STEPPING STONE MATHS
Private maths tuition for Reception through to Year 11
NICOLA COLMAN
Hello, my name is Nicola and I am the founder of Stepping Stone maths. I am a friendly, approachable person and Mummy to two gorgeous girls aged 9 and 14 years old.
I graduated from Loughborough University with an upper-class BSc honours degree in Maths and Education (Qualified Teaching Status), my final year dissertation was a 12,000 word research document based on teaching maths to the visually impaired. I gained vast experience throughout my four year degree teaching maths to primary and secondary aged children up to and including A Level.
I then travelled around the world before embarking on a career in Banking, Finance and Treasury. During this time, I qualified as an accountant. After this, I returned to my first love of teaching and I lectured accountancy for an international training provider for thirteen years, this involved both face to face and online teaching across all accountancy boards. I currently write accountancy material for a training provider based in Cambridge.
More recently, I founded Stepping Stone Maths, offering private maths tuition to children from reception age up to Year 11. Each and every lesson is tailored to the needs of your child. I work closely with both the child and parents in identifying session requirements. I believe I have perfected a method of teaching that yields great results; a confidence boost, assistance with mathematical skills and knowledge, SATS preparation and the transition to 'Big School'!
Please refer to ‘About Us’ and ‘Services’ for more information and scroll down to discover the difference that Stepping Stones has made to students.
REVIEWS
Parent of Year 6 child.
N. has struggled with his Maths throughout KS2 and our attempts to support were not helping. We reached out to Nicola last December because we needed 1-2-1 support for him as his confidence was at an all time low. Within weeks N. was showing great improvements with not only his ability but his confidence. He went from being panicked at being asked a question to being an active participant in class! Throughout year 5 and 6 he has been at ‘working towards age’ and after 6 months with support from Nicola he’s is ‘at age’ and scored 103 in his SATs, but more than that, he has a new found confidence and maths is his favourite subject! We cannot recommend Nicola highly enough, she has literally changed N’s relationship with the subject and provided him with the best foundations for his journey into secondary school.
Mr Francis (Child in Reception)
What a pleasure my daughter's first lesson was, it made me tearful. I think you are absolutely amazing and I loved your techniques, she is so happy. My daughters first question straight after the lesson was "how long until my next lesson Dad?" Thank you for your kind words, she is my world, Daddy's lil' princess, she absolutely loved it Nicola. From bottom of my heart, thank you kindly for your support.
Gemma Cottrill (Child in Year 6)
OMG I’m in tears! Since changing schools a few years ago and then going into lockdown 2 weeks later, Lara has really struggled with maths. At her last parents evening her teacher said it’s like teaching 2 different children. With English she excels beyond belief but maths just wouldn’t click. This is when we decided to get her a tutor, you! Lara had no confidence with maths and loved English, but she has just said that maths is now her favourite subject! Thank you! I never ever thought I would hear her say that!
Sally Kendrick (Child in Year 3)
Nicola is a very positive and patient teacher . My 7 year old was going into school really upset daily worried that she couldn’t do maths . After only 3 or 4 sessions (which she loves) Summer goes into school quite happy now .
Thankyou
Emma Johnson (Child in Year 6)
Nicola is an amazing teacher, she really goes the extra mile to help her students and to keep parents updated in their progress.
My daughter Sienna, really enjoys her lessons with Nicola, and her maths and confidence has drastically improved, all thanks to Nicola.
Nicola really engages Sienna in the lesson always making it fun.
I couldn't ask for a better teacher.
Thank you Nicola, you're amazing x
Parmjit Dhillon (Child Year 1)
Nicola is a fantastic maths teacher. My son absolutely loved his sessions with her. We had to put a pause on the sessions a couple of months ago, but he still regularly asks to have them again. I remember during one session, he and Nicola had a little joke about something they were learning. He was giggling so much. I was so impressed at how Nicola was able to build such a strong connection with my boy is such a short space of time. This was because she made the lessons fun and interesting. We'll definitely be back for more sessions.
Child in Year 4
Our son was a Maths hater, he lacked confidence in his Maths ability, which meant he resisted any time spent working on Maths. He was in a vicious cycle, he thought he couldn’t do Maths so wouldn’t try which just made matters worse. After many a Maths meltdown during lockdown we sought help in the form of tuition from Nicola and really haven’t looked back. I warned Nicola that I expected him to be resistant to extra Maths lessons as he disliked it so much, so approached the subject of tuition with trepidation but it’s most definitely been a resounding success for us. Nicola quickly built a great rapport with our son, working with him playing games and building his confidence so we’ve seen a real turnaround in only a few weeks. Nicola quickly understood what worked with our son and has even adapted mid-lesson to make sure he feels happy and successful. Now he’s feeling more confident, he’s more willing to try and more able to learn. Thanks to Nicola, our son is no longer a Maths hater.
Roy Cousins (Child in Yr 5)
Our daughter was really struggling to comprehend, and keep up with the rest of her class with the maths she was doing in her school. With the expert guidance and coaching from stepping stone maths, she is now excelling in the subject, and we are regularly told by her teacher how she is now doing so well. Such a turnaround from being told how she needed to take extra maths classes in school a year ago. I'm so proud of our daughters achievement to go from under to over achieving, and it's all thanks to the expert help from Nicola.
Thank you!
Laura Bashford (Child in Year 2)
My daughter and I had a fantastic one to one session with Nicola today, in one word...WOW!
Nicola is professional, patient and friendly, her communication prior to the session was also fantastic, which instantly put me at ease.
Nicola went above and beyond to plan a fun and interactive session based on my daughters ability which she thoroughly enjoyed.
I could not be happier with our experience today and will definitely continue with weekly sessions moving forward.
Thank you so much!
Charlotte MacKenzie (Children in Yr 3 & 5)
Absolutely brilliant, highly recommended! One lesson and my daughter knows her whole 9 times table. Can’t really get better than that.
Mukesh Pillay (Child in Year 2)
Tanvi has been really enjoying her lessons with Nicola. The lessons are structured well yet have a fun element to them, which makes Maths fun for her.
Nicola is a friendly, warm and patient teacher. I would happily recommend her!
Laura Summerskill (Child in Year 5)
My daughter really loves her sessions with Nicola. We can see her confidence with maths improving daily which is amazing. She no longer disheartened with maths and looks forward to her sessions. I would highly recommend Stepping Stone Maths
Victoria Hanson
If you are pulling your hair out trying to keep up with primary school Maths or feel that your children need some one to one support get in touch with Nicola Suzanne Colman. We’ve been friends for over 25 years; she is kind, patient and has such high standards, she will go above and beyond to help. She’s been nominated many times for tutor of the year awards; her impact and approach helps others grow in confidence and self belief.
Kimberley Sutton (children in Yr 2&5)
My daughter Megan really enjoys her sessions with Nicola, which is unheard of for Maths. Nicola has taken the fear out of the process and is supporting our other child with SEN needs through the lockdown. Would happily recommend her sessions!
Claire Perkins (Child in Year 5)
My daughter has enjoyed every lesson and in such a sort time she has developed a greater understanding during her sessions. Nicola is very encouraging and pitches her sessions at the right level to get the best out of her pupils.
I highly recommend Stepping Stone Maths. I'm glad I discovered Nicola
Stephanie Concannon (Child in Year 6)
I spoke to Nicola for the first time today through messenger to arrange tuition for my 10 year old daughter and within just a few hours of messaging she's made my daughter happy and excited to learn maths for the first time ever! which is amazing, really looking forward to starting lessons with her, would definitely recommend.
Beckie Cousins (Child in Year 5)
My daughter has had her first maths lesson today and absolutely loved it, she can't wait for the next one. This is from a girl who hates maths and really struggles! Nicola made her feel at ease and relaxed, making learning fun. Would highly recommend to anyone.
Two months down the line...
I had excellent news from school today. Celeste is doing really well and excellent in maths. Teacher said the tuition is obviously really working so I can't thank you enough. They did a times table quiz today and she got them all right. He said he feels she's one of the stronger ones in class! He's going to set her targets over the coming weeks but what he's seen so far, she's doing really well. So thank you so so much xx
Paul Iremonger (Child in Year 5)
My son Joe ( yr 5 ) has had 2 lessons now after struggling through lockdown with confidence and basic maths formula. The difference in 2 weeks is clearly visible and has even asked for more lessons and extra work books.
Nicola put him at ease and I’m sure he will grow and come out of this far more confident and able to tackle his SATS next year
Shereena Delaney (Child in Year 2)
My daughter has been having lessons with Nicola. She is fantastic at putting children at ease and makes learning fun. Definitely recommend
Erica Bowen
All of our sessions have been conducted via Zoom, and it has been a great experience so far. Nicola is able to share her screen so that both of us see the course materials that we are working through, and she is able to annotate them as we speak which helps to highlight important issues.
The technology has never got in the way of the learning experience at all - and although I though it might be a bit tricky as I had never learned this way before, it's actually been fine. It also helps that Nicola is great at what she does!
Laura Summerskill (Child in Year 5)
I just wanted to say Holly has breezed through her maths activities while at home as her class is having to self isolate. Today she attempted the hardest “gold” task and got everything right with ease. Back in September we never thought this would happen, but due to her hard work and your guidance she has done it! Thank you!
Lucy Louis (Child in Year 1)
Nicola was a great teacher to my son in Year 1 who really enjoys number work. Sadly we had to stop lessons due to logistics (but then lock-down happened!). Nicola is patient and engaging and the lessons were fun, even on tired days she managed to hold a 5-year old's attention. I would definitely come back to Nicola at a future date and would consider her Maths teaching for my older children too in Y5 and Y7.
Clare Walsh (Child in Year 4)
Flo has always been nervous with Maths and found it quite overwhelming. 2 lessons in and her confidence has grown hugely! She can’t wait for her lessons now & counts down to them! It’s lovely to see her so excited about Maths now. Thank you Nicola
Donna Jawo (Child in Year 5)
Stepping Stone Maths have been amazing in encouraging my daughter to enjoy Maths. Previously she was very unmotivated and struggled to understand some tasks being set in school. The lessons have built up her confident and now she looks forward to the subject, at home and at school.
Highly recommend Stepping Stone Maths!
Helen Williams (Child in Year 5)
My son has always hated Maths but with Nicola’s help we’re starting to see him enjoy numbers and his confidence is growing lesson by lesson. Lessons are personalised, adapted and tailored to the individual. We’re very happy to have found Stepping Stone Maths
Mrs Scott (Child in Year 5)
Willow absolutely loves having maths lessons with Miss Lindzi.
Miss Lindzi has so much patience and really takes her time to explain to Willow.
As a parent it also great to have the feedback via email regularly so I know exactly what’s happening. I’m very happy with Stepping Stones Maths. Definitely a step in the right direction :-)
Mrs Bishop (Child in Year 3)
Excellent tutor that our daughter enjoys working with and looks forward to her lessons. We are provided with extra work to support her learning and Nicola welcomes input to focus areas based on her school progress/learning.
Highly Recommended!
Tim Hargraves (Child in Year 3)
Bradley has just completed the Easter master class with Nicola. Maths is made fun, tailored to his interests to keep him engaged. Highly recommend Nicola and Stepping stone maths.. she’s great!
Leanne Cave (Child in Year 6)
Nicola is an excellent tutor my daughter started out with very little confidence in maths and disliked most topics. Nicola has showed her new methods of tackling maths problems and her confidence has increased more and more. We also enrolled on the Superstar SATS package which Charlie actually enjoyed and when she sat recent mock SATS papers did so much better than she previously had. Thank you Nicola for all your hard work,persistence and patience. Highly recommended!
Nilesh Mistry (Child in Year 5)
Nicola is an excellent teacher, I've had my son signed up for a few weeks and his confidence and ability has greatly improved in Maths. Not only that he looks forward to each session as he actually feels what he is being taught is actually making sense whereas in school he was getting bewildered. If anyone is thinking about extra Maths support for their children i would definitely recommend Nicola without a doubt.
Suzie Barlow (Child in Year 5)
I initially approached Nicola to help my year 5 daughter with her confidence around maths. Nicola has done so much more than this however. Ella now does not avoid maths homework like the plague. she is happy to have a go at more tricky questions and has improved on her speed rounds as well as her timestable rockstars score.
Nicola even managed to make fractions fun!
Miriam Tack (Child in Year 2)
Would highly recommend Nicola for extra support with your little one through stepping stone maths. Great for boosting confidence away from school life. Nicola is friendly engaging and manages to keep concentration up even over zoom. Number fun set is always marked with enthusiasm and has been a really nice weekly confidence boost
Caroline Bosher (Child in Year 7)
My son has had a few lessons with Nicola now, and it’s been great to see that he has grown in confidence with his maths already. It’s lovely to see him looking forward to his next sessions. Nicola is fun, approachable and very knowledgeable, we are looking forward to seeing Louis grow his maths ability and fill those gaps lockdown created.
Parent of Year 6 child.
N. has been working with Miss Lindzi for about four months now and he has made really positive steps in a subject he has really struggled with. He doesn’t enjoy reading and this in turn limited his concentration and ability to stay focused. He tends to rush ahead and miss huge chunks of the work in his desire to get the task completed as quickly as possible. Miss Lindzi has worked with him to improve this and deploy techniques to keep him focused, engaged, slow down and approach his work in the right way. This in turn has improved his spelling and writing significantly. He’s not all the way there yet but I am confident he will be soon! In addition N. thinks Miss Lindzi is fab and looks forward to his lessons!
Karen Grace (Child in Year 7)
Liv (was in Year 7 now in Year 8, joined Stepping Stone Maths in Jan 2021. We took this decision after she had missed so much of year 6 and a lot of year 7 thanks to COVID 19.
The leading driver was that we didn’t want her to fall behind. It was without a doubt the BEST DECISION WE MADE!
7 months later Liv’s maths skills have grown in both ability and confidence.
We have received excellent reports from school and the best news was that she recently moved up a maths set from Set 3 to Set 2.
Miss Nicola is kind, understanding and has a wonderful way with children and all over zoom!
If your child is struggling with maths or just needs some extra support Miss Nicola is your lady.
Laura Hutchinson (Child in Year 6)
Nicola is a fantastic tutor, really breaking it all down in simple and easy to remember steps. My daughter really enjoys her time with Nicola and has grown so much in confidence. Would definitely recommend!
Ruth Taylor (Child in Year 6)
Lindzi has been a brilliant tutor for our son, Theo. We started the tutoring sessions to build his confidence in maths and English, as despite his ability he hasn’t always believed in himself. Lindzi is friendly and fun and Theo enjoys his sessions each week. His confidence is growing all the time and the sessions will prepare him well for SATS and secondary school in a few months time. Thank you Lindzi!
Carolyn Ley (Child in Year 5)
Miss Nicola is an absolute gem and we cannot speak highly enough of her positive impact on our maths-reluctant daughter (in year 5). Nicola has really engaged her through a number of fun activities, boosted her confidence, helped her consolidate school work and also learn about new areas. Nicola cares deeply and we can clearly see the results in our daughter’s maths assessments at school. Thank you so much!
Ruby Dhaliwal (Child in Year 4)
Miss Nicola and her team have been fantastic with my daughter, she feels so much more confident with her maths in only a few months of sessions, she is able to confidently put her hand up in class to answer questions and enjoys her maths prep, which is new
Rachael Cullen (Child in Year 6)
Mum: Isabelle has now had 13 weeks with Nicola, her ability and confidence has grown immensely. At our parents evening Isabelle’s teacher was so pleased with her progress doubling her last score. She is now on track to achieve her SATS and this would not have been a possibility without Nicola’s guidance and support.
Child: Since having Nicola's lessons, I now feel confident in class to ask
and answer questions. Last week I was confident enough to show my class the KFC for division that Nicola had taught me, my teacher was so impressed she gave me 5 house points! Learning with Nicola is not like a boring school teacher lesson, she makes it fun and interactive.
Devon Brailsford (Child in Year 7)
Miss Lindzi is a fantastic tutor, supporting Lottie in Maths and English helping her develop and learn. Building her confidence in subjects she has struggled in through her school life, giving her the one on one support she requires to boost her learning. Lottie adores Miss Lindzi, she is fun and creative and works with her needs giving her enough time to take everything on board. Lottie has grown so much in her willingness to learn more since being under Miss Lindzi's wing. I am extremely happy with the support Miss Lindzi gives.
Laura Hutchinson (Child in Year 6)
My daughter has found the Supestar SATs courses so helpful! Nicola provided a fantastic pack with clear instructions and the process from start to finish is centered around the child taking part. It’s given my daughter confidence and helped focus on the areas that she was previously worried about. Thank you Nicola!
Fearne Meijer (Child in Year 6)
Stepping Stone Maths gave our son the boost of confidence that he needed to prepare for his year 6 SATS. Nicola was fantastic both at tutoring and at praising. Nicola was able to identify gaps, and focus on those areas. Learning was fun & engaging.
Maggie Harding (Child in Year 8)
I just want to say a big thank you to Becca for being such a good teacher for Milena. Best decision we made to help Milena with her school work.
Lorraine Brearley (Child in Year 8)
Thoroughly recommend Stepping Stone Maths they are amazing. A massive thank you to Jo she is brilliant, fun to work with, patient, and has great technique making Maths easier to understand and remember. Thank you!
Jess Ann (Children in Year 1 & Year 3)
Nicola has been so accommodating of my children's needs since they have started tutoring through Stepping Stone Maths. She and Becca have listened and differentiated very well for the slightly unusual situation my daughter and son presented them with! The children love their sessions and I love the ease of communication, flexibility and both Nicola and Becca's commitment to the kids' maths journeys.
Would highly recommend
Samantha Davies (Child in Year 9)
I cannot recommend Stepping Stone Maths highly enough. My daughter will be going into year 10 and has always struggled with maths and motivation in general. I was initially worried that Lexi would not settle, given lessons are online. However, I have been amazed at Lexi's progress and level of engagement. Lexi's tutor Jo is fun, enthusiastic and really gets the best out of her. The online lessons are incredibly interactive and Jo explains things so clearly. She is an absolutely fantastic tutor. I receive feedback at the end of every lesson, which is always really detailed and helpful. Lexi is also given the opportunity to complete tasks in her own time, which she has been doing for fun! These tasks consolidate what she has learnt in the lesson and she loves the fact that they are marked. Since using Stepping Stone, Lexi's confidence has grown so much. I am incredibly happy. Thank you.
Pam Bowler (Child in Year 9)
My daughter has been with Jo at stepping stones for 2 months and has made fantastic progress! She is in year 9, going into year 10 and has struggled with her confidence. Jo has worked to develop a great rapport with my daughter, working on areas my daughter (thinks) she struggles with! After her first two weeks she had a maths test at school and scored as one of the highest overall for her year. A great testament to the work Jo had covered with her. She actually commented ‘I really enjoy these lessons’ which is so nice to hear. I am looking forward to the next few months to see the new tigress she makes. Jo always updates me after the lessons and the overall communication with Jo and Nicola has been superb. I would highly recommend them to anyone.
Zoe Cox (Child in Year 12)
I was looking for a maths tutor for my son after he didn’t quite reach the grade needed at GCSE. I saw a recommendation for Stepping Stones Maths on Facebook and decided to get in touch. My son has additional needs and has an EHCP, he finds maths difficult and challenging and struggles connecting with other people . I was expecting this to be a issue but Nicola knew who would be best for him and paired him up with Jo who had experience in this area . My son loves Jo and is happy to work with her, he is progressing well. Jo sets him some homework each week and goes over the bits he has struggled with. Each week I receive feedback on how the session went and what my son is learning . I am so pleased and would recommend.
Parent of Year 10 child
Enuma was brilliant, amazing, funny, enlightening ...I literally don't have enough superlatives!!
T loved her and she actually enjoyed maths! Enuma has a lovely natural way about her and really encouraged her in a humorous way! My husband heard us laughing and this confused him because Maths usually makes her cry so that gives you an idea! She learnt a lot.
Thanks again and looking forward to next week!
Ruby Dhaliwal (Child in Year 5)
Rosa had her maths exam last week. She said it was great and her result was 96%!!
.....It is all down to her maths sessions with Sofia, I know it!”
Parent of Year 5 child
A big thank you Sofia from George and I. George really enjoyed your sessions and got a lot from them. He came away last night and immediately asked to do his maths homework and wanted further multiplication before bed!
Thank you for inspiring him.
Upexa Mistry (Child in Year 3)
Sienna has really enjoyed her sessions with Sofia, her gentle and patient approach is what our daughter needs. Sienna understands that she will be challenged but that means she will learn new things which helps her to stretch. Sofia’s email last night was incredibly informative for us too. After our 2 week trial period with Sofia, we would absolutely love to continue for the foreseeable now that Sienna has found her match!
Samantha Faith (Child in Year 5)
Albany has been having lessons with Nicola and has been really enjoying them. Nicola has a way of really putting him at ease and making it fun. He is really coming on with things and his confidence is growing. Thank you!
Julia Mullar (Child in Year 5)
You know when you wished you'd done something a long while ago... and then finally did it? Enlisting the support of Nicola and her team at Stepping Stone Maths is absolutely up there for me! One of my best decisions during 2023!
Flo was "holding her own" in Maths but struggled with confidence and at times the pace at which new methods were taught.
I reached out to Nicola and said just that, our need was a little extra time each week to reinforce learnings in a fun environment where questions could be asked and Flo could learn at her own pace.
That ask has, and continues to be well and truly answered. Who would have thought that a 9 year old would look forward to a 30 minute Maths session on a Friday afternoon AND reminds me of the number fun she wants to do before the next session.
I am so pleased I sent that message......
Thank you Stepping Stone Maths
Ruth Middleton and her Year 8 home educated daughter Eva
I am really pleased to see Eva's maths confidence growing and consider Jo one of the best investments we've made in Eva's education. Here is a really hearty recommendation from Eva about her tutor Jo:
"I look forward to maths with Jo all weekend! Jo makes maths fun and she doesn't put me off by explaining things in a way that's difficult to understand. Jo listens to me and tries to find ways to help me learn that suit me. She gives me as long as I need to answer questions and she doesn't try to hurry me. She is always patient and never gets cross if I'm finding something difficult to learn. "
Faye Coston (Parent of Year 6 child)
Couldn’t be happier with Stepping Stones Maths. Nicola was so helpful and friendly from the start. Thoroughly recommend especially Sam, who has been tutoring my son for the last couple of months. Sam is friendly and fun to work with, using different techniques to suit my son and what he wanted to build his knowledge on in the run up to his year 6 SATS. Thank you Nicola & Sam
Parent of Year 8 child
My son has been with Luke for four months now and looks forward to his weekly sessions. Luke is a great tutor and explains the methods well, when working on an unfamiliar topic. He prompts to think in different ways when faced with challenging questions. My son is doing so well with Luke and is working well beyond his current school curriculum.
Charlotte Barrows (Parent of Year 6 child)
Highly recommend Stepping Stone Maths - Nicola has been fabulous with Darcey who has been having some lessons to increase her confidence with her SAT’s . She has really enjoyed the lessons and learnt so much in a short space of time ! Thankyou
Diane Mason (Parent of Year 8 child)
Isaac has been tutored by Luke for four months and has enjoyed every single session. Luke is really friendly and put him at ease straight away. We have seen improvements in his maths results at school, but more importantly his willingness to ‘have a go’ and his overall confidence within Maths. Luke always provides clear feedback after each session and links what he is teaching to areas Isaac finds difficult or wants more support in. We are really pleased with Luke as his tutor!
Claire Zmija (Parent of Year 6 child)
Nancy really struggled with confidence before starting her weekly lesson with Nicola. She would often get upset and cry if we were just to talk about Maths at home. Nancy is now like a different child altogether her attitude and confidence is the best it has ever been and she actually enjoys maths now. This is all down to Nicola and Sofia and for this I cannot thank them enough. I would not hesitate to recommend Stepping Stone maths to family and friends.
