Spiders may not have an obvious link to mathematics at first glance but they have become a crucial tool for teachers.

The idea is if you present numbers one to a hundred to youngsters and tell them how to do times tables, only a handful will understand.

But if you set numbers in columns on a board and play a game in which the spider drops down his web row by row according to tables, children find it fun and visualise the sequence. As a result, far more comprehend the mathematical patterns involved.

This is just one of the many interactive methods being used by most teachers in Brighton and Hove.

More than 80 maths co-ordinators from city schools met yesterday to hear guest speakers talk about the advances in maths teaching.

The focus of the conference, held at Brighton and Hove's learning development centre in Hodshrove Lane, Moulsecoomb, was to talk about the success of the past three years.

During that time, city schools have run a pilot of the National Numeracy Standards scheme, now being introduced across the UK.

The results of the pilot have shown a rise in standards from 55 per cent passes at Key Stage 2, for children aged four and above, to 67 per cent passes this year.

The emphasis of teaching has shifted to recognising how children learn about numbers and solving number problems.

The new methods involve parents, businesses and a range of simple, but fun, role plays.

Annette Quelch, Brighton and Hove schools advisor, said: "We have come on leaps and bounds. At Key Stage 3, we are one of the most improved authorities in the pilot.

"Maths teaching is more flexible now and we look at particular scenarios in different ways. What we are seeing is children are becoming much better mentally. They are sharper, more confident.

"We hear of parents who say their children are coming home and discussing multiplication problems at the dinner table with enthusiasm. That tended not to happen in the past.

"We want to involve the parents more now. It is about lifelong learning."

At the conference, maths co-ordinators had the chance to pick up new ideas.

Speakers included Professor Ruth Merttens, of the Hamilton Education Trust, and Dr Mike Askew, from the school of education at King's College, London, who spoke about how new methods were being used across the UK.

Numeracy consultant Jenny Stratton said: "We recognise the progress schools have made and the hard work put in by maths co-ordinators and staff to achieve this. This conference presents an opportunity to consider ways to maintain the momentum in Brighton and Hove."

The speakers told teachers how important it was to involve children in role plays to make maths exciting.

A typical example of new teaching is to encourage children to cycle through paint to make patterns and create giant numbers in the playground.

From this, a series of puzzles are set and the children cycle back and forth until they can see how the conundrum is solved.

Businesses can also invite children to see how maths is used in the real world. Supervised trips to the shops are an example of this "real-life" learning.

Teaching resources have also developed, with coloured numbered cards and giant paper money features of the new maths classroom.

Darren Vallier, deputy head of Goldstone Primary School, Hove, whose school results showed a 94 per cent pass rate at level 4 Sats (Standard Assessment Tests) this year, said: "The aim is to make maths teaching user friendly to every child.

"I think there used to be a tendency to teach children the way you had been taught as a teacher, using the same methods.

"It's all about building confidence, not only in children, but making sure the teachers are confident about the methods they use.

"It's also about getting the parents to come into school and get involved in fun days where they interact in a series of games which they can enjoy with the children.

"I think it is much more recognised now that not all children learn in the same way. Before, they were all told one way to multiply and the teachers stood back and watched to see how they got on.

"Now, I think I could take children into an office and, unlike many of the staff, even if they were presented with difficult sums, they would at least have the confidence to try ways of tackling them."