Numeracy programme to help adults improve maths skills in Staffordshire

While maths may have a regular school lesson into adolescence, around 17m adults in England – around half the working-age population – are reported to have everyday maths skills equivalent to those expected of a primary school child.

A new national numeracy programme has been unveiled by the Government to support its Levelling Up mission however. The £570m Multiply scheme aims to help adults with “entry-level” maths skills to improve their training and employment opportunities.

On Wednesday Staffordshire County Council cabinet members welcomed the scheme, which will offer flexible courses that will be available to residents online, at work, in the evenings, part time or intensive. The authority has secured £4.2m from the Government to deliver sessions in Staffordshire, from “learning festivals” to one to one support.

Councillor Philip White, deputy leader and cabinet member for economy and skills, said: “Multiply is a fantastic scheme and it recognises the most important aspect of levelling up, which is skills and people’s ability to improve their lives. I think numeracy is something we’re all encouraged to do at school but then, unless your day to day encourages you to use it a lot, those skills are easy to see deteriorate and it’s an area a lot of people don’t necessarily feel confident engaging with.

“The objectives of this will principally be to encourage more adults to engage in improving their general numeracy, encourage adults to improve their functional numeracy skills in things you need day to day such as managing your household budget and also to encourage those who want to to attain qualifications in mathematics. This is something that is important to our employers locally in Staffordshire – we have spoken to local businesses and research with them indicates at least a quarter of them highlight numeracy skills as one of the key challenges they have finding workers.

“The outcomes from this can be quite significant if we get it right. The aim of the programme is to have a single ‘front door’ people can walk through anywhere in the country to access these services and there is the widest range of courses so there really is something for everyone.

“There are courses designed to increase confidence with numbers and those taking their first steps towards formal numeracy qualifications, courses designed to help people manage their money, innovative numeracy programmes delivered together with employers including courses to deliver specific skills required in their workplace, courses aimed at people who can’t apply for certain jobs because of lack of numeracy skills, courses aimed at prisoners or those who have recently left prison on licence, courses for care leavers and activities for those who are in hard to reach groups; those who are more isolated in our society. The idea is it is easy to access whatever level of training you might find useful in your life.”

Councillor Jonathan Price, cabinet member for education and SEND (special educational needs and disabilities), asked how families would be encouraged to take up the learning offer. He said: “I think this is really important – particularly for a father who struggles to help his 12-year-old do some of his maths homework.

“My division is a less affluent area and we have parents whose maths and English skills are not the best, but are very reluctant to come forward and actively go out and seek to do these courses. How can we support these families to take up this scheme? Those are the ones that this really needs to target.”

Councillor Ian Parry admitted to using a phone to calculate a column of figures on occasion. He said: “I’m a sinner – I have not kept up my numeracy skills because I have been lazy.

“Numeracy is one of those skills that over time, although you start with it, you can lose it. It is a serious point about encouraging people to maintain their skills – use it or lose it.

“My father left school at 14 and his numeracy skills were outstanding; percentages, fractions, running up columns of figures. And if you walk into any bookies’ shop at any time you will find people with outstanding numeracy skills, simply because they use them and they want to use them.”

Councillor Julia Jessel, cabinet member for health and care, said: “If someone asks me about my numeracy skills, basic numeracy I am pretty good on and I make a point of doing things in my head and on the back of scraps of paper. But times have very much changed in how mathematics is taught

“I’m from the era of long tables and a slide rule. When I see how young people learn mathematics now it’s like a foreign language.

“There is a serious point in public health terms of using your brain, using your maths and ensuring a healthy brain. It is about enhancing those skills for employability and it’s enhancing those skills to continue to have a healthy life.”