Functional Skills Maths (Level 2) – Support for Parents
This page helps you understand what your child is learning in maths and how you can support them at home. Functional Skills is all about applying maths to real life – money, work, problem-solving and everyday decisions.
Jump to: Number Skills | Measures & Shape | Data & Statistics | How You Can Help
Number Skills
Students learn how to work confidently with numbers in real-life situations.
Key topics
- Negative numbers | YouTube
- Fractions, decimals and percentages | YouTube
- Percentages | YouTube
- Ratio | YouTube
- Estimation and approximation | YouTube
Try this at home
Ask your child to calculate discounts when shopping or estimate totals before using a calculator.
Measures, Shape and Space
This area focuses on applying maths to physical spaces and real-world measurements.
Key topics
- Area and perimeter | YouTube
- Volume | YouTube
- Metric conversions | YouTube
- Scale drawings | YouTube
- Speed, distance and time | YouTube
Try this at home
Get your child involved in cooking, measuring, or planning a journey using distances and time.
Data and Statistics
Students learn how to interpret information and make decisions based on data.
Key topics
Try this at home
Look at real data together. Sports stats, weather, even social media trends. Ask simple questions like “what does this actually show?”
How You Can Help
You don’t need to be a maths expert. In fact, that can sometimes get in the way.
- Encourage your child to explain their thinking out loud
- Focus on real-life maths, not just worksheets
- Use the links above when they get stuck rather than trying to reteach it yourself
Small, regular conversations about maths tend to have more impact than occasional pressure.