Whenever I pop into some of the community chats, I see this question asked over and over again. And, of course, I totally get why so many (new and seasoned, but mostly new) home educators ask this. So first, rest assured you’re absolutely not alone if you feel like you’ve been thrown into the deep end of the pool and been told to swim. It’s no reflection on you and your ability to successfully provide the right kind of education for your young learner if you are currently unsure whether you’re doing enough.

It’s not common to have the luxury of planning everything out before starting home education. Often, it just happens as a result of a last-ditch effort to sort out a variety of problems that schooling brought to the young learner who is now home educating, and you simply have to work things out as you go. But I don’t think I need to go into more details about that here, as that’s not the point right now.

The point is, you want to do your best, and you’re looking for advice. That is absolutely understandable, but no less stressful or worrying. Anything new can feel stressful and worrying — especially if the stakes are high, such as when your young learner’s education depends on it.

I don’t think I need to paint the picture here of how this question keeps popping up repeatedly and how it feels. I can’t even do that as I haven’t been in that situation myself.

So you may ask why I’m trying to give you advice here then. Well, that’s because I have been working with so many home educators and have seen — although not lived — those struggles repeatedly, specifically when it comes to “Am I doing enough for my teen’s maths education?” (because that’s my expertise). So naturally I’ve always helped and advised, and so I feel competent enough to give advice here on my blog for others to read — for those I don’t know personally. It’s free; take it or leave it — your choice 😄

Ok, so whenever your teen struggles (and that term encompasses a whole range of experiences and behaviours; I’ve just used the convenient term ‘struggle’ for simplicity here), whenever you feel like you’re taking one step forward and two steps back (how many times have you felt compelled to “go back to basics”?), you might be wondering, “Am I doing enough?”

You’re asking because you care. So I can tell you: the answer is likely ‘yes’, but perhaps not in all aspects of education that need attention to support truly wholesome learning. And when that’s done properly, even secondary maths (oh, no, the scary hairy algebra and such! 😱) can become quite an ordinary part of your learning routine without pushback, feelings of defeat (yours or your teen’s), or a dreadful feeling in the pit of your stomach.

Here's what I've learned after 20 years of working with families navigating secondary maths: the question itself is keeping you stuck.

(What…? 👀)

It’s not that you're doing anything wrong. Simply, it's the wrong question.

Why “Am I doing enough?” doesn’t have an answer

The problem with “Am I doing enough?” is that it assumes the issue is quantity — more hours, worksheets, and topics covered.

So, naturally, when you don’t see progress, you do more: you add another resource, add extra practice to your timetable, or push for consistency and revision… That feels like the right thing to do, but somehow, the results don’t always match the effort you (and in the best-case scenario, your teen as well) put in. Hence, the question doesn’t go away.

When home educating, even if you want to keep structure and somewhat follow school or a curriculum (I know many home edders want to keep things school-like, just as many don’t), you are now, in fact, home educating. So the best you can do is to take advantage of that. And that means (in a way that feels ok for you) detaching yourself from trying to match what “a school would be doing” and focusing first and foremost on your learner.

Because “enough” isn't a number, or a checklist. Checklists and progress trackers are great, sure — that’s one of the things many families find super helpful when they join my Maths Club. But what’s even greater is that you have the freedom to adjust all the learning to suit your learner, instead of trying to mould the learner around the checklists or curricula.

Here’s a better question to ask: “Am I supporting the right things?”

That question actually has an answer.

Maths learning happens across multiple layers — not just one

Most people think “Am I doing enough?” means “Are we covering enough maths content?”

But here’s the thing: learning doesn’t happen in one dimension. It happens across three layers — Skills, Systems, and Self-Trust. And if you’re only focusing on one (usually Skills), you’ll always feel like something’s missing.

You can be doing “enough” in Skills and still feel stuck if Systems or Self-Trust are missing.

I've worked with families who were doing so much maths — worksheets, videos, practice questions — and still felt like they were not moving forward as expected. Why? Because they had no clear pathway (Systems), and their teen had lost confidence (Self-Trust). More content wasn’t the answer. Understanding which layer needed attention was.

Btw, I talk about this regarding maths as that’s my expertise; that’s what I’ve observed while working with hundreds of learners for over twenty years. But I’m convinced this works similarly, if not the exact same way, for all learning — not just maths. So feel free to apply this to other aspects of your teen’s education.

You can learn more about all the learning layers and why they matter so much if you read The Story, so I’ll move on here to keep things on the shorter side (I know you’re not here to read a novel).

What “enough” actually looks like

If “enough” isn't about hours logged or topics covered, what is it then?

It’s progress across all three layers. And that looks different for every learner.

Look at these scenarios:

“Enough” may look like a teen who used to avoid maths but now asks questions. That’s showing progress in rebuilding Self-Trust.

“Enough” could be a family who knows what to focus on next without panicking. That’s when Systems start working for your learning.

“Enough” might be the moment when a learner can work through a difficult problem — not because they’re suddenly “good at maths”, but because they trust the process. That’s all three layers supporting each other.

Another thing to understand so you can stop worrying about “enough” is that progress is not linear. Some weeks could feel messy, or some topics will take longer than you expect… That doesn’t mean you’re behind. It means you’re learning, not just covering content. Because learning isn’t a tickbox exercise.

What can keep you feeling like “we’re not doing enough”?

Quite a few things can be the enemy of real progress (the kind I talked about above). Let’s look at them so you can deal with them better next time:

Comparing to school timelines. Your teen “should” be at Year 9 level by now — says who? 👀 School structures are designed for groups, not individuals. You’re working with your teen only, not a group of thirty under a strict scheme of work and the time pressure of limited school weeks per year. You have the luxury of focusing on understanding and confidence, not keeping pace with a system that wasn’t working for your teen in the first place.

Drowning in resources. You keep searching for the right program, the perfect curriculum… the resource that will finally make it click. But more tools won’t help if you don’t have a clear pathway. The resource is secondary, while direction really needs to come first.

The “behind” mindset. You’re measuring progress by what’s missing instead of what’s growing (mindblown, right? 😄). Let’s look at it this way: gaps don’t mean failure; they’re simply information telling you where to focus next. How does that feel now? 😊

LA anxiety. The fear that someone will look at your records and decide you’re not doing enough — even when your teen is actually learning, growing, and rebuilding their confidence (perhaps you were not confident enough to put that in the report, but all progress counts). This worry is very real, I agree, so the best you can do is know your rights as a home educator, know the legislation, know your LA (ideally connect with local home edders so you can ask how to deal with your council regarding all things home ed).

I’m here to help with maths, so if in need of help with legislation and dealing with your LA, there are great home ed charities that are just the right place to ask. I’ll stick to maths here ☀️

Ultimately, if you found yourself in one or more of the situations portrayed above, let me tell you: those aren’t signs that you’re failing. They’re signs you’re using the wrong measuring stick.

How to know if you’re on track

Here we’re getting to the better part, finally: knowing what works and if you’'re doing “enough.”

To do that, try asking yourself these questions:

Is your teen engaging with maths — even if it’s slow, messy, or imperfect? Or perhaps: are they engaging more than in the past? That totally counts as progress.

Are they willing to make mistakes and keep going? Especially if that was the reason for a shutdown in the past. But now it’s not — or at least not always. Yaay! Progress 🥳

Do you know what to focus on next, or are you guessing every session? Your plan doesn’t have to have a set timeline (remember, exam options and further pathways are more flexible for home educators), or you can adjust it if needed, but having a clear plan suited for your teen is what keeps you moving.

Is your teen’s relationship with maths improving — or at least not getting worse? Can you spot patterns? Checking and supporting this part of your teen’s learning is really, really important for things to keep clicking better.

Are you able to show up consistently without feeling burnt out? Yes, your teen’s progress is also about how you are managing their support, even if it feels unrelated. Because when you’re in a good place, you can help better.

So, the good news is, if the answer to most of these is “yes”, you’re on track — even if it doesn’t feel like it.

And the opposite isn’t necessarily “bad news”. If the answer is “no” to several, that’s not failure. Just like I mentioned earlier when talking about learning itself: if you spot that something’s not clicking, that’s information. It tells you which layer needs attention — Skills, Systems, or Self-Trust.

And more good news: you don’t have to figure it all out alone. That’s the whole point of having expert support, a clear pathway, and a learning environment where all three layers are working together. That’s exactly what Maths Club is designed to do. >> I’ll leave the link here << so you can get back to it if you want to learn more, but I’m not finished yet — there’s more! 😁

The better question

So, let’s come back to where we started. You asked: “Am I doing enough?”

Here’s what I’d like you to ask instead: “Am I creating the conditions where my teen can learn, build confidence, and trust themselves as a learner?”

If the answer is yes — or even “I’m working on it” — then you’re doing more than enough.

You don’t need perfect consistency or to cover every topic in a perfect sequence right away. But to make things easier, you need clarity, direction, and the confidence to trust the process.

That’s what “enough” actually looks like.

Easier said than done…?

Ok, don’t worry.

I have two options for you right now:

Find 20-30 mins of quiet time and dive into the Story and the Reflection afterwards — you can learn a lot more about the learning environment, and I’ll even help you reflect on where you might have gaps right now (and therefore what to focus on). I don’t mean gaps in maths topics; the Story and Reflection go deeper than that.

Or, if you don’t want to be doing everything completely by yourself… We all know “it takes a village…”, right? That actually doesn’t just apply to raising children but also to raising learners. So, if you want help creating those conditions — a clear pathway, expert guidance, and a learning ecosystem where Skills, Systems, and Self-Trust are all supported — that’s what Maths Club is for. Check it out here if you’re looking for more support with secondary maths.

So, that’s it for today. I really hope I helped you shift the “Am I doing enough?” question to a more reflective one: “Am I creating the conditions where my teen can learn, build confidence, and trust themselves as a learner?”

Once you start asking this (and reflecting on your answers), you’ll see things changing for the better 😊