A new ((Relatively new, they were launched in March.)) charity called National Numeracy has launched a campaign to
produce a positive transformation of public attitudes to numeracy and mathematics in the UK, to create an “I can do maths” approach and to raise the numeracy skills of at least 500,000 adults of working age to Level 1 or Level 2 where appropriate.
The campaign has three strands:
- The Employer Challenge – a collaborative initiative involving Business in the Community, the CBI and TUC, National Numeracy and other project partners to encourage large, medium and small companies across the UK to commit to raising the numeracy skills of all their staff to at least Level 1, and to Level 2 where that is the normal expectation for their sector;
- The Education Challenge – involving the National Institute of Adult Continuing Education, Learndirect, City & Guilds, the National Extension College, The Skills Show, National Numeracy and other educational partners, to persuade adults from 16-70 to reject the “I can’t do maths” mantra, and to ‘have-a-go at numeracy’ through the Internet, mobile apps, The Skills Show, national ‘Have-a-Go’ activities, Adult Learners Week, college and provider community events, parent and family learning groups, etc.
- An Outreach programme – potentially, a partnership with the Citizens Advice Bureaux, voluntary and community groups, ESOL specialists, public authorities and National Numeracy, to reach out to the unemployed and nonemployed, offenders and ex-offenders, those with ESOL-related numeracy requirements, and others who may need focused support to engage them in the programme.
The “Employer Challenge” part of the campaign involves getting working adults to assess their own numeracy skills, and encouraging businesses to offer numeracy support and training to employees who need it.
More information
The National Numeracy Challenge Overview (PDF)
via Workplace maths challenge aims to boost numeracy on BBC News