it, it’s fun<\/span>\u00a0\u2013<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>so you can see an honest review of what these children can do and\u00a0<\/span>what maybe we need to plug the gaps with, especially as they move through the school<\/span>.\u201d<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

<\/h2>\n

The verdict from Bryn Awel Primary: Mathletics\u00a0<\/span>isn’t<\/span>\u00a0going anywhere<\/span><\/h2>\n

As Bryn Awel Primary looks to the future,\u00a0<\/span>Mathletics\u00a0remains\u00a0a constant.<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe really, really do love Mathletics,\u201d<\/span><\/i>\u00a0Anna says.<\/span>\u00a0\u201cWe love the way that\u00a0it’s\u00a0not only boosting the fluency skills,\u00a0it’s boosting\u00a0parental engagement.\u00a0So\u00a0parents know what\u00a0we’re\u00a0doing in school. And we can assign tasks at home for the wellbeing of staff \u2013 here is a quality resource to provide, not only within their lesson time, but also for homework as well.\u201d<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The digital element matters too, particularly for this generation of learners.<\/span>\u00a0\u201cWe’re big on our digital side and we know\u00a0that’s\u00a0the key to the door of many of these children’s minds \u2013 tapping into their love of tech.\u00a0So\u00a0we love that too.\u201d<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Anna sums up Mathletics’ impact with one final \u201clove\u201d:\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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“I<\/span>t’s<\/span>\u00a0inspiring [students] to do well with their constant rewards, their drive to get their certificates, the\u00a0<\/span>c<\/span>hallenges <\/span>and quests.<\/span><\/span> We love it, and yes, we would recommend it.”<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

For schools facing similar budget pressures and engagement challenges, Bryn Awel Primary’s experience offers a clear lesson: when a resource supports both student learning and teacher wellbeing,\u00a0<\/span>it’s<\/span>\u00a0worth protecting.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/h2>\n

Try our\u00a0<\/span>engaging<\/span>, curriculum-aligned maths program in your school<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

Mathletics (Years<\/span>\u00a0R\u2013KS3<\/span>)<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>is a proven online maths program, designed to fuel genuine student engagement while freeing up teachers\u2019 time through readily available resources, reliable progress tracking<\/span>,\u00a0<\/span>streamlined assignments<\/span>\u00a0and more<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Start your free 30-day trial<\/span>\u00a0today!<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>