Meet the NeurofiED Learning Companions
By NeurofiED Editorial Team · Reviewed by NeurofiED Learning Science Team
NeurofiED resources are written for UK 11+ families and reviewed against the platform's retrieval practice, spacing, interleaving and feedback principles.
Meet NeurofiED’s subject-aligned learning companions and see how focused prompts can guide English and Maths reasoning without taking over.
A NeurofiED learning companion is there to help your child make the next move in an English or Maths lesson. It might draw attention to a clue, help them spot where their method went off course or invite them to have another go. The companion does not need to take over. Its job is to keep the thinking moving.
If you have ever sat beside a child who says, “I don’t get it,” you will know how much the next response matters. Give the answer too quickly and the work is finished, but the difficulty may still be there. Say only “try again” and the child may have no idea what to change. Good guidance sits in the middle: enough help to make progress, while leaving the important thinking with the learner.
NeurofiED’s public examples introduce Inspector Quibble, Numi and Pip as learning companions, with “a different guide for every kind of challenge”.[1] Its science page describes a lesson rhythm of teaching an idea, retrieving it, explaining mistakes and revisiting it, with lesson-bound support when a child gets stuck.[2] These are NeurofiED’s descriptions of how the experience is intended to work, rather than a promise of a particular score or result.
Contents
What does a learning companion actually do?
The simplest answer is this: it helps a child stay with the idea in front of them. “Being stuck” might mean not understanding the question, missing a clue or making one small error inside an otherwise sound method.
A useful companion responds to that moment rather than simply announcing whether an answer is right or wrong. In English, it might point back to the words that carry the meaning. In Maths, it might ask which quantities are being compared, or which part of a method is already correct.
This is what subject-aligned means here. A cheerful “keep going” can be welcome, but it will not clear up the difference between a simile and a metaphor, or show why a part-to-part ratio is not automatically a part-to-whole fraction. The prompt has to meet the actual problem.
The named companions are Inspector Quibble, Numi and Pip.[1] The science page identifies Numi as a Maths learning companion.[2] Rather than inventing a biography or a special power for each character, it is more useful to look at what good guidance sounds like in a lesson. The current public examples cover English Mastery and Maths.[1]
The four moves that keep the thinking with your child
Helpful guidance often uses four simple moves, though one well-chosen question may be enough.
1. Get clear about the task
Before offering a hint, make sure the child knows what they are being asked to do.
“What do you need to find?” sounds basic, but it can uncover the whole difficulty. An English question may ask a child both to name a language device and explain its effect. A Maths question may ask them first to simplify a ratio and then use it to find a fraction of the whole. Those are connected steps, not identical ones.
2. Offer the smallest useful clue
A good prompt opens a door without carrying the child through it:
The pause after the prompt matters too. Children sometimes need a little time to look again and put the pieces together.
3. Make the mistake understandable
“Incorrect” tells a child what happened. It does not tell them why.
A clearer explanation identifies the mismatch. Perhaps the child has called every comparison a simile, overlooking that a simile uses like or as. Perhaps they simplified one side of a ratio differently from the other. Once the error is visible, the next attempt has a purpose.
4. Hand the next move back
Encouragement is most useful when it leads somewhere: “Use that clue and try the sentence again,” or “Keep your correct first step and check what the whole includes.”
You are looking for a small, observable change. Your child might restart, explain a choice more clearly, correct one step or manage a similar question with less help. Those moments tell you more than a vague promise about confidence or success.
See it in English: working through a metaphor
Imagine your child is given this sentence:
> The playground was a furnace by lunchtime.
The question asks:
> What language device is used, and what does it suggest?
Your child writes:
> It is a simile because the playground is compared with a furnace.
There is something worth keeping in that answer: the child has noticed the comparison. The problem is the label. A helpful response can protect the sound thinking while drawing attention to the missing distinction.
First, clarify the task: “There are two parts here. You need to name the device and explain the image.”
Then offer a clue: “Does the sentence compare using like or as, or does it say that one thing was another?”
Explain the difference: Both similes and metaphors compare. This sentence says the playground was a furnace, so the comparison is stated directly. That makes it a metaphor.
Now return the question: “What does a furnace suggest about how the playground felt?”
A revised answer might be:
> It is a metaphor. The playground is described as a furnace to emphasise that it felt intensely hot and uncomfortable.
A fresh sentence can show whether the idea has travelled:
> Rain tapped impatiently at the window.
You might ask, “What human action or feeling is given to the rain?” Here, the answer is personification because the rain is described as tapping impatiently. The clue points to the evidence before giving away the term.
You can also explore the public English Mastery example, which includes figurative language and precise word choice.[1]
See it in Maths: making sense of a ratio
Now imagine this problem:
> A box contains 12 blue counters and 18 yellow counters. Simplify blue : yellow, then state the fraction of all the counters that are blue.
Your child writes:
> 12 : 18 = 2 : 3, so 2/3 of the counters are blue.
This time, the ratio is right. The fraction is not. Starting the whole question again would be frustrating and unnecessary, so begin with the successful step.
Clarify what changed: “The ratio compares blue counters with yellow counters. The fraction compares blue counters with all the counters.”
Offer a clue: “If there are two blue parts and three yellow parts, how many equal parts are there altogether?”
Explain the mismatch: There are 2 + 3 = 5 parts in total. Blue takes two of those parts, so the blue fraction is 2/5, not 2/3.
Hand back the final move: “Keep your correct ratio. Change only the fraction statement.”
The finished reasoning is:
The important distinction is between a part-to-part comparison and a part-to-whole fraction. Once that is clear, try nearby numbers:
> There are 8 red beads and 12 green beads. Simplify red : green and find the red fraction of the whole.
Dividing both parts by four gives 2 : 3. That makes five equal parts altogether, with two red parts, so the red fraction is 2/5.
The public Maths example shows writing and simplifying ratios.[1]
How to join in without taking over
You do not need to become a second tutor beside the screen. A few calm questions can show whether the guidance is landing.
Start with the goal: “What are you learning to do?” If the answer is only about the story or character, gently bring it back to the English or Maths idea.
Then give the prompt room to work. If the wording itself is the barrier, explain it; otherwise, let your child do the looking and thinking.
After feedback, ask, “What will you change this time?” A useful answer is specific: “I’ll look for like or as,” or “I need to count all the ratio parts.” If your child says only, “I’ll get it right,” ask what clue or method will help.
Keep correct thinking on the page. In the ratio problem, 2 : 3 should survive the correction; in the metaphor example, the child was right that a comparison was being made. Naming what is sound makes the repair manageable.
Finally, ask for one fresh attempt with changed wording or numbers but the same underlying idea. The public examples also include a question-and-answer flashcard page for a quick recap.[1]
When your child needs a different kind of prompt
No single prompt works every time. The response should change with what you notice.
If your child waits for every hint, ask for one first step before using the guidance. On the next question, see whether they can begin with less support.
If they are guessing, go back to the evidence. Ask them to point to the decisive word, quantity or relationship before choosing an answer.
If they can answer but cannot explain, try the sentence starter, “I know because…” Simple language is fine if it identifies the right reason.
If the feedback feels too broad, turn it into one concrete question: “Which word signals the comparison?” or “What does the whole include?”
If frustration is building, make the step smaller. Work out what the question is asking together, offer one focused clue, then leave the final move to your child. There is no need to make the task feel childish in order to make it manageable.
If the idea is secure, let the support fade. Ask your child to diagnose a wrong answer, create a similar question or explain why a tempting alternative does not work.
Questions parents often ask
Are learning companions teachers?
No. NeurofiED describes them as guides within the lesson experience.[2] They can support the work in front of a child, but they do not replace a qualified teacher, a school curriculum or a parent’s judgement.
Which companions are publicly named?
Inspector Quibble, Numi and Pip are named as learning companions on the examples page.[1] Numi is identified as a Maths learning companion on the science page.[2]
Does every companion belong to one subject?
The public sources identify Numi with Maths, but do not assign every named companion an exclusive subject or topic.
Can a companion simply give the answer?
The useful question is whether the guidance leaves room for a meaningful attempt. A prompt can orient, offer a clue, explain a mistake and invite another try. NeurofiED describes the support as lesson-bound.[2]
Which subjects can families see in the public examples?
The current examples are English Mastery and Maths.[1] This article does not present Verbal Reasoning or Non-Verbal Reasoning as live products.
Do learning companions guarantee better 11+ results?
No. The cited pages describe NeurofiED’s own product and approach. They do not provide independent evidence of a guaranteed score improvement, pass rate, rank or school admission.
What should I look for while my child is working?
Look for the next piece of thinking. Does your child notice the relevant clue? Keep a correct step? Explain what went wrong? Improve an answer? Use the same idea in a slightly different example? That is where useful guidance becomes visible.
Next step
Choose one public English or Maths example and watch what happens when the guide connects the story to the reasoning. If that kind of subject-aligned support feels right for your child, Start your free trial.
Sources
[1] https://www.neurofied.co.uk/examples
[2] https://www.neurofied.co.uk/science
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