What happens in a Number Partners session?
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 happens in schools?
Volunteers from a local business or organisation will spend time
with a group of two or three student playing number games for
between half an hour and an hour each week, often at lunchtime.
Usually, one company 'adopts' a particular school and a group of
volunteers visits the school on a weekly basis, forming a
partnership with the students. The essential ingredients will be a
member of staff willing to take responsibility and act as school coordinator for
the scheme and a local business or employer with willing
volunteers.