Amanda Keen
Specialist Dyscalculia AssessorBSc (Hons), PGCE, PGCert SpLD (Dyslexia), PGCert Dyscalculia
Amanda is an experienced dyscalculia assessor, who is passionate about helping students explore their mathematical difficulties. Having graduated with a BSc in Psychology from the University of Portsmouth, she studied for a PGCE Primary qualification at Oxford Brookes University after which she worked in primary schools in Sussex and Buckinghamshire, leading subjects such as numeracy and ICT, and spending time as a curriculum coordinator. After 17 years teaching across the whole of the primary age range, Amanda then trained as a specialist teacher and assessor for children with dyslexia in 2012, becoming an Associate Member of the British Dyslexia Association (AMBDA) on graduation from Edge Hill University.
The next ten years of Amanda’s career were spent supporting students in Learning Support departments across independent preparatory schools in Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire, supporting children with specific difficulties in both literacy and numeracy. It became clear that her passion lay in helping students with their mathematics learning and in 2018 she gained her Post Graduate Certificate in Dyscalculia with Distinction and was granted an Assessment Practising Certificate and Approved Teacher Status Dyscalculia. This qualified her as one of the first specialist teacher assessors for children with dyscalculia in the country. Having Level 7 qualifications in both dyslexia and dyscalculia is seen as the ‘gold standard’ for assessing dyscalculia.
Amanda’s final school-based role was at a specialist independent school catering for pupils aged 8 – 17. She now works as a full-time specialist dyscalculia tutor and assessor. She is also involved with staff training in schools across England and leads a Mathematics Hub Research and Innovation Working Group focusing on ways to reduce mathematics anxiety.
Amanda is a member of the Professional Association of Teachers with Specific Learning Difficulties (PATOSS) and holds a Level 7 in Specialist Dyscalculia Teaching and Assessment. She offers specialist dyscalculia assessments and Exam Access Arrangements (EAA) support to schools.