About the programme
Aims
Number Partners is designed to:
- support schools in raising achievement in numeracy
- improve young people's number skills, for both maths and
financial literacy
- help develop students' interpersonal skills through interaction
with a Number Partner on a regular basis
- develop young people's confidence and motivation to learn
- give young people a positive insight into the world of work and
business
- reinforce the relevance of good number skills.
An introduction
Number Partners has been bringing
numeracy to life in classrooms since the programme was first set up
by Tower Hamlets Education Business Partnership in 1998. Created to
provide young learners with individual numeracy support at school,
the programme was launched nationally in 2001. Since then,
it's grown from strength to strength with more than 60 regions in
the UK already benefiting from the programme.
However, schools are always looking
for new volunteers, especially employees from the business
community and public and third sectors because it is a fun way to
improve maths skills and the need for support in numeracy and financial literacy is now
greater than ever. Basic numeracy skills are essential to
everyday life, further education and employment. The long
term social and financial costs of innumeracy are huge.
The need to improve maths skills is real
A 2009 report estimates children who
are bad at maths at school end up costing the taxpayer up to 2.4bn
a year. Professional services firm KPMG tracked children with
poor numeracy and found they were more likely to be unemployed,
claim more benefits and pay less tax. The report estimates
that the long-term costs of children leaving schools unable to do
maths could be as high as 44,000 per individual up to the age of
37. It also estimates 30,000 children leave primary schools
each year, barely able to do the simplest calculations, so the need
is very real.
Maths is an essential skill for life
and for employment. We need to ensure that young people have
these skills for their own good and for the good of our economy
especially when predictions suggest that the demand for managerial
and professional jobs will increase whilst there will be fewer low
skills jobs - which could result in rising unemployment.
What we do and how we do it
Number Partners focuses on students,
particularly 7 to 11 year olds and 11 to 14 year olds. It's a
way for employers and employees to engage with schools and young
people in their area, and for schools to engage with local
businesses and employers. For all parties, the rewards are
very worthwhile.
Number Partners is designed to be
flexible; to work alongside other numeracy initiatives and to fit
in with each school's own needs and approach. The Government
is also actively encouraging community and business involvement in
education and that's where employers and employees come in.
This website
All the materials, information and
training provided on this website is designed to support volunteers, employers, schools and business link
organisations currently taking part in the scheme across the
UK, or those wishing to join in. Once registered
with the programme, users will be able to assess their readiness
for Number Partners before taking part.