Two Years Later…
It’s honestly hard to believe that Maths Anxiety Classes are now celebrating their 2-year anniversary. What started as an idea to help my students experience Maths in a less stressful and more engaging way through Roblox has gradually grown into something far bigger, more emotional, and more meaningful than I ever expected. Looking back over these two years, there are so many things I’ve learned — not just about teaching Maths, but about anxiety, confidence, trust, and the different ways my students experience learning.
The Vision Was Always There
What stands out most when looking back over the development of Maths Anxiety Classes is how much they have evolved while still remaining rooted in the same core vision they began with.
From the outside, it may appear that the classes gradually transformed from simple Roblox-based Maths sessions into something much broader and more emotionally focused over time. In reality, many of the foundations that now define the programme were already present from the very beginning. The Onboarding Questionnaires, Growth Evaluation forms, and the long-term plan to produce detailed reports were all built into Maths Anxiety Classes from launch.
What changed was not necessarily the intention behind the project, but the depth of understanding, the amount of data available, and the confidence to recognise patterns that only become visible through years of working closely with my students and their families.
How The Reports Evolved
In the early stages, there simply was not enough information yet to fully demonstrate the long-term impact of the classes. Reports were shorter, usually around two to three pages, and focused more on general observations and engagement. There were no certificates, achievement badges, or screenshots from games to visually represent each student’s journey through the term.
Likewise, statistical trends around anxiety reduction could not yet be included because there was no historical data to support them. Over time, however, as more students attended classes consistently and Growth Evaluations accumulated across multiple terms, clearer patterns began to emerge. The reports naturally became more detailed and reflective as the programme itself matured.
Progress Is Not Always Linear
One of the most significant discoveries has been that progress is not always linear. Looking at the data and long-term observations, there appears to be a recurring pattern where anxiety levels sometimes increase temporarily between the second and third terms before eventually decreasing again.
At first glance, this can appear concerning to parents, especially when a child initially seemed to be improving. However, repeated observations suggest this is actually quite common. There are many possible reasons for this, ranging from my students becoming more emotionally open and less masked within the classes, to outside pressures, to shifts in confidence and self-awareness. Importantly, the broader long-term trend still points toward improvement over time.
Adapting The Structure Over Time
This understanding has added a much more nuanced and realistic perspective to the way progress is interpreted within Maths Anxiety Classes. Rather than expecting a perfectly steady reduction in anxiety, the programme increasingly recognises that both emotional and academic development is often uneven, which is something deeply human.
The structure of the classes themselves has also evolved considerably through observation and experience.
Originally, reports were only planned for students who attended a minimum of twelve classes. Over time, it became clear that meaningful patterns, growth, and emotional changes could often be observed much earlier than expected, leading to the decision to lower the threshold to six classes.
Similarly, the way games are rotated within Maths Anxiety Classes changed significantly.
Early on, games would often remain in use for four to six weeks at a time. While this initially seemed sensible for consistency and progression, long-term observation revealed that many games began losing their sense of novelty and engagement after around three weeks, even when students genuinely enjoyed them. As a result, the rotation cycle has become shorter and more responsive, helping maintain energy, curiosity, and motivation across the classes.
Beyond “Fun For The Sake Of Fun”
Importantly, despite the playful and creative appearance of the classes, the goal was never simply “fun for the sake of fun.” Roblox and game-based learning were always intended to act as vehicles for confidence-building, emotional safety, communication, practical numeracy, and engagement.
However, over time, the emotional side of the project naturally became more visible and more openly discussed. Much of this seems to have developed through the increasing transparency between families and the business itself. As parents began sharing more openly about their children’s anxieties, struggles, trauma, school experiences, and emotional difficulties, it fundamentally shaped the way the classes evolved. That openness has created not only greater understanding, but also a much closer-knit community built on trust and honesty.
In many ways, the emotional depth now associated with Maths Anxiety Classes grew organically from those relationships rather than from a deliberate attempt to reposition the business.
Rethinking What “Success” Looks Like
This increasing understanding also led to a broader rethinking of what “success” in Maths learning actually looks like.
Over time, it became clear that many parents understandably viewed traditional Maths work — worksheets, spreadsheets, written calculations, and conventional classroom-style learning — as the ultimate end goal of Maths Anxiety Classes. Yet long-term experience with students suggested that this may not always be realistic, necessary, or even beneficial for every child.
For some students, particularly those who have experienced significant educational anxiety, traditional approaches may simply never become emotionally sustainable or effective learning methods.
Previous generations often had little choice but to force themselves through systems that did not suit them. Today, while alternatives are still difficult to access and support remains limited, there is growing recognition that different children learn in fundamentally different ways. Maths Anxiety Classes increasingly reflect that understanding, not by rejecting traditional learning outright, but by accepting that there may be multiple valid paths toward confidence, competence, and mathematical understanding.
Building Trust & Safety
Safeguarding and trust also became far more central over time. While private Roblox servers and supervised sessions existed from the start, increasing parent concerns around online safety and Roblox itself gradually made safeguarding communication a much larger part of the project.
Discussions around controlled environments, communication alternatives, private servers, moderation, and digital safety became increasingly important, helping reassure families that the classes were designed carefully around children’s emotional and online well-being.
More Than Just A Class
At the same time, the role behind the classes expanded significantly. What may once have appeared to be a tutor running creative Roblox-based Maths sessions gradually evolved into something far broader: educational design, emotional support, safeguarding, alternative provision support, detailed progress tracking, game development, and community-building have all become interconnected parts of the same ecosystem.
The continued development of The Math Obby 3 and related projects further reinforced the sense that Maths Anxiety Classes were no longer simply individual sessions, but part of a much larger long-term vision for emotionally safe and accessible learning experiences.
Looking Ahead
Perhaps the clearest overall change is that Maths Anxiety Classes no longer feel defined solely by the idea of “making Maths fun through Roblox.” Instead, they increasingly represent an ongoing attempt to create emotionally safe, flexible, relationship-based learning experiences for my students who may not thrive within traditional educational structures.
The project has grown not only through planning and development, but through years of listening to families, observing students carefully, adapting to their needs, and learning alongside them.
