nationalnumeracy.org.uk

A new
approach
to making
the UK
numerate
The Essentials of Numeracy: a new approach to making the UK numerate1

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2

The Essentials of Numeracy: a new approach to making the UK numerateForeword

Poor numeracy
poses a financial
cost to theindividual anda cost to theeconomy,estimated tobe £20 billion ayear. There are simply too many adults
in the UK who, through no fault of theirown, lack the basic numeracy skills
needed in everyday work and life. Thisis a waste of human and economic
capital that we simply can’t ignore.
We have seen a keen and growing
focus on improving maths in schools
but many of the 17 million adults withpoor numeracy are now out of reachof the education system, meaning
employers must play their part too.
Businesses have a vital role to play inhelping the millions of adults held backby a lack of basic numeracy. All of us
have relationships with our employees,with our suppliers, and within ourbusiness networks that we can use
to help those who need it most to
improve their basic skills.
The UK is one of the least sociallymobile countries in the world andsustained and collaborative action
is needed to ensure that everyone,
regardless of background, canfulfil their potential. But improving
numeracy levels is important not justbecause it is ‘the right thing to do’. It
also makes good business sense. It is
increasingly clear that a highly skilledworkforce will be vital to the success of

our future economy. If we are to solve
the UK’s long-standing productivity
puzzle, improving basic skills in theworkforce will be a key challenge forthe business community to tackle.
KPMG has a long history of working
with disadvantaged young people toimprove their basic skills. The KPMG
Foundation, which is committed
to helping children from the mostchallenging socio-economic
backgrounds, reached over 50,000 sixyear-olds with its Every Child Counts
and Every Child a Reader programmes.
We are committed to broadening thescope of our efforts to those adults
who are equally held back by poor
numeracy and literacy skills, manyof whom have long careers ahead ofthem.
We are supporting National Numeracy
because we believe it can generate
a fundamental shift in attitude andattainment in numeracy in the UK.
With the Essentials of Numeracy,
National Numeracy identifies the skills
everybody needs on a daily basis andprovides effective, accessible andscalable tools for people to use. But it’s
clear that no single initiative will be able
to solve this problem alone. Business,
policymakers, educationalists andindeed society as a whole must all pull
together to ensure that everyone has
the essential numeracy skills they needto succeed.

Contents
Summary

4

Numeracy in
the UK: thestory so far

6

Numeracyin the UK:
the cost

10

Numeracyin the UK:
why thingsaren’t working

12

The Essentials
of Numeracy:
a new solution

19

Conclusion

26

Melanie Richards,
Vice Chair, KPMG in the UK

The Essentials of Numeracy: a new approach to making the UK numerate3Summary

Poor numeracy remains endemic in the UK. Government statistics
suggest that 17 million adults – 49% of the working-age population ofEngland – have the numeracy level that we expect of primary school
children. The total cost to the UK economy (to the Exchequer, employers
and individuals) has been put at £20 billion a year. Within this, theaverage cost to individuals with poor numeracy is £460 a year. It affects
not only people’s pockets, but their health and wellbeing too. And it is amajor, and often unrecognised, drain on workplace productivity.
The importance of good numeracy is widely
acknowledged at a top level by economists
and educationalists. And yet on the groundthe problem continues. Poor numeracy
among individuals is often not detected andthe impact on productivity within a particular
workplace is not quantified. Numeracy – theability to solve everyday problems throughthe application of basic mathematical skills
and understanding – is often overshadowedby concerns about literacy and subsumed inacademic mathematics. And yet it is different
from both. It also continues to be beset bycultural barriers – the social acceptability ofsaying ‘I’m rubbish at maths’ and the mistaken
view that maths is a can-do/can’t-do subject.

Solutions are not easy, but we offer anapproach which we have shown can havereal impact if supported by employers,
policy-makers and others. We haveidentified the essential numerical skills andunderstanding that everyone needs and thatcan be adapted to all everyday contexts:
we call these the Essentials of Numeracy.
We have also devised low-cost methods
for assessing whether people have theEssentials and, if not, helping them get there,
and for embedding the approach within
workplaces and other organisations. All of
this is underpinned by our belief, backed byevidence, that virtually everyone can improvewith effort and the right support.

The resolution of all this cannot be left to theeducation and skills system alone. It is not
solely a matter of ensuring students leaveschool numerate, important though that is.
Help must also be directed to the millions
of barely numerate adults already at work,
many of whom will continue to work forseveral decades.

This may be an old problem, but in thecurrent economic climate, it is more crucial
than ever. As a small charity, National
Numeracy cannot act alone but we now haveconcrete, low-cost, solutions to enable almost
everyone to get the Essentials of Numeracy.
We therefore call on all those with an interestin the economic and educational success of
the UK to join and support us in the drive to
do something effective – at long last – about
improving numeracy.

4

49%
49% of theworking-age
population ofEngland havethe numeracy
level that we
expect of primaryschool children.

£20bn
The total costto the UK
economy (tothe Exchequer,
employers andindividuals) has
been put at £20
billion a year.

The Essentials of Numeracy: a new approach to making the UK numerateSpecifically, we call upon:
Government to turn its attention to
improving the skills of the ‘forgotten half’of adults whose primary school levelnumeracy is holding back both them andthe country – rather than focusing solely
on qualifications for children, young
people and a limited number of adults.
We propose an efficient, cost-effective
way of identifying and addressing poor
numeracy across the workforce. This could
provide a much-needed spur to post-Brexit
productivity and should be a key part of amodern industrial strategy.

Employers to recognise that some of themany millions of adults who struggle withnumeracy may be in their own workplace– and that this has a negative impact on
business productivity. We invite firms towork with us to support their employees
who need to get the Essentials of
Numeracy.
Workplace training providers to work with
us to address ‘I can’t do maths’, which is thefirst and perhaps most significant barrier
to people improving their numeracy. In
doing so, there is an opportunity to improveengagement, retention and the long-term
impact of current skills training.
Individuals to ‘just do it’. Everyone cancheck whether they’ve got the Essentials
of Numeracy and if they are not there yet,then we can help them.

The Essentials of Numeracy: a new approach to making the UK numerate

My recent work
reviewing Post16 mathematics
education for
the government
has surfaced anumber of wider
issues, including
the remarkablestatistic thatapproximately
half the adult
population havethe number skills
that we expect ofan 11 year old.”

Sir Adrian Smith,Vice-Chancellor,
University of
London5

Numeracy in the UK:
the story so far
You are paid £9/hour and receive a 5% pay rise. What is your new rateof pay? This is a simple enough question: one that every adult should be
able to work out the answer to, whether in their heads, with pencil andpaper or with help from the calculator on their phones. We could give
many other similar examples, of ordinary, everyday maths that people
need to be able to do. They need to do it to get by in life and to get on inlife. They also need to do it for the sake of the future prosperity of the UK.
We are yet to find anyone in a position of
influence who disagrees with this. It is notcontroversial. However, whereas substantial
progress has been made on adult literacy,
we are still failing to create a numerate
population (see figure 1). In a recent survey,
almost a quarter of adults across the UK
were unable to answer the above question
correctly (even with the option of using acalculator)1. Independent economic researchsuggests that the direct cost of this poor
numeracy to these individuals averages £460
every year2.

?

What do we mean
by numeracy?
Being confident andcompetent to use
numbers and data to
make good decisions indaily life.

What is going wrong? The answer is of course
multi-faceted but we believe that one vital
missing element is a clear understanding ofwhat it really means to be numerate: having
the mathematical skills and understandingthat enable people to tackle simple problems
and make good decisions. We call these skills
the Essentials of Numeracy.
What has also been missing until now is aneasy, scalable way to identify, assess andaddress poor numeracy, equipping everyone
with the Essentials. Our work in job centres, inuniversities and with employers suggests thatpoor literacy is easy to identify and difficult
to hide (being asked to fill in a form gives an
instant indication) whereas staff tell us thatpoor numeracy is currently difficult to identify
and easy to hide.

I make no secretof the fact that
I love maths but
I also know noteveryone is likeme... But there
is some maths
that everyone
really does
need a graspof to makegood, informed
decisions bothat home andat work.

Rachel Riley,
TV Presenter &Mathematician

YouGov June 2017. 23% of respondents answered incorrectly or ‘don’t know’. Three everyday
maths questions were asked and 5 out of 6 respondents (83%) failed to answer all three correctly.

1

Derived from PBE (2014) using 2012 population data and subsequent inflation. £460 is the mid
estimate with a range from £146 to £742. Further explanation on the following page.
2

6

The Essentials of Numeracy: a new approach to making the UK numerateThis is about more than being able to ‘dosums’. When almost everyone carries morecomputing power in their pocket than it took
to put a man on the moon, that should be
self-evident. It is also about more than having
exam passes. If someone can’t work out what
difference a 5% pay increase makes, evenwith their phone and a GCSE certificate, thenhow do we best help them?
So far the education and skills system is
yet to make a significant impression on thestagnating numeracy levels among adults.
Regardless of what happens in schools andcolleges – and there are key implications
there too – we need to address the problemof poor maths skills among millions of people
already of working age. We cannot simply
hope that schools and colleges provide
answers for the future. In this report, we
explore why the situation remains as it is andpropose an alternative approach based upon
our work with partner organisations. Thishas shown that a rapid improvement in adultnumeracy is possible and is scalable at a cost
per learner that is far lower than other current
approaches3.

% of the English
population with skills
roughly equivalent to
GCSE C or above

44%

57%

26%

Literacy

22%
Numeracy

2003

2011

Figure 1: A comparison between numeracy and literacy skills. Data
from Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. 2012. “Skills
for Life Survey 2011”. These findings are for England. Other researchsuggests a somewhat similar picture for other parts of the UK.

3
National Numeracy Challenge cost per improver in 2016 was £74. The Skills Funding Agency pay
providers a standard rate of £724 per Functional Skills qualification (with no evidence of how muchlearners have progressed or improved through taking the qualification)

The Essentials of Numeracy: a new approach to making the UK numerate

7

The story so far: some facts. The evidence to suggest thatmany adults in the UK are not numerate has been amassing
in recent years. There are no signs of improvement and atpoints in our recent history numeracy levels appear to haveactually declined.

The UK was theworst performingof the 17 OECD
countries in the‘Numeracy /Knowledge’
component of
Adult Financial
Literacy4.

Less than

1/4
Of those 16-24 year olds
with a grade C or above
in GCSE maths, less thana quarter were at anequivalent level when
their numeracy wastested6 - suggesting that
GCSE is no guarantee ofgood numeracy.

78%

78% of adults have numeracy skills below Level 2(the same level as a good GCSE pass) and would
therefore struggle to correctly answer a question
such as ‘A TV has been reduced by 20% and now
costs £280. What was the original price?’5.
Work with the Nuffield
Foundation’s Q-Step
programme showsthat many social science
undergraduates are
not confident withbasic mathematicalconcepts (such as placevalue) that should havebeen secured in early
primary schooling.

National Numeracy’s individual workplacereviews have revealed a particularly
low level of numeracy among some
employees: 91% of those surveyed at aleading hospitality company and 88% of
healthcare assistants at an NHS Hospital
Trust were below Level 2 (good GCSE passequivalent). Among those with a GCSE
at grade C or above, only one in eight
reached the equivalent level when tested
for numeracy.

17m
17 million adults in England - halfof the working-age population- have everyday maths skills
roughly equivalent to those
expected of a primary school
child (Entry Levels)7.

OECD data shows that
the UK has below-average
numeracy proficiency overall
and is the only country
where skills of 16-24 year
olds are no better than thoseof 55-65 year olds8.

OECD/INFE International Survey of Adult
Financial Literacy Competencies (2016)

4

5

Ibid

6

Ibid

Skills for Life Survey (2012).
78% in 2011, 74% in 2003.

7

OECD 2013 ‘Surveyof Adult Skills (PIAAC)

8

8

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The Essentials of Numeracy: a new approach to making the UK numerate

9Numeracy in the UK:
the cost
Poor numeracy matters both for individuals9 and for the future
productivity of the UK in a global marketplace. In a post-Brexit era,
where the country is critically dependent on the skills of its people,
arguably it will matter even more.
For individuals, low levels of numeracy arelinked to unemployment, low wages and poor
health and there is evidence that numeracy
is even more closely related to wellbeing
and socio-economic achievement than isliteracy10. Recent research in the UK showsthat there is, unsurprisingly, a strong link
between numeracy and financial capability11.
Specifically, research from the Money Advice
Service, due to be published in the autumn,
suggests that: (a) numeracy is a significant
predictor of savings frequency even whenallowing for income and other variables, (b)higher numeracy is associated with higher
savings (independent of income) and (c)lower numeracy is linked to poor use ofcredit.12. Further afield, research in the US
found that ‘numeric ability predicts mortgage
default’13.
At the national level, a 2014 report for
National Numeracy from Pro Bono
Economics (PBE) estimated the bill for poor
numeracy at around £20 billion a year, withthe cost shared by individuals, employers
and government. The cost (in lower wages)
for individuals was estimated at £8.8bn per
year. Shared amongst the 20 million14 working
age adults with low numeracy and allowing
for inflation, this provides a central estimateof £460 per person per year. Using PBE’s
upper and lower limit estimates for the cost to
individuals (£2.9bn and £14.9bn respectively)
the cost could be as high as £742 per person
per year.

£460
Estimated cost
per year toeach of the 20
million working
adults with low
numeracy

The Cabinet Secretary, Sir Jeremy Heywood,
has argued that ‘poor numeracy is a directdrag on UK productivity – we therefore needto find better ways to improve numeracy
in the workplace’15. National Numeracy isstarting to do just that and our work with
employers is uncovering how low actual
workplace numeracy levels are (more or lessreflecting national levels – generally much tothe surprise of management) and the impactof this on productivity.

Andreas Schleicher, the Head of the OECD Research programme, has suggested
that among the variables that the OECD measure, ‘good numeracy is the bestprotection against unemployment, low wages and poor health’ (2013)910

Carpentieri, Litster and Frumkin (2009); New Philanthropy Capital (2010)

Headline summary: ‘low numeracy is a barrier to financial capability and higher
numeracy enables greater financial capability.’ MAS/Critical Research, October 2016
11

12

‘The influence of numeracy on financial capability’ MAS due Autumn 201713

Gerardi, Goette, and Meier (2010)

20m average Working Age Population derived from ONS 2012 data and SFL 2011.
WAP below Level 1 = 49.1% of 40,880,484 = 20,072,318

14

15

Behavioural Exchange Conference 201510

The Essentials of Numeracy: a new approach to making the UK numerateThrough our work withbusinesses, we have had
accounts of:Within the National HealthService, comments from staff
include:• M istakes handling money, balancing tills
and organising events.

“They get fluids wrong so patients are kept
in, taking up beds.”• S
 taff doing things ‘the long way around’
and being less efficient with their time.
• Staff shunning key responsibilities
because of fears about numeracy,
putting pressure on others in the team.
• Staff avoiding or dropping out of
apprenticeships because of anxiety
about numeracy.

Nurse, Acute NHS Trustreferring to Health Care Assistants“I want to train as a nurse but
the maths holds me back.”

Poor numeracy
has a significant
impact not juston individuals, butalso on businesses
and the economy,
as it is a common
skill required inalmost all formsof work.

Senior Health Care Assistant“Most of our Health Care
Assistant jobs don’t need maths.”
HR Manager, NHS Trust“In the roles I’ve had, the managers havebeen the worst people for not wanting todeal with maths and the idea ofbrushing up skills.”

Peter Cheese,
Chief Executive,
CIPD (Chartered
Institute of
Personnel &Development)

Nurse, NHS Trust

The Essentials of Numeracy: a new approach to making the UK numerate11Numeracy in the UK:
why things aren’t working
There has been a focus on improving literacy and numeracy for many
years. However, given that we are still not producing an adequately
numerate population, existing approaches appear not to be working.
It is worth examining why.

Functional numeracy
is assumed but not tested
In so many contexts, the problem ofpoor numeracy is simply not ‘outed’. The
assumption is that most people get byfine and the underlying impact of low
numeracy is not considered. Banks and thefinancial sector – not to mention politicians
and the media – assume a reasonablelevel of numerical understanding by theircustomers and the general public16. And few
employers are aware of the numeracy needsof their workforce. But given that the UK isstruggling with productivity compared toits competitors17, might not poor numeracy
among so many in the adult population be astrong contributory factor? Evidence fromour work with employers and unions suggests
this is indeed the case. And yet the specificissue is barely recognised, not least because,
up to now, there has been no available meansfor people to check their numeracy level.

Hidden behind mathematics
Numeracy has tended to be merged withliteracy or subsumed within school maths,
even though the issues – and therefore
potential solutions – are fundamentallydifferent. To start with, numeracy does
not equal maths. Mathematicians would
recognise that, but the school curriculum inEngland seems not to18. As the Conservative
peer Lord Lucas recently pointed out,
there is a distinction that is not currently
being made between an education for (afew) mathematicians and a mathematics
education (for all)19. The secondary schoolmathematics curriculum – and specifically the
GCSE exam – is generally orientated towards
the former, with complex abstract maths
presented in simple contexts. Evidence fromthe government’s 2012 Skills for Life survey
and elsewhere suggests this is not the best
way to enable everyone to be confident inusing simple maths in the complex practicalcontexts they will encounter in life and atwork. The Essentials of Numeracy is our
response – equipping adults with the skills
and confidence that are needed in theworkplace and life.

16“...to date checking whether people have sufficient confidence and competence in using numbers to make soundfinancial decisions and calculations, has not routinely been part of the debate in financial capability. We have now gathered
more evidence to suggest that this should change and we look forward to working with National Numeracy and others totake this agenda forward.” David Haigh, Money Advice Service June 2017.
17

See ‘Productivity puzzles’ speech by Andy Haldane at LSE on 20 March 2017 for review of the evidence

18

In Wales there are two separate GCSEs: Mathematics and Mathematics-Numeracy.

19

Westminster Education Forum April 201712

The Essentials of Numeracy: a new approach to making the UK numerateHidden behind literacy –‘literacyandnumeracy’
So often within discussions of literacy andnumeracy, the two are written and spoken
of in combination as if they are a single skill,with literacy frequently used as a proxy forboth. Within further, adult and community
education there are very few numeracy
specialists. Often vocational tutors are asked
to teach both subjects and if a specialist
tutor is employed, more often than not their
specialism will be in literacy. But the subjects
are different and require different teachingapproaches and skills. Developing the skills
to interpret and use the English language,
which is complex and irregular, is cognitively
taxing but almost everyone accepts theneed to read, write and communicate to be
successful. In contrast, ‘maths anxiety’20,
combined with a lack of clarity about what
is really essential (‘I have a calculator and Siriso I don’t need to do this’) inhibits students
and creates cultural barriers to engaging withnumbers and data. But our evidence suggeststhat the cultural barriers can be overcome– and once they are, becoming numerate(e.g. able to calculate 5% of £9) may be lesscognitively taxing than becoming literate.

GCSE – bottom 1/3 failirrespective of absoluteperformance
There is another specific barrier in the system.
GCSE is largely cohort-referenced; in otherwords, relative rather than absolute scores
determine whether students pass or fail.
Currently grade boundaries are set so that athird of each cohort falls below a grade C (orgrade 4 from summer 2017) – the level prized
by employers and further/higher education– irrespective of their absolute performance.
This is an inefficient use of human capital; thesystem is structured to ensure that a thirdof all 16-year-olds are effectively being toldthat they ‘can’t do maths’. It is little wonderthat they come to believe it, as indeed do
many others who scraped through the exam
by rote learning without firm conceptual
understanding.

Poor numeracy
is a pervasive
but hidden
issue across the
UK workforce– impacting
negatively on
individuals andthe productivityof UK plc. We
clearly need to do
things differently
given thatapproximately
half the adult
population havethe number skills
that we expect ofprimary school
children.

Qualifications but notunderlying skills
As the OECD has repeatedly pointed out,
the education and skills system in the UK has
become adept at generating qualifications –but without securing the implied underlying
improvement in skills. For example: ‘At every
qualification level, low basic skills are morecommon...in England than in many othercountries. This means that despite the rapid
expansion of educational opportunities, anda relatively well qualified cohort of young
adults, the basic skills of this cohort haveremained weak.’21

Lord GusO’Donnell,
Chair of Frontier
Economics andformer Cabinet
Secretary

20
See for example: The Math Anxiety-Performance Link - A Global Phenomenon (Foley et al - Feb 2017)
and Intergenerational Effects of Parents’ Math Anxiety on Children’s Math Achievement and Anxiety– (Maloney et al - Aug 2015)21

Building skills for all: A review of England OECD 2016

The Essentials of Numeracy: a new approach to making the UK numerate13All-consuming focus on the
education system
The attention of politicians, the media andsometimes – it has to be said – employers
has been concentrated on ‘fixing’ maths
in schools and colleges, on improving themaths of the future workforce rather thanaddressing the numeracy shortcomings ofthe existing adult workforce. The evidence
from the OECD cited within this reportsuggests that this focus is not delivering an
improvement in basic skills, but even if it were,some simple back-of-envelope sums22 showthat it is impossible to generate significant
productivity gains in the near future by thismeans. The numbers are against it. To drive
productivity in the coming decade, we needto pay serious attention to developing thenumeracy skills of those already at work –some of whom will be at work for another 40
years or more.
Although there is now support across thepolitical spectrum for extending maths
education among young people andpreventing early drop-out, there is one verysignificant hurdle. Current indications23
suggest that we will be unable to properly
staff expanded maths education in schools
and colleges in the near future. While that is acomplex problem that needs determination,
money and time to resolve, it does suggestthat a lot more attention needs to be paid tothe effective use of technology, as Sir Adrian
Smith has proposed.

Current (high) cost assumption
prevents scale
The current model for improving numeracy
assumes a cost per learner based oncomparatively intense, normally face-toface, skills-based teaching. For example, aEuropean Social Fund/Skills Funding Agency

project in the South East Local EnterprisePartnership provides £2.16m to fund workwith 2,620 people, a cost of £824 perlearner. The Skills Funding Agency spends
around £250m per year on Functional Skills
numeracy qualifications, at a standard costof £724 per qualification. This approach lacks
both scale (fewer than 350,000 adults peryear) and the potential to deliver scale (at thisrate, the theoretical cost to support adults
with primary school level numeracy would be£12.3 billion) and there is no evidence that it
is working across the population or reaching
those who would benefit most. Indeed recent
numeracy surveys and analysis point in the
opposite direction.

Attitudes: ‘I can’t do maths’
Alongside all these hurdles goes the problem
of attitudes: the social acceptability ofsaying ‘I can’t do maths’, the belief thatmaths doesn’t really matter that much, that
it is an obscure subject often feared andbest avoided. This is not something that
adults would brag about in those countries
that outperform the UK both in numeracy
and productivity. National Numeracy
has challenged this approach at every
opportunity since our inception in 2012
and there have been some successes – forexample, the cosmetics giant L’Oréal agreed
to drop the ‘maths was never my thing’ linefrom an advertising campaign. But challenges
arise from unexpected quarters: in 2016
The Times of India reported Prince William
quipping to a no doubt puzzled audience ofstudents in Mumbai that he was ‘terrible atmaths’. Clearly the problem remains deepseated and nuanced – and more needs tobe done to tackle it and thereby encourage
those whose opportunities to get on in life arelimited by their poor numeracy.

Making thenumbers add
up is as importantin the NHS as
it is in all
workplaces.
That’s why
all staff must
understandthe Essentials
of Numeracy
and this work
is not justessential but
critical toproviding
21st century
healthcare.

David Roberts,
Non-Executive
Director, NHS

22c.770k people join the workforce each year, which represents c.1.9% of working-age population. There are c.20m adults 49% of working-age population at primary school level numeracy. Even if the flow is ‘fixed’ the dilution rate is low.
23
‘If we were to get to steady state... you would need 1 in 5 of Maths graduates to go into teaching, comparable figure forhistory is 1 in 25’. Sir Adrian Smith WEF April 201714

The Essentials of Numeracy: a new approach to making the UK numerateg towards
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Jackie Baker

The Essentials of Numeracy: a new approach to making the UK numerate

15

The Essentials of Numeracy has been gaining real traction as a viable,
sustainable solution to improving the numeracy of the UK. Here are thewords of just some of our supporters:“Poor numeracy can hit
workplace productivity and also
has profound economic andsocial effects for households
who fall into problems withdebt and financial hardship.
Data from the 100,000 who
have already engaged with the
National Numeracy Challengeshows that improving basic
numeracy online at low marginal
cost is possible. The Essentials
of Numeracy report is a key
milestone to begin to tackle
these important societal issues.
Next, we need to see suchinitiatives on scale to bringabout real improvements to
support the economy.”	Andy Haldane, Chief
Economist, Bank of England& National Numeracy Trustee“	Making the numbers add up is
as important in the NHS as it
is in all workplaces. That’s why
all staff must understand the
Essentials of Numeracy andthis work is not just essential
but critical to providing
21st century healthcare.”	David Roberts,
Non-Executive Director, NHS“	Poor numeracy is a pervasive
but hidden issue across the
UK workforce – impacting
negatively on individuals
and the productivity of UK
plc. We clearly need to do
things differently, given thatapproximately half the adult
population have the number
skills that we expect ofprimary school children.”	Lord Gus O’Donnell, Chairof Frontier Economics andformer Cabinet Secretary“	The Nuffield Foundation
supports National Numeracy’s
commitment to encouraging
numerate behaviour andattitudes in adults and children
through its ‘Essentials of
Numeracy’ model. We knowthat most people stop studying
maths after GCSE, so it’s
important to develop otheropportunities for teaching andlearning numeracy skills. Thisis one of the drivers behind
Q-Step – a programme toincrease the quantitative skills ofsocial science undergraduates –which the Nuffield Foundation
developed in partnership withESRC and HEFCE. We haverecently commissioned National
Numeracy to work with Q-Step
Centres to develop a newversion of its Check-Up tool,
which we believe presents agreat opportunity for students
to assess and develop theirnumerical skills and confidence.”	Simon Gallacher, Head ofStudent Programmes, The
Nuffield Foundation

16“	The TUC has worked with
National Numeracy since theirlaunch in 2012 and we strongly
support what they are doing
to enable everyone to get the
Essentials of Numeracy. I am
keen to see more employers
engage with National Numeracy
and Unions on this vital issue.”	Frances O’Grady, General
Secretary, TUC“My recent work reviewing Post16 mathematics education for
the government has surfaced
a number of wider issues,
including the remarkablestatistic that approximately half
the adult population have thenumber skills that we expect
of an 11 year old – or worse.
Clearly we need to do things
differently and embedding
the Essentials of Numeracy
within the workplace would
appear to be a sensible start.”	Sir Adrian Smith,Vice-Chancellor,
University of London“	With the world of work changing
faster than ever, it’s clear thatfunctional maths skills are an
important part of adapting
for the future. I welcome thework of National Numeracy
and the Essentials of Numeracy
campaign, which will makean important contribution tomeeting this challenge.”	Sir Charlie Mayfield, Chairman,
John Lewis Partnership

The Essentials of Numeracy: a new approach to making the UK numerate

“	The Essentials of Numeracy sets
out the skills and understandingthat everyone needs to copewith the ordinary demandsof life and work. This is anentirely practical and pragmatic
approach, but it does not meanthat it is trivial or simplistic.
The Essentials actually involvequite deep numerical reasoning
and a mathematical attitude
towards making decisions andsolving problems. Those are
qualities that everyone canlearn to develop, as National
Numeracy demonstrates
through its resources.”	Lynne McClure, Director,
Cambridge Maths“	Poor numeracy is an underlying
issue for so many of our
Prospects customers so it
has been fantastic to workwith National Numeracy toincorporate their innovative
approach into our Work
Programme delivery. We
strongly support the drive
to enable everyone to get
the Essentials of Numeracy– we need an unrelenting
focus on this because wehave a long way to go.”	Brenda Cabras, Directorof Employment &Training, Prospects“	I commissioned National
Numeracy to conduct a review
of staff attitudes and levels at
a leading training provider. The
analysis showed that we had
work to do on the attitudinalside and by focus on this rather
than just staff competence
we saw real improvementin learners’ results.”“We welcome the launch of
the Essentials of Numeracy.
Recent research commissionedby the Money Advice Service
has shown that low numeracy
can be a barrier to financial
capability and that higher
numeracy can enable greater
financial capability. This seems
common sense but to datechecking whether people havesufficient confidence andcompetence in using numbers
to make sound financial
decisions and calculations has
not routinely been part of thedebate in financial capability.
We have now gathered moreevidence to suggest that
this should change and welook forward to working with
National Numeracy and others
to take this agenda forward.”“Poor numeracy has a significant
impact not just on individuals,
but also on businesses and theeconomy, as it is a common skill
required in almost all forms ofwork. The contribution of basic
skills to workplace productivity
has been increasingly
recognised in recent years, butmuch more needs to be done
to address the challenge andprovide the education or training
to better build these skills forthe future. I strongly support thework that National Numeracy isdoing to enable people to get
the Essentials of Numeracy and I
am keen to see more employers
engage with the issue.”	David Haigh, UK Financial
Capability Director,
Money Advice Service“	National Numeracy haveconducted a Numeracy Review
for Premier Inn, of which thereport provided critical insight
into the level of numeracy
our teams are operating at.
This has proven incredibly
useful in raising the issue toleadership and shed a new lighton the impact of numeracy on
productivity, progression andtenure. We recognise the needto support our teams with the
Essentials of Numeracy and areworking to further understandthe impact in specific roles
across the organisation. I
would advise any organisation
to seek to understand theimpact numeracy is having
within their organisation.”“I make no secret of the factthat I love maths but I also
know not everyone is like me
and many were thrilled to haveleft trigonometry and algebrabehind in the classroom. But
there is some maths thateveryone really does needa grasp of to make good,
informed decisions both athome and at work, which is
why I wholeheartedly support
the Essentials of Numeracy.”	Rachel Riley, TV Presenter& Mathematician

	Peter Cheese, Chief Executive,
CIPD (Chartered Institute of
Personnel & Development)	Tim Douglas, Funding &Data Manager, Whitbread	Iain Salisbury, Chief Executive
Officer, Aspiration Training

The Essentials of Numeracy: a new approach to making the UK numerate17

ne I was
o
y
r
e
v
e
e
k
li
ly
“Probabbefore doinga bit nervous . After logging
the Challenge I realised thatin a few times cated, it’s
it’s not compli working
stress-free. Byssentials of
towards the E learned new
Numeracy I’ve e progress inskills to help min my life.”
my career andwski
Marek Materko

18

The Essentials of Numeracy: a new approach to making the UK numerate

The Essentials of
Numeracy: a new solution
We believe there is now scope for a clear definition of exactly whatmaths all adults need to know and be able to do, in order to copewith the ordinary demands of modern life and their own particular
workplace. This needs to be turned into a practical plan with readily
available resources to identify poor numeracy and assess and improveskills. It also needs to provide support and encouragement in order tochallenge negative attitudes and create ‘can-do’ confidence. And it needs
to be scaled up to benefit at least half the working-age population – thatis the extent of the problem that we are talking about.
National Numeracy has now developed,
piloted and tested such a plan and is looking
to expand it to a wider audience. We haveworked with employers, unions, charities
and maths experts to define the Essentials
of Numeracy for all (see figure 2) and todevelop the tools to put them into practice.
The Essentials are the skills and attitudes thateveryone needs to make good decisions atwork and at home. That means, for example,
being able to understand percentages to get
the best-buy deals, make sense of statistics inthe news and manage your money. It doesn’tmean doing algebra and trigonometry,memorising formulae and working out
equations removed from a real-life context.

Numbers

Handling
NUMBERS
Information

THE
ESSENTIALSOF NUMERACY

Operations
andCalculations“The Essentials of Numeracy set
out the skills and understanding thateveryone needs to cope with theordinary demands of life and work.
This is an entirely practical and pragmatic
approach, but it does not mean that it istrivial or simplistic. The Essentials actually
involve quite deep numerical reasoning
and a mathematical attitude towards
making decisions and solving problems.
Those are qualities that everyone canlearn to develop, as National Numeracy
demonstrate through their resources.”

Shape,Space andMeasures

Lynne McClure, Director,
Cambridge Maths
Figure 2: Diagram showing the Essentials of Numeracy.

The Essentials of Numeracy: a new approach to making the UK numerate

19

Two faces of mathematics

Building ‘mathematical resilience’

The two examples in figure 3 below
correspond to very different approaches anddemands. Solving a linear equation can be(and, all too often, is) taught and learnt as aset of techniques to be memorised, without
any real understanding of what is going on,
or why. The train ticket problem simply does
not have a neat, unambiguous answer. It
prompts a number of further questions andreal-world considerations (How many days amonth will you realistically travel? What about
factoring in sickness and holiday? What will it
cost you to find the money upfront? Should
you consider weekly tickets?). There is no‘right way’ to do the calculations involved andestimation plays an important part. Moreover,
it is by no means obvious that either one of
our examples is inherently more intellectuallychallenging than the other. The first example
involves more ‘advanced’ mathematics(algebra rather than arithmetic) but thereal-world considerations in the second
example probably make it more challenging.

Through the Essentials of Numeracy, weare proposing an explicit, national focus
on ‘simple maths in complex situations’.
We believe that everyone in the UK canbecome numerate but that, to achieve this,negative attitudes must be challenged.
As well as learning specific skills, ‘being
numerate’ – being ready to see a problem
as mathematical, to look for mathematicalsolutions, to spot patterns and connections– is at the centre of the Essentials. It isnecessary to build what is sometimes
described as ‘mathematical resilience’ in orderto achieve that. And this involves seeing thevalue of learning to you personally, believingthat you can improve (there is no maths
gene) and putting in the effort where it isneeded, accepting that everyone struggles
in order to succeed (see figure 4). We are
not saying that it is easy, but it can be done,
and National Numeracy offers support and aroute to achievement.

School vs Real world

Value
Understand thevalue of everyday
maths. Recognise
the benefitsof improving
numeracy

School Mathematics
2x – 5 = 13
Solve for x

Real world Mathematics
A monthly train ticket costs £194.
The daily return fare is £13.50.
Should you buy individual daily tickets,or a monthly season ticket?

Figure 3: a comparisson between the type of ‘maths’ found inschools and the ‘real-world’We
all need...
BeliefEffortHave a growthmindset.
Understandthat ability
is not fixed

Recognise thateveryonestruggles in orderto succeed – it’s apart of learning

Figure 4: Schematic used to highlight the importance of the value,
belief and effort concept.

20

The Essentials of Numeracy: a new approach to making the UK numerateas never beenards
h
y
c
ra
e
m
u
n
“My
working tow s
r,
e
v
e
w
o
H
.
t
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e
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N
f
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ia
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the Essens effectively
g
in
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helped m
the help that
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I’
.
in my job
ited to be
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I needede time.”learning all th
Said Lamdani

Our approach

SkillsAwareness

Identify

AssessAddress

Re-assess

Attitude

We know that negative attitudes and the fear
factor are holding many people back andindeed are the primary inhibitor for most of
those with poor numeracy. This is not always
taken into account in numeracy learning but
it is something we address explicitly with
our approach. We work across the wholelearning journey (see figure 5) on both skills
and attitudes, so that people gain confidence
and develop a more positive ‘can-do’ attitude
at the same time as they develop the actual
numeracy skills. This dual approach isindispensable.

Distance travelled

Figure 5: Schematic highlighting the learning journey

The offer
We offer a range of resources and services
to help people to get the Essentials of
Numeracy either directly themselves, at workor within an existing training programme.
Central to this is the National Numeracy
Challenge (see figure 6), first introduced
in 2014 and with over 100,000 people
registered so far. It supports adults in reachinga good level of everyday maths, throughpositive messaging, an online assessment andlearning tailored to specific needs. Working
with employers and other intermediaries, itaims to improve the skills of a million people
over the next five years. Of those who havechecked their level, gone on to do somelearning and then reassessed their numeracy,
three quarters have improved. Along withsupporting individuals online, we havesuccessfully trialled our suite of Essentials of
Numeracy resources and services among job
seekers, private and public sector employees
and banking customers. Within NHS Trusts,
we have seen initially maths-phobic staff get
the Essentials of Numeracy within 12 weeks
with only attitudinal support. We now wantto scale up this impact.

22

Figure 6: The National Numeracy Challenge website and logo

The Essentials of Numeracy: a new approach to making the UK numerate

ls has given
ia
t
n
e
s
s
E
e
h
t
“Achieving
ce in the
n
e
d
fi
n
o
c
re
o
me a lot m
courage
e
h
t
e
v
a
h
to
,
e
workplaco this. I’m
d
n
a
c
I
y
ll
a
u
t
e
to say, ac
ve now got th
I’
t
a
h
t
l
fu
k
n
a
th
progress.”
to
y
it
n
u
t
r
o
p
op
Jane BellThe Essentials of Numeracy: a new approach to making the UK numerate23

Figure 7: Part of the attitudinal assessment

What we provide to employers
Resources to benchmark current numeracy
levels and attitudes (see figure 7) tonumeracy and then a range of services tosupport staff who are working towards
getting the Essentials of Numeracy. Early
evidence from NHS trusts and otherorganisations we have partnered withsuggests that our Essentials approach canmake a real difference to the way staff workand so – we suggest – affect productivity.

National Numeracy haveconducted a Numeracy
Review for Premier Inn, of
which the report provided
critical insight into the levelof numeracy our teams areoperating at. This has provenincredibly useful in raising theissue to leadership and sheda new light on the impact ofnumeracy on productivity,
progression and tenure.
We recognise the need tosupport our teams with
the Essentials of Numeracy
and are working to further
understand the impact inspecific roles across theorganisation. I would advise
any organisation to seek
to understand the impact
numeracy is having within
their organisation.

Making the numbers add up
is as important in the NHS
as it is in all workplaces.
That’s why all staff must
understand the Essentials of
Numeracy and this work is
not just essential but criticalto providing 21st century
healthcare.

David Roberts,
Non-Executive
Director, NHS

Tim Douglas, Funding &Data Manager, Whitbread

24

The Essentials of Numeracy: a new approach to making the UK numerateWhat we provide toworkplace training providers
Paid-for resources (see figure 8) and services
to include the attitudinal element that will
make their delivery more effective. Initial worksuggests that an attitudinal focus will improveengagement, retention, attainment and thelong-term impact of their skills training.

Poor numeracy is anunderlying issue for so manyof our Prospects customers
so it has been fantastic towork with National Numeracy
to incorporate theirinnovative approach into ourWork Programme delivery.
We strongly support the drive
to enable everyone to get the
Essentials of Numeracy – weneed an unrelenting focus on
this because we have a long
way to go.

I commissioned National
Numeracy to conduct a
review of staff attitudes andlevels at a leading training
provider. The analysis showedthat we had work to do on
the attitudinal-side and by
focus on this rather than juststaff competence we saw
real improvement in learners
results.”

Iain Salisbury, Chief Executive
Officer, Aspiration Training

Brenda Cabras, Directorof Employment & Training,
Prospects
Figure 8: Section from a Numeracy Review.

What we provide to individuals
Free, mobile-friendly, access to the Challengesite so that anyone can check whether they
have got the Essentials of Numeracy (seefigure 9). If not, they will be guided to online
resources to work towards getting them

The Challenge made me
think about the ways I use
maths everyday, and has
encouraged me to try andwork things out myself tokeep improving my skills
without just automaticallyreaching for the calculator.

Farnborough College
Challenge LearnerMaths was scary. When theymentioned maths as part of
my course I did actually think,I don’t want to do this but
they introduced the National
Numeracy Challenge which I
found very helpful.

Tina Carter
Healthcare AssistantFigure 9: Question screeen from the Challenge

The Essentials of Numeracy: a new approach to making the UK numerate25Conclusion

The need to improve numeracy is more acute than ever in thecurrent economic and business environment. If productivity
levels are to rise, good number skills are essential for theworkforce in every industry. They are also vital in everyone’s
daily life. We believe this can no longer be regarded as justa challenge for the education and skills system but is one
that should be brought into the mainstream and tackled inworkplaces and elsewhere.
We have identified the practical mathematical skills and theconceptual understanding that everyone needs to cope withthe demands of everyday life – the Essentials of Numeracy– and we have the tools to help everyone to achieve these.
Uniquely, we recognise the need to confront and repair
negative attitudes to numeracy early on in the process.
Good numeracy is within the grasp of virtually everyone.
We now call on government and policymakers, employers
and those involved in workplace learning, charities and indeed
people individually to join and support us in the drive to makethe UK numerate.

26

The Essentials of Numeracy: a new approach to making the UK numeratel as it takes
fu
lp
e
h
is
e
g
n
e
“The Challs. I didn’t
ic
s
a
b
e
h
t
to
you back
eracy I had
m
u
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c
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realise ho
school. It’s
g
in
v
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in
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forgotten
ge which in
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le
w
o
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k
y
m
refreshedconfidence.”
y
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turn, has
Chris Eades

The Essentials of Numeracy: a new approach to making the UK numerate27National Numeracy is an independent charity
established in 2012 to help raise low levels ofnumeracy among adults and children and promote
the importance of everyday maths skills. It aims tochallenge prevailing attitudes, influence public policy
and research, and identify and promote effective
approaches to improving numeracy. Where possible,
it works in partnership with other organisations toachieve these aims.

For more information please get in touch
Telephone: +44(0)1273 915044
Email: enquiries@nationalnumeracy.org.uk
Twitter: @Nat_Numeracy
Web: www.nationalnumeracy.org.uk

nationalnumeracy.org.uk

Charity registered in England
Charity No: 7886294
Company No: 1145669