As the COVID-19 pandemic continued to disrupt our lives in 2021, we built on our rapid response in 2020 to bolster our work accordingly: increasing our digitally delivered training, publishing new research into the cost of poor numeracy and removing paid-for barriers to support parents/carers and teachers so they can access our Family Maths Toolkit for free.
From national campaigns to small online events, our numbers tell the story:
- 833,685 engagements with people in our work in 2021.
- 86,783 actions to improve numeracy during National Numeracy Day - a three-fold increase on the first campaign in 2018.
- 40,602 actions towards building confidence with numbers as part of Number Confidence Week - a 84% increase on 2020.
- 8,723 downloads from our Family Maths Toolkit in its first year online.
- 94% of those attending our direct-to-learner sessions said they feel more confident to improve their numeracy.
Influencing national action
With the launch of the National Numeracy Leadership Council, National Numeracy came together with government departments and a pioneering group of organisations to raise the numeracy issue up the agenda.
Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak said:
Having the right numeracy skills is really important in every aspect of people’s lives, from getting on in a career, to balancing a family budget…That’s why I’m delighted that HM Treasury is joining the National Numeracy Leadership Council, and look forward to us working together to raise awareness of this important issue.
In October, the Chancellor announced ‘Multiply’, a new £560 million numeracy scheme to support up to 500,000 adults with low numeracy. This is good news for the country, economy, employers and – most importantly – the millions of adults held back in life through low numeracy.
Real-life impact
We reached thousands of people last year, but each learner isn't just a number, everyone has a story. By talking to those who have struggled – but eventually overcome – their difficulties with maths, we hope to to inspire others as we pass on their stories. Ranging from personal to professional, from all over the UK, they highlight how numeracy is relevant in all walks of life.
Building confidence
Through our national campaigns: National Numeracy Day and Number Confidence Week, we shone a spotlight on why numeracy matters for: work, money management and our children. Our core message continues to be that building confidence with numbers is the key. #NationalNumeracyDay trended No.1 on Twitter in the UK on the Day and hundreds of thousands of people engaged with us online through our content. Some of our fantastic celebrity ambassadors: Bobby Seagull, Katya Jones, Peter Sawkins and Harry Baker took the message to new audiences in new ways.
You can see all the highlights from the year in full in the Report...
