A three-year programme aimed at helping adults in Leicestershire to boost their confidence with numbers and improve their numeracy skills is looking to recruit 100 volunteers from across the county to train as Numeracy Champions.
These Numeracy Champions don’t teach maths – their role is to help to improve people’s confidence with numbers by talking positively to those who may feel anxious about maths, support people to have a more positive approach to numbers and signpost them to ways of improving their numeracy skills.
Leicestershire County Council has been awarded £3 million from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF), and is working in partnership with charity National Numeracy to recruit and train the 100 Numeracy Champions, as part of the wider Multiply programme.
Multiply is a national project designed to help spread opportunity and level up the country by raising adult numeracy skills levels.
The funding means that over the next three years, the council will be able to deliver hundreds of free courses, support and workshops to adults aged 19 and over who do not already have a GCSE grade C/4 or higher in maths or equivalent and need to improve their numeracy skills.
Multiply is led by the county council’s Adult Learning Service and gives people the numeracy skills they need for everyday life, to allow them to be confident in things like budgeting, working out bills, helping with children’s homework and improving job prospects.
The council will also work with employers across the county to create bespoke courses to upskill their staff to suit the needs of the business.
A drive has now been launched to recruit 100 Numeracy Champions to act as advocates for the Multiply programme and to help spread the positive message about the importance of numeracy skills.
The voluntary roles are open to anyone with an interest in supporting others feel more confident with numbers.
The council and National Numeracy are holding a number of online training sessions in the new year, which are delivered in two three-hour sessions, a week apart. Volunteers will need to take part in both parts of the training in order to be accredited as a Numeracy Champion.
The sessions are being held on Tuesday 17 & Tuesday 24 January, Thursday 26 January & Thursday 2 February, Thursday 9 & Thursday 16 February and Tuesday 7 & Tuesday 14 March.
The training programme is CPD accredited, and Numeracy Champions will also have access to resources, networking opportunities and ongoing support.
Numeracy is a vital skill that has so many practical applications in everyday life, and boosting those numeracy skills improves lives.
Numeracy Champions have a vital role in improving the numeracy of adults in Leicestershire by helping and supporting them in their learning. If you’d like to help people to become more confident with numbers, I encourage you to sign up to become a Numeracy Champion and attend the training sessions.Person:Councillor Christine Radford, cabinet member for adults & communities
Anyone who would like to sign up to become a Numeracy Champion can book onto a training session.
There is also a waiting list for future sessions if none of the current dates are suitable.
More information about Numeracy Champions is available from the National Numeracy website.
Multiply also works with partners including further education colleges and training providers, charitable and voluntary groups, and employers to deliver free numeracy courses and programmes throughout the county.
Multiply courses will be available across Leicestershire in person or online, at work or at home, either on a part-time or intensive basis.
Anyone aged 19 or over who fits the criteria will be eligible for the free courses - but there will be a particular focus on supporting hard-to-reach learners and those who may not traditionally engage with adult learning courses.
More information about Multiply in Leicestershire is available on our Multiply website.