From working out how much you’re saving in a 70% sale to following a recipe, cashing up a till to measuring out a dose of medicine, numerical skills are key to how we live, work and manage our money. That’s why the charity National Numeracy is on a mission to improve numeracy levels across the UK, which are currently significantly below the average for countries in Europe.
“Numeracy is about being able to understand and work with numbers in everyday life,” says Sam Sims, CEO of National Numeracy. “It’s about having the confidence and skills to choose and use the right pieces of maths for a task in the workplace or money management.” Sam joined National Numeracy after many years working for education charities.
How does numeracy fit into our everyday lives?
Sam says: “When we’re working with time - planning journeys, making appointments, understanding rotas - that’s an example of numeracy. So is anything to do with money - understanding bills, seeking out the best deals in a shop or online, checking our payslips and deciding whether we can afford something.”