Numeracy for adults project will add up to success

Supporting their children with maths homework – long the worry of many parents – may become a thing of the past for some, with a new numeracy skills improvement initiative.

The Multiply project – part of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund programme from the Department for Education – aims to bring families together to gain confidence in numeracy through sports, games, and art combined with numerical activities.

Multiply – which runs until March 2025 – will support parents who lack numerical confidence but want to increase their skills, whether to support their children, or aid with day-to-day numerical tasks such as managing their personal finances.

There will be three introductory events across North Northamptonshire in September for primary and secondary school students and their families. These will be free to attend and will include fun, numbers-based arts and sports activities with a free, hot meal also provided for each attendee:

• Corby. 12 September, 15:45–18:30 at the Stephenson Community Centre.
• Wellingborough. 13 September, 15:45-18:30 at the Hemmingwell Community & Skills Centre.
• Kettering. 14 September, 15:45–18:30 at the Tresham College Kettering Campus.

There will be further online and in-person activities and workshops talks, including ‘How We Learn about Maths’ (Wednesday 20 September), ‘Real Life Maths’ workshops for the family (led by teachers and to run from October 2023-March 2024), and careers and adult learning information workshops (March 2024).

Tim Dobson, Head of Access and Participation at University of Northampton, says: “Multiply is all about helping people who are ‘mindful of maths’ to gain more confidence with everyday numeracy skills.

“The programme of events is aimed at parents who find maths challenging but want to be ‘deft with digits’. The programme is an informal way to boost numerical skills; there are no formal qualifications but, for those interested in going further, Multiply will help. The team and I look forward to meeting you at our ‘kicking off’ events next month, which will be informal and fun ways for you to discover what Multiply offers.”

Keep up to date on social media with Multiply activities on Facebook. Future activities and workshops will also be announced on the Multiply Eventbrite page. You can also email the team for further information.