IN WHICH I
  • ... Write
  • ... Explain

Report: Making Hastings count

25/2/2015

2 Comments

 
National Numeracy charity launches campaign in Hastings.
Maths. No, please don’t shut this tab! And try not to let your eyes glaze over as you consider this...

You’ve got £107.52 and you need to pay a £64.25 bill - how much will you have left for your weekly grocery shop? If you owe £595 on your credit card, which has a monthly interest rate of 14%, how much interest will you be charged? The branded sauce is on special at £2.35 for 200mL and the supermarket’s own brand is £5.09 for 450mL, so which one is better value?

If you struggled to figure these out, you’re not alone. The 2011 Skills for Life survey showed that across the UK, almost half the adult population only had a level of maths skills expected of primary school aged children. Hastings adults’ skills levels were slightly worse than average, with 52% demonstrating primary school level maths competency.
National Numeracy brochure
National Numeracy was founded in 2012 to address these issues and improve numeracy skills throughout the UK. The East Sussex-based charity is about to launch a special campaign in Hastings, noting that the town’s record of low-level skills, high unemployment and low incomes are all factors that align with poor numeracy. 

Starting on Monday 9 February, National Numeracy will be dropping off leaflets across Hastings and St Leonards, talking to community groups and encouraging people to take the National Numeracy Challenge Online, a free service to help people improve their everyday maths skills. As well as helping to improve people’s numeracy skills, National Numeracy aims to change attitudes to maths, showing how maths is used all the time in daily life, and how everyone can improve their numeracy skills with effort and support.

“Being numerate means being able to use numbers and think mathematically, which is essential for so many aspects of everyday life and work,” says National Numeracy’s chief executive Mike Ellicock. “The National Numeracy Challenge is responding to this need and enabling everyone to start to improve their maths.” The charity notes that poor numeracy can make it hard to manage chronic health conditions like asthma and diabetes, while people with lower numeracy skills can struggle to manage their money and are more likely to get into a spiral of debt. Better numeracy skills can also increase employment opportunities.

Mr Ellicock adds, “To anyone tempted to say ‘I can’t do maths’, we say, ‘Yes, you can’.”

This article first appeared in Hastings Independent, Issue 23, 6 February 2015, p13.

2 Comments
Clare link
27/2/2015 20:47:36

We had a maths morning in my son's class today to see how they learn the subject. Some of the parents attending genuinely seemed to struggle to help their children (7 yo).

Also I recently lost my job at a FE college as the qualification I delivered changed its sign up requirements, including a minimum of maths GCSE grade C. Not many people could sign up for the course and so budgets get cut...
Anything to help improve numeracy can only be a good thing. 😊

Reply
Jonathan link
28/2/2015 19:19:52

Thanks for your comment, Clare. That is really interesting about the college course requirements, and it seems almost counterintuitive! Surely they want people to take their courses? Or maybe they want everyone to do their GSCE maths course first... Hmm.

I always liked maths myself. To me there's something very pleasing about getting the "right" answer and making numbers do abstract things. (I ditched maths for literature in my final years of secondary school, but that was down to a bad teacher.) I hope that National Numeracy and other organisations can find a way to make people enjoy maths - or at least not be afraid of it.

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    In which I

    In which I do things and write about them

    RSS Feed

    In which I tag

    All
    #30DaysWild
    Art And Architecture
    Audio And Music
    Australia
    Battle Observer
    Birmingham
    Books And Stories
    Bristol
    Buckinghamshire
    Cambridgeshire
    Cooking
    Cycling
    Devon
    East Sussex
    Eating And Drinking
    Film And Video
    Foraging
    Gardening
    Gippsland GunaiKurnai Country
    Grand Union Canal
    Hastings Independent
    Hertfordshire
    Heysen Trail Prep
    Housekeeping
    Imagining
    Interviewing
    Kent
    Lake Field
    London
    Manchester
    Marketing
    Melbourne Wurundjeri Country
    Microadventure
    National Trust
    Netherlands
    Norfolk
    Northumberland
    Paddling
    Q&A
    Reporting
    Review
    Share The Love
    Sheffield
    Snowy River
    Somerset
    South Gippsland Bunurong Country
    Suffolk
    Swimming
    Tea
    Victorian High Country Jaitmathang Country
    Victorian High Country Taungurung Country
    Wadawurrung Country
    Wales
    Walking
    West Sussex
    Wiltshire
    Year Of Sleeping Variously
    Yorkshire

    In which I archive

    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    October 2021
    September 2021
    March 2021
    December 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.