In his first speech of 2023, the Prime Minister set out his priorities for the year ahead and ambition for a better future for Britain. The PM committed to taking the necessary action to deliver for the long term on issues such as low numeracy rates. As part of this, he will set a new ambition of ensuring that all school pupils in England study some form of maths to the age of 18. He will commit to starting the work of introducing maths to 18 in this Parliament and finishing it in the next.
Around 8 million adults in England have the numeracy skills of primary school children. Currently only around half of 16-19 year olds study any maths at all and the problem is particularly acute for disadvantaged pupils, 60% of whom do not have basic maths skills at age 16.
The full statement from the Prime Minister’s Office is available here on the Department for Education website.
dsga.org.uk 