Frequently Asked Questions for Parents

The Daily Maths Challenge is an online maths practice programme for Year 3, Year 4 and Year 5 children. Each day, children receive a short set of maths questions to complete through the SHL portal. The aim is to help children build regular maths practice, improve accuracy and speed, strengthen problem-solving skills, and develop confidence for both school maths and 11+ preparation.

It is designed for children in Year 3, Year 4 and Year 5. It is suitable for children who want to improve their general maths confidence, as well as those preparing for grammar school or 11+ entrance exams.

No. The Daily Maths Challenge supports both school curriculum maths and 11+ / grammar school preparation. It helps children practise core maths skills while also developing reasoning, problem-solving, accuracy and speed.

Each daily challenge contains 10 maths questions. The format is deliberately short so children can complete it regularly without feeling overwhelmed.

The questions are a moderate-to-challenging mix. They are designed to stretch children gradually while still remaining manageable for their year group.

Most children should be able to complete a daily challenge in a short, focused session. Around 10 to 20 minutes is a sensible expectation, although this will vary depending on the child and the difficulty of that day's questions. As children practise more, the time required should reduce over time.

The challenge can include a broad mix of arithmetic, number, fractions, percentages, measurement, geometry, reasoning and problem-solving questions. The exact mix will depend on the year group and the challenge paper.

Once a child starts a paper, they have 24 hours to complete it. This gives children flexibility while still encouraging a regular daily practice habit.

Once the answers are submitted, the paper is recorded in the system. The child's score and progress are then reflected in the parent portal reports and submission history.

The challenge is accessed through the online SHL portal, so it should work on standard devices such as laptops, desktops and tablets. For the best experience, especially when reading questions and entering answers, a laptop or tablet is recommended.

No. The Daily Maths Challenge is designed as an online product. Children can access and complete the challenge through the portal.

The portal includes completed challenge history and progress views. This allows parents and children to look back at previous activity and understand progress over time.

If a child misses a challenge, they can complete it the next day or any time within the subscription window. The aim is to build consistency, but missing one day should not discourage the child from continuing.

The main rule is that each paper should be completed within 24 hours once started. The portal can also record time taken, which helps parents understand speed and progress.

No. The system is designed so that the parent account is the main secure login identity. The child can be set up as a child profile under the parent account, so the child does not need a personal email address.

The parent signs in using their email address and password. Each child is created as a profile under the parent account. The child profile can include details such as name, year group, student username or ID, product access, results, reports and progress history. Parents can create a student username or ID and password directly from the parent account.

Yes. The child can log in using their assigned student username or ID and password/PIN. This allows children to access their own challenge page while parents retain overall control of the account.

Password reset and child access management are handled through the parent account. The parent can manage or reset the child's access details from the dashboard, depending on the portal setup.

Yes. A parent account can have multiple child profiles. Each child can have their own year group, product subscription, daily challenge access, results and progress reports.

Yes. Product access is assigned to the individual child profile. This means one child can be subscribed to the Daily Maths Challenge while another child may have a different product or no active subscription.

The typical journey is: parents create an account, add the child profile, select the Daily Maths Challenge product, choose the subscription plan, complete checkout and assign the product to the child. Parents can also add a new child from the subscription page. Once completed, parents can assign or modify the student ID and password from the parent account. After this, the child can access the Daily Maths Challenge through the portal.

Different subscription options may be available, including short-term and longer-term plans. Please check the live SHL product page for the current plan options, prices and any introductory offers.

The product page includes sample or preview papers for Year 3, Year 4 and Year 5. This helps parents understand the style and level of questions before subscribing.

The Daily Maths Challenge is being launched from 1 June 2026. For current availability and access dates, please refer to the live product page and your parent portal subscription details.

Yes. The parent portal includes subscription information so parents can see active products, subscription period, product name, plan, amount paid and status.

Yes. The subscription model is designed around different plan durations. Parents can renew or purchase another plan through the product/subscription process.

Parents can see subscription details, child profiles, submissions and summary reports. The parent view is designed to provide visibility of the child's progress, including completed challenges, scores, accuracy, time taken and overall progress trends.

Reports may include score, accuracy percentage, time taken, submission date and time, completed challenge history, progress charts, monthly summary view and areas of improvement where available. The aim is to help parents understand not just whether the child completed the task, but how they are progressing over time.

Yes. The portal includes submission history and calendar/progress views. Parents can see whether challenges have been completed, missed, not started or are in progress, depending on the system status shown.

Yes. The reporting is intended to help parents see patterns over time, such as consistency, improvement in scores, speed of completion and areas where the child may need more support.

Daily practice helps children build fluency and confidence. Short, regular practice is often more effective than occasional long revision sessions because it helps children retain methods, improve speed, reduce careless mistakes and become more comfortable with problem-solving.

Grammar school and 11+ exams often require children to solve questions accurately and under time pressure. Regular daily exposure to varied maths questions helps children become quicker, more confident and more resilient when facing unfamiliar problems.

The challenge reinforces key maths skills linked to the school curriculum. Children practise calculation, reasoning, problem-solving and topic application. This can help them participate more confidently in school lessons and improve their general maths performance.

The Daily Maths Challenge is best seen as a practice and reinforcement tool that helps children apply what they are learning, build habits and improve confidence through regular exposure. It is intended to be done alongside tuition for the most benefit.

No. Children receive regular challenge papers with a mix of question types and difficulty levels appropriate to their year group.

Children should attempt all questions first and not worry if they cannot get everything correct. The challenge is designed to stretch them. Parents can use the results to identify patterns, such as topics that need more practice, speed issues or repeated mistakes.

Parents should contact Shirley Home Learning through the website or the contact details provided in the portal if they have issues with login, subscription, child access or reports. The parent account should be used as the main point of contact because child access is managed under the parent account.

Please contact SHL as soon as possible with the child's name, year group, the challenge date and a brief description of the issue. This will help the team investigate and support you quickly.