Hundreds of learners benefit from scheme to improve maths

A scheme which has led to hundreds of people in North Yorkshire and York improving their numeracy skills is set to be brought to an even wider audience to help boost maths skills across the county.

The Multiply project has been instrumental in helping to improve the numeracy skills of people across both York and North Yorkshire after a £3.3 million investment was secured from the Government.

The funding was provided through the £2.6 billion UK Shared Prosperity Fund, which has been established to help the Government’s levelling up agenda to tackle regional inequalities across the country.

The Multiply initiative has been supported by a partnership of North Yorkshire Council’s Adult Learning Service, City of York Council’s York Learning and a consortium led by Better Connect. Exciting plans are being drawn up to ensure an even greater number of people benefit from the project.

The cost of living crisis has heightened the need for people to have adequate numeracy skills to help to keep a close check on their personal finances.

In the first 12 months of the project, Multiply has been a big success in York and North Yorkshire with more than 3,000 learners – who did not already have a GCSE grade 4 (or C) in maths – having signed up to the scheme. They gained maths skills and qualifications while learning at a pace that suited them.

Courses have included ‘Your money matters’ ‘Slow cooking’ ‘Confidence with number’ ‘Hug in a jug’ and many more creative courses that have developed the numeracy skills of the community with delivery partners Adult Learning North Yorkshire, York Learning and the Better Connect partnership delivering these activities.

Looking ahead, more Multiply events are planned across the communities, including an event for National Numeracy Day tomorrow (May 17). Planning is also under way for courses that will develop confidence using numbers, help people to understand and save money, understand their children’s numeracy work and much more.

North Yorkshire Council’s executive member for education, learning and skills, Cllr Annabel Wilkinson, said: “I am delighted that the Multiply project has been a huge success for learners in North Yorkshire and York.

“The impact on our communities has been immense, with learners telling us that as a direct result of the course they have sorted through their bills and saved money, signed up for accredited numeracy courses and developed confidence in numbers.

“Outreach activities have taken place in community venues where learners would not normally be engaged, such as libraries, supermarkets, racecourses and festivals. This has encouraged learners to experience new activities and helped to remove the ‘fear’ of maths. The ‘Spag bol challenge’ was rolled out in supermarkets to encourage shoppers to save money on their shopping bills and proved a huge hit.

“Well done to each and every person who signed up to the numeracy scheme and to our proud winners.”

The success of the scheme saw leaners from across York and North Yorkshire honoured during the first Multiply Celebration and Awards Ceremony.

The ceremony was hosted by North Yorkshire Council’s Adult Learning Service and City of York Council’s York Learning and held at The Principal in York. It acknowledged and celebrated the dedication of learners who had taken positive steps to gain maths skills for free by signing up to the Government’s flagship numeracy programme.

Almost 100 learners and Multiply partners attended the ceremony on Wednesday, May 3, and 17 winners received a trophy and a Bettys tea gift hamper.

Among the recipients were Karen Dodds, from Catterick, who took part in a cooking on a budget course at Colburn Community Hub, where she currently volunteers.

She said: “I haven’t worked for about 15 years as I have five children. My husband works full-time, so trying to juggle childcare is quite difficult. However, it’s my time now.

“My youngest is seven this year and it’s my time to get back to work. Even though I did an NVQ Level 3 in teaching assistance 12 years ago, I didn’t resit my maths and English, so they’re still CSEs, not even a GCSE, so I need to put myself out there and try and do it.

“Multiply has given me the confidence to go on and do my level 2 maths and English qualifications and from there go on to the Level 3 Award in Education and Training.”

Other winners included Benjamin Moss, Leslie Chivers, Yuk-Chun Yuen, Chiu-Fun Yuen, Sin Kwan Ho, Arezo Naebi, Rebecca Hurst, Yeha Khalouf, Mohammed Al Rashid, Rasha Hussain, Basma Alghdhban, Tasha Wilson, Rod Harrison, Olena Maksymova, Laura Manstretta and Rod Harrison.

A group award was given to learners from Northallerton Personalised Learning College for their work with Rural Arts.

The awards were presented by Multiply development manager for York and North Yorkshire, Lois Calvert.

She said: “It’s fantastic to invite everyone to celebrate the amazing work that has been taking place across York and North Yorkshire since Multiply began. The project has been hugely successful with more than 3,000 individuals engaging in numeracy-related activities.

“Learning has been taken to individuals in venues such as supermarkets, sporting venues, libraries and market towns and activities have included the spag bol challenge to help residents understand how to save money on their shopping, market town treasure trails and an online learning platform to develop confidence in numbers.

“Multiply has been well received across the community and we are looking forward to bringing to life even more innovative ways to support learners with using numbers in their everyday life.”

Multiply offers adults free, flexible courses which include innovative ways to incorporate maths through practical sessions such as slow cooker cooking classes to prepare meals on a budget while cutting back on gas and electricity costs.

To find out more about the scheme in York and North Yorkshire, email multiply@northyorks.gov.uk