Rugby is a sport that requires an understanding of maths and science by players, coaches referees and the fans. As this year’s Six Nations rugby tournament kicks-off, one family using their love of rugby to improve their numeracy together are the Bellmaine’s from Pembroke Dock.

Mum of 17 year-old George, 13-year-old Tom and 10-year-old Amie, Kellie Bellmaine explained:“My husband, Jason and I have always taken any opportunity we can to help our children learn through various activities in and out of the home. Not only does it help his education, but also brings us closer together as a family.

“We’re all rugby fans in our household, and in particular my husband who is a rugby coach. We’ve always come together as family to watch big tournaments like the Six Nations. My husband takes great delight in giving a running commentary, but will also encourage our youngest, Amie, to think about her numbers when keeping up with the score or knowing what the team need to score to get ahead. He explains it to her in terms of her three, five and seven times tables. It’s a great way of making learning a bit more fun.”

The Welsh Government’s Education Begins at Home campaign encourages parents to do little things at home to support their child’s learning in the classroom. Developing maths, science and literacy skills together at home is an important part of a child’s education and can give your child a head start in life.

But maths and science are not just educational; they are fun too.

Activities such as watching and playing sport can make a big difference to children’s education and building their confidence. With the Six Nations kicking off this weekend, Education Begins at Home is encouraging parents to make the most of the game and encourage their children to get involved, whether it’s counting players on the pitch, adding up the scores, or even slightly more complicated things like working out the angles players are taking goal kicks from.

Graham Dalton, hon secretary of Haverfordwest RFC, commented: “Learning about maths and science is extremely important to a child’s education and development, and it’s also really relevant to the game of rugby. Every time a player catches or kicks a ball they are often unknowingly using maths to work out trajectory and speed. They have to take into account wind speed, angles and the distance to the posts. Science also plays an important part in a rugby player’s life in relation to nutrition - they need to get the right balance of foods to optimise performance. Many coaches also analyse every move on the rugby field so they know how far players’ have run or how many tackles they’ve made during a game.

“Playing or watching rugby has many benefits for parents and children, not least there’s a great learning opportunity if parents use the game to engage their children with numbers and science. In our club we have around 200 mini and junior players and we want them all to find the right balance between sport and education.”

The more the parent uses numbers around the house and in general conversation, the more confident children will be with maths and the quicker they will learn. The Education Begins at Home Campaign offers a range of excellent resources and lots of simple tips and advice for parents to help their child.

A video has been developed showing how maths is used in rugby. Visit www.facebook.com/educationbeginsathome to see how parents can count along with their children as Wales beats England in the Rugby World Cup.

For further information about the ‘Education Begins at Home’ campaign and the online resources available for parents, please visit www.facebook.com/beginsathome (facebook.com/dechraucartref) and follow us on Twitter @edubeginsathome (@dechraucartref).