“The key to making maths fun is healthy competition”

Plyt pits the wits of family members against each other answering numerical questions.

The game secured the Lymm couple a place on the Pitch 2014 shortlist – Britain’s biggest small business competition – where they went head-to-head with 29 other small businesses vying for top spot.

Since then, more than 10,000 copies of the game have been sold worldwide and Lisa and Ian have used the successful maths and numbers concept as the basis for their latest business venture.

Plytime is online focused maths tutoring that combines 1:1 sessions with fun games and challenges tailored to primary aged children.

Online tutoring sessions are set at 15 minutes

Youngsters can access the website 24/7 and complete personal challenges, achieving their own goals and targets before benefitting from focused 15-minute tutoring sessions with trained teachers.

Parents decide how many 15-minute tutoring sessions they want for their child each week, with prices starting at £12 per week, and they can also choose days and times to suit busy schedules.

There is no limit to the number of times children can access their online account and challenge themselves to complete the maths puzzles and questions so no end to their learning capabilities.

Husband and wife team Ian and Lisa McCartney

Lisa, who is a trained accountant, said: “Plyt was a game that my husband and I created to help our children, who were then aged seven and five, to improve their numeracy skills while competing against each other on an equal platform.

“Learning through play is a great way to teach children but you only have a short amount of time before their attention span reaches its limit and they drift off and become distracted.

“We’ve used this to create 1:1 tutoring sessions that last 15 minutes – a short burst of learning based on the challenges children have completed during the course of the week.

“Normal tutoring sessions tend to last 45 minutes or an hour and are inaccessible to so many families due to their cost and often time restrictions.

“By breaking these sessions down into 15-minute slots, it becomes more accessible and children can learn effectively in sessions that are affordable.”

Plytime has recently carried out research with Manchester Metropolitan University, which showed 27 per cent average maths improvement over six weeks for children using the website and a 25 per cent greater improvement for those children receiving 15-minute focused tutoring.

Children have tutoring sessions with the same teacher each week – or more frequently if possible – and each session is focussed on where they need help, which is evidenced through the challenges and puzzles they complete.

Children can challenge themselves to answer maths questions ahead of their scheduled tutor session

Lisa said: “Competition is a great incentive for children – and adults – when they’re learning, as long as it’s fair and everyone has an equal chance of winning.

“We wanted to incorporate this into Plytime so children can compete against friends and other family members with questions perfectly tailored to their abilities.”

Lisa and Ian are keen to expand the online business to cover all subjects taught at primary schools and then those studied in secondary schools using the same competitive but fun concept to the learning and tutoring sessions.

Lisa added: “Ultimately, we want to be able to offer children the chance to compete against each other in all subjects.

“A child will be able to answer maths questions and challenge someone who is being tested on English or science.”

Plytime is currently offering free taster sessions for families wanting to try tutoring and learning through play.