Labour has pledged to teach fundamental financial and numerical concepts from as young as four years old in the United Kingdom. Shadow Education Secretary Bridget Philipson has proposed the initiative, which would teach students how to budget and manage their money, forecast currency exchange rates and calculate household expenses. The initiative is a direct challenge to the Conservative government’s proposals to keep students in education studying maths until the age of 18.
Labour claims the initiative would “bring maths to life”, helping kids develop fundamental numeracy abilities, which can sink in from a young age. Labour has proposed retraining primary school teachers to focus on numbers, aiming to provide students with a deeper understanding of numeracy and the real-world applications of mathematics.
Weak mathematics skills are a significant issue in the UK, which can persist into adulthood. An estimate by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in 2016 found that nine million working-age individuals in England had poor literacy or numeracy abilities, resulting in a yearly cost to the economy of £25 billion.
Labour’s proposal aligns with research, which finds that early numeracy education has significant benefits. According to a study by the Education Endowment Foundation, the inclusion of “Maths Champions” in nurseries led to three additional months of progress in maths on average. As numbers also show that approximately 25% of kids do not reach the expected maths level by the end of primary school, the initiative promises to play an essential role in reversing this trend. Teaching kids real-world maths concepts during their early primary years could result in lifelong advantages
Read the full article from The BBC here: Read More