Number Confidence Week 2024: 4 simple ways to boost your numeracy skills

To celebrate Number Confidence Week, we’ve put together a few easy and effective ways to increase your number confidence.

Having the confidence to use numbers effectively can have a huge impact on daily life for both men and women. This year’s Number Confidence Week aims to tackle the link between gender and number confidence. 

Despite having similar levels in terms of skills, women often lack confidence when it comes to dealing with numbers, creating challenges in managing bills, following medical advice or requesting a promotion at work. As a result, women can experience greater debt, and anxiety and miss out on opportunities to progress in their careers. Inequalities in number confidence also have a negative effect on men, as they can struggle to seek support in matters related to numeracy when needed.

To mark Number Confidence Week, which takes place from 4 to 8 November, we’ve put our heads together to highlight four simple ways to boost your number skills and improve number confidence.

1. Join the Big Number Natter

One of the biggest barriers to number confidence is an inability to talk about numeracy which is often a result of our relationship to maths as a subject. The Big Number Natter page features a series of recorded conversations involving experts, National Numeracy Ambassadors and people with personal experience of struggling with maths. These short videos centre on shared stories and are designed to get people talking about all things number-related and address key topics such as making maths work for women and girls, dyscalculia, ADHD and money matters. 

National Numeracy is also hosting a series of interactive Big Number Natter sessions which give people the opportunity to talk about numbers. Participants will benefit from a supportive environment in which they can ask questions, share their stories and offer ideas. It’s important to note that the session does not include doing any actual maths!

Upcoming Big Number Natter sessions are:

• Supporting Families – Wednesday 13 November (12:00 – 12:30pm)
• Money – Thursday 21 November (11:00 – 11:20am)

2. Take part in the National Numeracy Challenge

The National Numeracy Challenge may sound like a test but it’s not! It’s a free, online learning tool which has been created to help people improve their everyday maths skills. Working through manageable steps which are tailored to each learner’s abilities, participants are able to build number confidence using real-world maths situations based around home life, being at work or supporting children. This resource is completely free to use and can be used on any device through a browser or as an app.

3. Make use of free resources

We asked Matt Herman, Head of Multiply at Capital City College (CCC), to recommend some useful online tools that people can use to improve their number confidence.

LifeSkills

LifeSkills is a free financial education programme which also supports employability. It’s designed to unlock skills and employment opportunities for learners of all ages. Learners can participate in virtual sessions covering practical topics such as understanding your payslip and personal budgeting.

BBC Skillswise

BBC Skillswise offers a diverse array of free educational video content and downloadable worksheets for adult learners. The Skillswise Maths for adults page covers a range of subject areas in detail and learners can build their confidence in numbers, calculation, percentages and fractions, measuring, shapes and graphs.

Khan Academy

The Khan Academy is a nonprofit organisation that provides free online courses, lessons and practice activities for learners of all ages and levels. Whether you’re looking to revise arithmetic skills or brush up on statistics, the platform provides easy-to-follow videos and practice exercises to boost knowledge and confidence.

4. Sign up for a Multiply course

Finally, one of the best ways to increase number confidence is by joining a free Multiply course.

Multiply is a government-funded initiative providing free maths courses for adults across the UK. If you’re aged 19 and over and don’t have maths GCSE Grade 4/ Grade C or equivalent, you are eligible to access free numeracy courses through Multiply.

Multiply courses can help you to:

• Improve your confidence
• Manage your money
• Strengthen skills in the workplace
• Upskill to access better job opportunities
• Gain a maths qualification if you don’t have one
• Support your children while improving your own skills 
• Access maths if you’ve found it hard to access before

These courses are ideal for parents returning to the classroom to improve their skills or indeed anyone looking to improve their maths abilities and access a broader range of work or study opportunities. If you’re unsure where to start and want to scope out your abilities, try the Multiple Numeracy Quiz.

Matt Herman, Head of Multiply at Capital City College (CCC), said: “Capital City College’s Multiply programme helps to boost your confidence in numbers. Since the programme’s start, we’ve helped over 2,000 participants engage and realise that they have skills and have improved their everyday numeracy. Not only in confidence but in money management, in their jobs and even helping their children. Our fun, flexible and free courses really do make a difference and help prepare you for Functional Skills or GCSE Maths.”

Our Multiply courses are designed to help adults in London improve their maths skills, supporting them in everyday life and providing more opportunities. We also offer GCSE and Functional Skills courses in English and Maths. Find out more and apply today!

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