Adults across Leicestershire who don’t feel confident with numbers and who would like to boost their numeracy skills are being encouraged to go along and join in with some of the activities taking place during Number Confidence Week, which runs from 4 to 8 November.
Fun and games with numbers will be on offer at a series of free Multiplay With Multiply events run by Leicestershire County Council’s grant-funded provider partners at venues across Leicestershire during the week.
The council is supporting the initiative, which is led by the charity National Numeracy, with a range of activities and events taking place, including:
- Voluntary Action Leicestershire (VAL) is running a Confidence With Numbers pop-up event at Market Harborough Library, in the Symington Building, between 11am and 1pm on Tuesday 5 November, where friendly and helpful people will be on hand for a chat about numbers, strategies to enhance numbers skills and the courses available to help boost numeracy.
- An online version of Confidence With Numbers takes place on Wednesday 6 November, hosted by National Numeracy in partnership with VAL. Register to take part.
- The RCC’s Coffee Connect van will be taking the number confidence message to Thurmaston Library from 2pm-4pm on Thursday 7 November, where people will be able to drop in, grab a coffee and play some fun numeracy games.
- Helpings Hands is inviting people to drop in to the Two Steeples Bar and Grill in Bell Street, Wigston, between 11am and 2pm on Friday 8 November, where they can join in with numbers-based fun and games. There will also be free tea and coffee.
Learner Sian McLachlin has boosted her number confidence after joining a Cook, Meet and Eat course in Melton Mowbray, and is now encouraging other people to find out more about the course and how they can boost their skills.
Sian said: “I gained confidence in maths and cooking skills, enjoyed meeting new people and learning how to save money. As I have just moved, I have been using the area calculations I learnt to work out floor plans and furniture calculations. Thank you for everything, I really enjoyed the course and will look to do further courses.”
Leicestershire County Council has been awarded £3 million from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) 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, as part of the national Multiply programme.
Multiply – now in its third year in Leicestershire - is led by the 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 free Multiply courses are available across Leicestershire in person or online, at work or at home, either on a part-time or intensive basis.
They are delivered by the council and a range of partners, including further education colleges and training providers, charitable and voluntary groups, and employers.
Numeracy is a vital skill that has so many practical applications in everyday life, and boosting those numeracy skills improves lives.
We are proud to be taking part in Number Confidence Week, which aims to empower people to be more number-confident and improve their numeracy.
The events that we and our partners are putting on are fun and enjoyable, and give people the chance to discover that numbers don’t need to be scary.
I would encourage people to come along to one of the events or look at our website to take that first step in their learning journey.
Person:Councillor Christine Radford, cabinet member for adults and communities
More information about Number Confidence Week and the Multiply programme can be found on our Multiply web pages.
People are also being encouraged to try the National Numeracy Challenge, a free and easy to use website which allows users to check their numeracy levels and to improve their skills at their own pace.