Tag: numeracy

Celebrating Read Write Count

Supporting child literacy and numeracy

Children across Scotland will be gifted a quarter of a million books and counting activities as part of the Read Write Count with the First Minister programme.

Around 248,000 books will be given to pupils in primary two and three this year as part of a programme underlining the First Minster’s personal commitment to supporting child literacy and numeracy learning across the country.

Pupils in Gaelic Medium Education receive bags with copies of the books in Gaelic and English accounting for 8,000 books in 2,000 bilingual bags.

Read Write Count with the First Minister aims to build parents’ confidence, and encourage families to include easy and fun reading, writing and counting activities in their everyday lives.

The programme received Scottish Government funding of £932,132 for 2023-24.

First Minister Humza Yousaf visited Craigentinny Primary School in Edinburgh to gift pupils with bags to mark Book Week Scotland.

The First Minister said: “I want to encourage all children to enjoy reading, writing, and counting. Reading for pleasure is crucial in developing children’s literacy skills, and our funded national programmes such as Read Write Count with the First Minister are about supporting and enhancing a love of reading from an early age.

“When I was young my favourite books were the ones that were fun and that taught me something new. A good story, or a good book, can open new worlds to us. Reading can even help us if we feel sad, or if we’re unsure about something, and want to learn more about it.

“The Read Write Count with the First Minister programme is a key part of the Scottish Government’s commitment to raising attainment by building parents’ confidence and encouraging families to include fun reading, writing and counting activities in their everyday lives.”

Chief Executive Officer of Scottish Book Trust Marc Lambert said: “Gifting books to children through the Bookbug and Read Write Count with First Minister programmes is one of the highlights of Book Week Scotland each year. For many children in Scotland, the only books they have at home are the ones they are given by Scottish Book Trust.

“Our Bookbug and Read Write Count bags reach children from birth up to Primary 3, and we know they can make a big impact to children’s lives. We’re grateful to the First Minister for joining us at Craigentinny Primary School as the pupils and their families were gifted the bags.”

Scottish Government’s ‘National Mission’ to close attainment gap

Scotland’s councils set out ambitions to help young people succeed

Local authorities have published their plans for closing the poverty-related attainment gap.

Councils across Scotland have set their own “stretch aims” for children and young peoples’ progress in literacy and numeracy levels, for senior phase qualifications achieved, as well as for the number of young people participating in education, training, or employment.

For both overall attainment and in terms of closing the poverty-related attainment gap in literacy and numeracy, the collective stretch aims of local authorities demonstrate ambitions to work towards achieving the biggest two-year improvement recorded since the introduction of the Scottish Attainment Challenge.

This work will be supported by the Scottish Government’s £1 billion Scottish Attainment Challenge, with £43 million in Strategic Equity Funding allocated to local authorities this year. In total more than £130 million has been distributed to schools so far this year to help close the poverty-related attainment gap.

Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills Shirley-Anne Somerville said: “We are committed to substantially eliminating the poverty-related attainment gap and councils have a crucial role in driving this national mission forward at a local level.

“Given the effect of COVID-19 on children and young peoples’ achievement of Curriculum for Excellence levels in 2020/21, these collective aims represent significant local ambition for recovery back to and beyond the national position pre-pandemic, aiming to narrow the poverty related attainment gap by over seven percentage points in both primary school literacy and numeracy compared to 2020/21.

“These will drive an enhanced focus on outcomes for children and young people, ensuring they have the opportunities and support they need to reach their full potential.”

Multiply your number confidence to help get on at work

Following the Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s announcement of a £560m numeracy scheme called Multiply in the Budget this week, charity National Numeracy has published new research that  shows that, when it comes to numbers, feeling confident is crucial. 

The charity’s Putting Number Confidence to Work report shows confidence with numbers plays a  stronger role than number skills in making people feel better able to get a qualification, find a job  or get on at work. 

The report is released to coincide with Number Confidence Week which kicked off on 1st November, seeking to help boost the way the nation feels about numbers. 

Over the past six months, National Numeracy has tracked the reasons 26,000 people have given for  wanting to improve their number confidence and skills when using the National Numeracy Challenge  online tool. The leading reason given is ‘to get on in work’.  

Analysis shows that improving both number confidence and skills gives a bigger boost than skills or  confidence alone, when it comes to feeling more able to take next steps in to work: 61% of  confidence and skill improvers (1,379 people) said they felt more able to get a qualification, find a  job or get on at work. 

But, crucially, improving confidence with numbers alone was enough to give a big boost to feeling  better able to get on at work: 48% (892 people) who improved their number confidence, but not  their skills, feel better able to get a qualification, find a job or get on at work. 

While just improving skills, but not confidence, boosts feelings of being better able to get on in work,  it’s to a much lesser degree than when confidence is also improved: 20% (192 people) of people who  improve their number skills, but not confidence felt better able to get a qualification, find a job or  get on at work. 

The charity also found that women feel significantly less confident with numbers than men, even  when they have a high level of skill with numbers. 

These new findings supplement research for National Numeracy carried out in May 2021 of a  nationally representative survey of 2,000 adults (18+) that found nearly one in five people (18%)  avoid applying for a job or qualification because it, or the interview process, involves maths.  

The data reflects what National Numeracy has found on the ground – employers and employees  reporting problems with number confidence and maths anxiety blocking the pipelines to key  progression routes, such as apprenticeships. 

So it is therefore crucial that greater attention is paid to improving confidence as a stepping-stone to  improving skills, opening up access to learning and progression opportunities, and the benefits for  employment that improved numeracy brings. That’s where Number Confidence Week comes in. 

Number Confidence Week offers a week of fun, useful content with celebrities, experts and  numeracy improvers. From livestreams to downloads, video resources to kids’ activities, there is something to help everyone feel more number confident.

Kicking off on Monday 1 November, the  week covers three crucial topics: supporting your children; managing your money; and getting into,  or on, at work. Number Confidence Week is supported by leading global markets infrastructure and  data solutions provider, TP ICAP, and as always, everything is entirely free for view and use. 

Sam Sims, Chief Executive of National Numeracy said: “Feeling confident about numbers is a game changer. Our research shows that confidence unlocks the door to skills-building and feeling better  able to get in to work or get on at work or get a qualification.

“That’s why, this Number Confidence  Week, we want to inspire as many people as possible to feel more comfortable and confident with  everyday maths. Number confidence really is the foundation for opening up opportunities and  brighter futures.” 

Nicolas Breteau, Group Chief Executive of TP ICAP, the founding partner of Number Confidence Week, said: “We know that numeracy is crucial in today’s world, not only for the success of our  industry but also in enabling individuals to make better choices for their finances and careers.

“Our  research has shown that low confidence with numbers remains a significant barrier for many, and  often holds talented individuals back from considering a career in financial services. It’s important  that we change that, which is why we became a founding partner of Number Confidence Week” 

Putting-Number-Confidence-to-Work_Nov21Download

Boosting numeracy levels in the UK is key to building a skilled nation able to recover from the  pandemic after a period of immense instability in our job markets.

The UK’s numeracy levels are  significantly below the average for developed countries, with 49% of the UK’s working-age  population having the expected numeracy levels of a primary school child. And poor numeracy costs  the UK economy a staggering £25 billion a year.

500,000 adults to ace maths with ‘Multiply’ numeracy programme

  • New £560 million Multiply programme to be launched providing personalised maths coaching for up to half a million people across the UK.
  • Transformational numeracy scheme will transform the lives of some of the 8 million adults in England who have numeracy skills lower than those expected of a 9-year-old.
  • Funding to be channelled through the new £1.5bn UK Shared Prosperity Fund – which replaces a pot of money previously divvied up and distributed by the EU and means the government can target funding where it is needed most.

A TRANSFORMATIONAL £560 million scheme to improve the maths skills of hundreds of thousands of adults across the UK is set to unveiled by the Chancellor next week.

At Wednesday’s Budget and Spending Review, Rishi Sunak will announce that up to 500,000 people will benefit from Multiply with improved basic numeracy skills through free personal tutoring, digital training, and flexible courses.

More than 8 million adults in England have numeracy skills lower than those expected of a 9-year-old with the North East, West Midlands and Yorkshire and the Humber worst affected. And by the age of 30, people with poor numeracy skills are more than twice as likely to be unemployed as their peers.

According to research, improving numeracy skills can increase your pay cheque by 14%, and reduce joblessness by half – boosting the economy and changing lives.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak said: “Better maths can mean a better job and a bigger pay packet. Multiply will help people develop new skills and create opportunities.”

Sam Sims, Chief Executive of National Numeracy said: “Low numeracy blights lives, holding millions of people back from fulfilling their potential and it comes at a huge cost to the economy.

“We need solutions that reach and engage people with low numeracy to build confidence with numbers as well as skills, as a steppingstone to further learning and opportunity.

“National Numeracy is delighted with the announcement of the government’s new ‘Multiply’ scheme, which promises to help improve the numeracy of hundreds of thousands of people.”

Launching in the Spring, Multiply will give people who don’t have at least a GCSE grade C/4 or equivalent in maths access to free new flexible courses to improve their maths.

It will also include a new website with bitesize training and free one-to-one online tutorials to help hundreds of thousands of people improve their maths in every part of the United Kingdom.

The programme will be funded through the new UK Shared Prosperity Fund, which replaces the EU’s Structural Funds, which were previously divvied up and distributed by the EU.

Funding for the UKSPF will increase to £1.5bn per year, meeting the Government’s commitment to level up all parts of the UK. The Multiply scheme is the first step of the new Fund, with further investment provided for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Rather than the EU’s scatter gun approach, the UK Shared Prosperity Fund will ensure the UK Government can target funding where it is needed most – through schemes like Multiply which will help level-up the UK.

Secretary of State for Scotland, Alister Jack said: “The UK Govt made a clear commitment to maintain Scotland’s level of funding following the vote to leave the EU and we have delivered on that promise.

“This is good news for communities across Scotland who will continue to benefit from a range of important projects. Going forward, new arrangements will allow us to deal directly with communities ensuring money is spent on projects that matter most to the people of Scotland.”

City schools urged to sign up for Scotland’s first nationwide online maths contest

Pupils from across the Lothians are being invited to showcase their numeracy skills and prove they are top of the class by joining the 265 classes in the region who have already signed up for Scotland’s first ever nationwide online school maths contest, launched today (Friday 21stApril) by Scottish education technology social enterprise Sumdog. Continue reading City schools urged to sign up for Scotland’s first nationwide online maths contest

Help them shine

new ad campaign to support childrens’ literacy and numeracy

150518 GWR mother and child gs (1)

Parents and families have a key role to play in helping their children to read, write and count well and a new TV and supermarket-based advertising campaign has been launched to encourage and help parents to support their children’s learning beyond the classroom. Continue reading Help them shine

Community classes starting soon at Craigroyston

New classes starting at Craigroyston

CCHSWe have some free classes aimed primarily at local people in our community at Craigroyston:

Cook your tea
Sometimes the hardest thing about cooking is deciding what to make!

It is all too easy to run out of ideas for offering something delicious, healthy and within a tight budget. The friendly tutor for this class has a wide range of ideas which can be made quickly and cheaply making this the highlight of your culinary week.

Favourite dishes range from Thai curry, to mushroom risotto as well
as home made lemon chicken. If there is anything you really want to learn to make, the tutor will be able to help.

Come along, cook your tea and take it home to surprise all the family and friends!

Please bring £1.50 each week towards the ingredients.
The class is *FREE.

Saving Money (and the Environment)
Small steps = big changes!

This practical maths course takes everyday situations and shows you how to make the maths work for you!

Work out the running costs of many household appliances, decipher your
energy bill, compare special offers while out shopping and even find out how to make the most of a square foot garden!

Don’t worry if you didn’t get maths the first time round, this course allows you to start small and build up at your own pace. It uses examples from everyday life that affect everyone, from recipes to recycling
and will help you quickly gain confidence in handling your finances!
Not only that, we are running this course in partnership with Edinburgh’s
very own Science Museum at Dynamic Earth and several sessions will take place there (all transport & entry fees provided).

Creative Expressions

Bringing together creative writing, photography and other forms of creative expression, this class offers a range of combined art forms. The informal setting means that everyone can take part in different forms of self expression and gain a satisfying experience.

*(This class is FREE)
And also some classes that we hope will be of interest and are very good value:

Fee is £50 for the standard 10 weeks of 2 hours per week courses – £25 for a senior citizen or student – £14 for anyone receiving benefits. (half of this for the 5 week course or a 1 hour course)

These can be booked online as well as by phone or in person – www.joininedinburgh.org​

Make and Mend
Creative Upcycling Projects (5 weeks)

Upcycling is about converting old or discarded materials into something
useful and beautiful for your home or to give as a personalised present. Join this weekly course to learn all sorts of original ways to refashion and redesign things you have at home already, with a friendly tutor full of inspiring ideas and different craft techniques.

Pottery
This class teaches the basics of hand building and wheel throwing in clay and introduces different artistic styles & methods of creating successful ceramic pieces.

It also offers an introduction to the use of the potter’s wheel and stone
wear firing. There is an additional £10 to pay towards materials used.

Creative Writing
Do you feel you might like to have some guidance in developing your creative writing skills, to express ideas and show you how to overcome writer’s block?

A very friendly tutor can help you develop characters, transform experiences into storylines and encourage you to share your writing with
the group. The class is supportive and will look at wide ranging in creative styles.

NOW STARTING SEPTEMBER:

Computing for Not Quite Beginners ​
This course is ideal for people who can create a word/text document and would like to start experimenting with pictures and tables in order to create a poster, newsletter, invitation or flyer.
Potential students should be able to create a simple document with some
text in it.
The course will cover:
Inserting pictures from clipart, inserting photos from a memory stick, downloading pictures from the Internet, arranging text size, colour etc, using Wordart, designing page layouts and using columns and inserting tables.

Scots History through Scottish Novels

This enjoyable course will to explore the relationship between 20th and early 21st century Scottish literature, history and the culture and politics of contemporary Scotland.
The books the course will be looking at will be James Douglas Brown, The House with the Green Shutters; Lewis Grassic Gibbon, Sunset Song; Jessie Kesson, The White Bird Passes; Muriel Spark, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie; James Robertson, And the Land Lay Still.

There will be a small amount of advised reading to support a deeper understanding of the texts and their historical and cultural background.

and there are many more – language, music and others – and it it would be great to have some local people take advantage of these great classes! 

 

Fiona Henderson