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'I’m no good at maths’ is a common trope – and not unique to the early years. But it is a problem which, according to charity National Numeracy, subtracts £20bn from the UK economy every year. The charity, which runs workplace sessions with healthcare assistants and others, estimates about 17 million workers have the mathematical ability of a primary school child.
As part of its remit to improve the population’s maths skills, it has investigated the picture in the early years workforce. ‘The quality of maths learning varies substantially in early years settings and often depends on the qualifications and attitudes of the practitioners,’ says Rachel Malic, communications officer at National Numeracy. ‘Many working with under-fives are unconfident, and have a negative outlook on maths as a result of their own school experiences.’
This view is echoed by those who work in the sector – after all, if early years practitioners responsible for imparting maths knowledge to five-year-olds only have the knowledge of a child a few years older, isn’t this an issue?
‘The nature of our workforce means there are people who might not have had the best school experience and might not have reached their full potential,’ explains Michael Freeston, director of quality improvement at the Pre-school Learning Alliance.
Additionally, many staff come from other countries, which could affect literacy standards. ‘Only around 35 per cent of our staff are born in the UK and for a lot of them their first language is not English. Of course that doesn’t stop them writing very good English, but sometimes it can be an issue,’ says June O’Sullivan, chief executive of the London Early Years Foundation.
‘Also we are definitely seeing the impact of the texting culture, and when it comes to grammar a lot of people come out of school without having been taught the basics.’
RECRUITING
At the point of recruitment, managers need to think about how much support potential staff members are likely to need when it comes to literacy and numeracy, says Mr Freeston. ‘We have training staff attend recruitment days, both to promote the training we offer but also to identify how much support people may need,’ he says. ‘We don’t tend to recruit people with requirements in all three aspects – reading, writing and numeracy. Two might be OK as long as they are enthusiastic, but ideally they will only need help with one.’
It is important to be tactful when looking to upskill existing staff. The first step is to establish what skills are lacking: experienced and highly qualified staff may have numeracy and literacy support needs, as well as new entrants. ‘Do not be fooled by the degree thing,’ says Ms O’Sullivan. ‘Some people think the answer to our prayers is if staff have a degree, but they may still have problems with maths and grammar.’
EXISTING SCHEMES
There are a number of existing adult literacy and numeracy schemes which settings can use or draw on when developing their own support. Many focus on practical aspects rather than taking a more academic approach. National Numeracy’s programme, for example, is underpinned by a model it developed called the Essentials of Numeracy, which includes skills such as being able to understand percentages and spot best-buy deals in the supermarket.
‘What makes it different to anything else we have come across is that it all starts with attitude,’ says Ms Malic. ‘We begin by getting people to talk about maths, their early experiences, how it makes them feel. It’s a train the trainer model aimed at learning to support others develop a mindset to face everyday maths.
‘We always make it really clear that you don’t need to be a maths expert to help others improve. In fact, sometimes those who have struggled with it the most prove to be the most compelling mentors.’
The course is centred on progressing people to use the National Numeracy Challenge to improve their numeracy skills, an online learning service which is based on everyday maths situations, and is adaptable to any level.
The NDNA has developed a programme aiming to upskill staff in numeracy (see box) and is running a similar scheme focused on literacy, known as Literacy Champions, while chains are following suit. ‘In the past we have run a whole programme to help staff with the basics- where do you put a full stop, where do you put a capital letter – and we are about to re-run that,’ says Ms O’Sullivan.
‘We identify people who need a little bit of help with literacy and numeracy and it is wrapped around personal development. We are keen on coaching and mentoring here, and also we are keen on champions: you have people who are good at this type of thing and you expect them to be the ones helping their colleagues.’
Some settings are using interventions designed for parents, but targeting them at practitioners. ‘We have used the National Children’s Bureau’s Making it REAL programme,’ says Mr Freeston. ‘It is primarily aimed at parents, but we have used it for practitioners.’
Joyce Connor, assistant director of early years at the NCB, says the course lends itself to this. ‘In some ways it is integral to how the course was developed,’ she says. ‘If you are responsible for language and early years maths development in very young children it is important to have those skills. A lot of the workforce have gaps and need support, and so that is partly how we have structured the course.’
Making it REAL (Raising Early Achievement in Literacy), which is based on the original REAL project developed by Professors Cathy Nutbrown and Peter Hannon at the University of Sheffield, aims to increase adults’ confidence by building on what they are already able to do.
‘We recognise that where practitioners are starting from is often the same place as parents – they may have had an awful experience of formal education and start from a place of “I’m no good’’,’ says Ms Connor. ‘It is based around practical activities and teaches you that you don’t have to have a formal framework to start that conversation with children.’
The NCB has developed a similar programme focusing on maths.
Programmes such as Making it REAL and Maths Champions will not bring staff up to a Level 2 in English and maths, but they can increase practitioners’ confidence to take their learning further. Settings can signpost staff members to college provision.
DfE research into improving adult attainment on maths and English courses has found that having the support of friends and family can make a lot of difference, and managers could look at organising a mentor or buddy system to encourage practitioners.
Techniques which helped included:
- Weekly text messages of encouragement to learners improved attendance rates by 22 per cent.
- A social support intervention, where learner-nominated friends and family were texted about the learner’s progress in their maths and English courses improved achievement rates by 27 per cent.
- A short writing exercise, where learners reflect on their personal values and why they are important to them, improved attainment in maths and English courses by 25 per cent.
- Unions are also concerned with literacy and numeracy in the workplace, and TUC Education and unionlearn, for example, have launched Read Now!, which contains guidance on improving reading techniques, and Write Now!, which tackles everyday writing tasks such as writing letters and reports and offers practical advice.
Further reading
Strong Foundations: Supporting the literacy and numeracy development of adults who work with children. The Preschool Learning Alliance, https://shop.pre-school.org.uk/A088
Improving engagement and attainment in maths and English courses. Department for Education, https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/738028//Improving_engagement_and_attainment_in_maths_and_English-courses.pdf
Read Now!and Write Now!. TUC, https://www.tuceducation.org.uk/enotes
The Essentials of Numeracy. National Numeracy, https://www.nationalnumeracy.org.uk/essentials-numeracy
Maths and Literacy Champions. NDNA, http://www.ndna.org.uk/NDNA/Training/Maths_SEND_Literacy_Champions_support_NDNA.aspx
Maths Champions
The National Day Nursery Association’s Maths Champions is a one-year programme whereby settings taking part nominate a graduate practitioner to be a champion.
‘It is about helping to tackle practitioners’ own fears about maths and increasing their confidence,’ says Stella Ziolkowski, NDNA’s director of quality and training. Each Maths Champion is trained to audit the mathematical competence of both staff and children, using tools provided online, and use the results to create an action plan for supporting their colleagues to improve their maths teaching, including giving them one-to-one support. The Maths Champion completes three online courses during the year and disseminates what they have learnt to the setting’s team.
The NDNA provides one-to-one support to Maths Champions throughout the programme, either by email or over the phone.
Some 341 settings have taken part in the programme so far, and the NDNA’s own internal evaluation audit found that 100 per cent of participating staff were more confident when it came to maths. Bright Sparks Day Nursery in Nottinghamshire took part in the programme, and reported that two staff members were inspired to retake their maths GCSE.