Confidence in Maths

Maths is part of everyday life—and feeling confident in it makes a big difference. At Pearson, we’re committed to helping every student thrive. By listening to teachers, students and families, we’ve gained a deeper understanding of the challenges around maths anxiety.

That’s why we equip teachers with the right tools and support to build confidence in every classroom.

Read our latest Maths Anxiety Guide

Download your copy of Tackling Maths Anxiety

A guide to building more confident and resilient students, teachers and communities.

Download the guide

Free webinar: How teachers can support maths anxious students

Join Lucy Chowns, head of maths at Pearson, Sue Johnston-Wilder, Associate Professor at University of Warwick, and Dr Janet Baker, Mathematical Resilience Coach, for a webinar on how to implement techniques to manage maths anxiety in your classroom and how to support individual students. 

When: Thursday 5th March 2026 at 4pm
Where: Online

Sign up to the webinar

What do teachers, students and experts have to say on maths anxiety?

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Maths anxiety affects people of all ages and often begins in childhood. In this video Bobby Seagull explains what maths anxiety is and how attitudes formed at school can shape confidence for life. He explores why maths should be about exploration and learning from mistakes, not fear of getting things wrong.
What is maths anxiety and why so many students experience it | Bobby Seagull 
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In this video, Bobby Seagull explains how maths anxiety can show up in the classroom - from reluctance to attempt problems to subtle physical and behavioural signs. He shares practical ways teachers can identify anxious learners and create a supportive, growth‑mindset environment where making mistakes is part of learning.
How teachers can spot and support maths anxiety | Bobby Seagull 
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Mathematician and educator Bobby Seagull explains why it’s important for teachers to be open about their own experiences with maths.
How teacher confidence in maths can shape student mindset | Bobby Seagull 
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Lella Violet Halloum explores the untapped power of maths and its potential to drive positive societal change. She challenges common feelings of maths anxiety and explains how numeracy skills shape our daily lives and future careers.
The power of maths and its impact on our future | Lella Violet Halloum
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Susan Okereke explains that you don’t wake up good at maths, you train it. She explains why speed doesn’t equal ability, how confidence changes everything, and how creating a safe space to struggle (and succeed) can break the cycle of maths anxiety for students, adults, and parents.
No one is born a maths person | Susan Okereke 
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Sue Johnston-Wilder and Dr Janet Baker provide teachers with support to help their students find their “Green Zone” building emotional awareness, resilience, and responsibility for learning, using simple, practical tools teachers can apply without adding to their workload.
Helping every child find their Green Zone | Sue Johnston-Wilder and Dr Janet Baker
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Sue Johnston-Wilder and Dr Janet Baker explore how anxiety affects the brain, why students need to feel safe to make mistakes, and how building mathematical resilience can help children and adults rediscover confidence and enjoyment in maths.
Why Maths Anxiety stops learning and how resilience helps | Sue Johnston-Wilder and Dr Janet Baker 
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In this video Dr Thomas Hunt discusses the importance of openness about maths-related struggles, the challenges teachers face, and the evolving conversation around supporting educators in the classroom.
Understanding maths anxiety and teacher confidence | Dr Thomas Hunt
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In this video Dr Thomas Hunt looks at the evidence behind teacher maths anxiety, how avoidance and stereotypes harm engagement, and why supporting teachers to build confidence and resilience is essential for improving outcomes in maths classrooms.
How teacher confidence shapes students’ maths success | Dr Thomas Hunt 

Understanding maths anxiety

Maths anxiety is a fear of numbers that can affect how learners perform. It can range from mild tension to a strong fear—and it’s something people of all ages experience, even into adulthood.
While maths anxiety is widespread issue in today’s society it shouldn’t be accepted as the norm, as with the right training and teaching approaches, it can also be permanently overcome. 

Maths anxiety and gender

“Gender considerations do not feature as much as they should in conversations about maths anxiety. We overlook it in so many areas”.  

Get top tips for closing the gender gap for maths anxiety.

Read the blog

Maths anxiety in the classroom

Dr Thomas Hunt explores how maths anxiety shows up in the classroom—and what schools can do to address it.

Listen to the podcast

Power of Maths Stat-Shot series

Pearson’s Power of Maths Stat-Shot series highlights headline insights into different aspects of maths education based on the views of over 2,000 primary teachers and secondary maths teachers.

View the PDF

Challenging negative representations of maths

Our 2023 Maths roundtable brought together a mix of leading practitioners and thinkers from across education, maths organisations, academia, industry and the third sector. During the discussions one theme stood out: many students believe they simply “can’t do” maths.

It is now culturally acceptable for people to say they just “can’t do” maths, with certain students being impacted by this mindset more than others, especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds. The status quo around the misconception that maths is not for everyone, communicates to learners that it is OK to disengage with the subject. We believe every learner can succeed in maths with the right support.

Fear of maths

“Research has shown that encouraging a classroom culture where exploration and discovery are valued, where testing is not the be-all and end-all, and where it’s OK to make mistakes and learn from them, can help develop a positive mindset towards maths”.

Read Fear Factor - ways to remove negative attitudes in maths learners, with Dr Ems Lord,  NRICH

Read the blog

Is maths anxiety just a dislike for maths?

Listen to our latest podcast where Nicola Woodford-Smith and Heidi Kirkland PhD, talk about how teachers can adopt pedagogical strategies to avoid anxiety triggers in their classrooms and dispel the myth that maths anxiety is just a dislike for the subject.

Heidi has recently released a new book, Maths Anxiety; Solve the equation and she talks about the psychological angle that is threaded throughout. 

Listen to the podcast

Maths Anxiety Webinar

Join Bobby Seagull, Maths Teacher, Author and TV Broadcaster, Dr Thomas Hunt, Associate Professor in Psychology at the University of Derby, and Lucy Chowns, Head of Maths at Pearson, for a discussion on maths anxiety. 

 

Get access to the webinar

Maths Anxiety Webinar Q&A

Get answers to questions submitted, during the 2025 Maths Anxiety webinar, from Bobby Seagull, Maths Teacher, Author and TV Broadcaster and Dr Thomas Hunt, Associate Professor in Psychology at the University of Derby.

Download the Q&A

How does maths anxiety impact resit students?

Hear from experts on how maths anxiety directly impacts maths resit students.

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Rethinking maths resits and assessment | Bobby Seagull
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Resits affect thousands of students every year, it’s time we talked about it | Susan Okereke
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When maths resits become about fear, not learning | Dr Thomas Hunt
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Do Resit students have more maths anxiety? | Dr Thomas Hunt

Boosting teacher confidence

Most teachers feel confident supporting students in maths. At Pearson, we’re proud to be part of the math’s support community.

We’re committed to offering the best professional development on the market—supporting both maths specialists and non-specialists with everything they need to teach with confidence. That’s one reason why 95% of schools return to us year after year.  

Want to take your teaching even further? Discover our latest tools for improving maths confidence.