Articles for parents

What makes Kumon different from other maths and English programmes?

Feb 2024

The Kumon Maths and English Programmes are tailored to suit each individual child's current needs and ability and develop their skills through daily study of specially designed worksheets. Your child will progress at his/her own speed, developing the ability to self-learn, work at pace, maintain concentration and to correct his/her own work.

Once a firm foundation has been nurtured, the programmes propel students to study at an advanced level on our international scale, the Kumon International Standard. The worksheets are the same in whichever country in the world they are studied and so they do not follow any country's curriculum but rather are complementary to curricula across the world. We aim for all students to progress to studying advanced-level work, regardless of whether or not they come to us because they are gifted or because they are struggling.

At Kumon we take a long-term approach to learning, we ask for 30 minutes of study per subject, per day, with the aim of nurturing a love of learning and independent learning skills which will benefit students at school, university and in the workplace.  

The maths programme aims for students to develop confidence in the foundations of number patterns and times tables, through to calculus, with the ability to select the most effective and efficient methods to solve each question.

The English programme has two main objectives: to nurture proficiency in reading and to encourage students to develop a love of reading. These are helped by our Recommended Reading List which contains 380 titles, further supporting students with their learning. When a student reaches completion of the programme, they will have the ability to critique literature of all genres and complexities.

The Kumon programmes have been in operation for over 60 years and they have been fine-tuned over time to be effective in realising each student's potential. As Instructors, we learn from our students every day to ensure our instruction is appropriate for each and every child in our study centres. There are currently over 4 million students achieving success through the Kumon Method, across the globe.

At Kumon, we do not teach in the conventional sense, but through observation, guidance and daily study of the worksheets, we enable students to learn for themselves. In this way, their development is not limited by the skills and knowledge of others.

Contact your local Kumon centre to find out how Kumon can transform how your child accesses education.