More than a fifth of adults in the UK do not have the basic numeracy skills needed for the complexities of modern everyday life, such as household budgeting, understanding statistical claims of political parties, calculating credit card interest rates or helping their children with homework.
Having this lack of mathematical ability, or confidence with numbers, can have a dramatic effect on your life chances; people with poor numeracy skills are twice as likely to be unemployed as those who are competent at the subject. Evidence shows that people who improve their numeracy skills between the ages of 21 and 34 are more likely to own their own homes, have savings and are less likely to be on benefits.
That is why unionlearn, the TUC’s learning and skills organisation, is teaming up with NIACE, the National Institute of Adults in Continuing Education, and the National Centre for Excellence in the Teaching of Mathematics to prepare a joint strategy and initiative to improve adult numeracy.
The aim is to train a cadre of “maths messengers” to act as advocates for parents, colleagues and workmates. These people will not necessarily be maths experts, instead they will be given the training and resources to promote maths and encourage the take up of learning.
The initiative will give people a chance to get to grips with the subject and provide numeracy learning with a vibrant national profile. The Maths4Us website www.Maths4us.org, was launched at unionlearn’s annual conference this week (July 12), which will be packed with resources for maths advocates, project leaders, tutors and learners.
The joint project will work with employers, libraries, Jobcentre Plus and Sure Start centres and use union reps, literacy tutors, librarians and public services staff to act as maths messengers. A recent survey by Leeds University of employers found that more than half said that union-led learning had improved the qualifications of their workforce, with 71 per cent saying it has increased the demand for learning among those with poor basic skills. A survey conducted by the University of Central Lancashire revealed that three-quarters of union learning reps have helped arrange courses for their colleagues and almost half have obtained funding for learning.
Judith Swift, unionlearn’s national union development manager, said: “It’s not fair that far too many adults have not had the right opportunities for them to get up to speed with maths and are now, literally, paying the price. Unions and ULRs have a proven track record in finding the right approach and language to encourage the take up of maths. It’s time now to really step up the tempo and create a new culture and climate to break the negative image of maths. I remember a Unite ULR, who is now a maths specialist, saying to me last year, ‘I talk about the Maths Wall – we all seem to hit it at some point and give up. Unions are here to help us all climb our wall and get on’.”
Joan O’Hagan, an associate of the National Centre of Excellence in the Teaching of Mathematics, said: “People who work out complicated bets in their head often call it commonsense, not maths; they keep the “maths” word for the things they cannot do. If taught in the right way, maths is very exciting. There is a definite frisson when you make a break-though in the problem you have been struggling to understand. That is how maths can be.”
Sue Southwood, NIACE’s programme director for literacy, language and numeracy, said: “It’s vital we take urgent action to tackle people’s fear of numeracy and we will support learning in a very wide range of activities. This will include supporting family learning, learning for staff and residents in care homes, community action projects and groups working on environmental issues, by offering numeracy tasters and online support so they can in turn encourage and enthuse adults to get involved in numeracy learning.”
A video about Maths4Us can be seen at http://www.vimeo.com/13269186
NOTES TO EDITORS:
All unionlearn press releases can be found at www.unionlearn.org.uk
Media enquiries:
Frances Rafferty T: 020 7079 6950 M: 07827 813439 E: [email protected]
James Asser T: 020 7079 6942 M: 07769 706104 E: [email protected]
