What happens in Number Partners sessions?
A typical Number Partners session
"I usually arrive at the school five or ten minutes before
my session starts, so I can have a quick chat with the teacher and
catch up on what's been going on with my kids. Pamela and Abdul
collect me from the main corridor and we go along to the library
with the other Number Partners. It usually takes a while to get
them going, so we have a chat about what they've been doing in
class in the past week. Then, we choose a game which we play
together for about 20 minutes. I try to get them to tell me how
they arrive at their answers, and they're sometimes not very
confident, but now that I've been working with them for three
months, they're getting better. At the end of the session, we fill
in the diaries which I leave for their teacher, before heading back
to the office." A current volunteer
What will happen once a volunteer has successfully completed
the police or criminal record check, training and assessment?
Volunteer Number Partners will:
- be put in touch with a member of staff - a class teacher, maths
coordinator or business coordinator - at a local school which has
expressed interest in the programme
- find out more about the school and your partner students from
your volunteer coordinator who has made an initial visit to discuss
arrangements in detail with the school coordinator
- visit that school for half an hour to an hour, usually during
school lunchtime, once a week for at least one term
- play numeracy games, preferably with
the same two or three specially selected students, each week
- help those students to enjoy, develop and improve their
numeracy skills through fun activities.
Don't worry! There is comprehensive, step by step advice
available in the online training
section. If it's a long time since you've been in a school, you
may also be interested in the section about education which will help you
find out about the curriculum in primary and secondary schools, as well as a
number of educational policies and issues relating to numeracy and personal finance
education.
You'll also find downloads including a set up checklist, a diary for record keeping and
questionnaires for your students. All of
these are designed to help you be a confident and effective Number
Partner.