Meet the team
Sam Sims
Sam Sims
Chief Executive
Sam joined National Numeracy as Chief Executive in 2020.
He has a broad range of experience in helping to scale-up the reach and impact of charities and education organisations. He was the Chief Operating Officer at social work charity, Frontline, and previously served as Director of Development at Teach First and as an Assistant Director of Research at the Yale University Office of Development.
Sam has held trustee positions at a number of youth development and humanitarian aid charities, and has degrees from University College London and the University of Oxford.
External Relations Team
Julia Day
Julia Day
External Relations Director
Julia leads the external relations strategy, team and activities, including communications, campaigns, content, marketing, fundraising and external affairs.
A journalist for many years, she has led communications, content, marketing and SEO in education settings, including Birkbeck, University of London and the University of Sussex.
Roné Scheepers
Roné Scheepers
Project Manager
Roné leads on project management for the External Relations Team, including National Numeracy Day, internal projects and other campaigns. Roné ensures smooth running of our projects through careful planning and resource management, ensuring we hit our deadlines and project goals.
She has a Bachelor of Commerce in Law degree and is currently studying towards an Advanced Diploma in Counselling and Psychotherapy in her spare time. She has worked in the third sector for the last three years, previously working in project management and operations management for start-ups.
Maurice Tse-Leon
Maurice Tse-Leon
Digital Engagement Manager
Maurice’s role is focused on engaging working people with National Numeracy’s online learning tools and reaching new audiences through digital channels.
He has a degree in evolutionary biology and a masters in ecology. He has worked on digital communications within the third sector for nine years, with an emphasis on education.
Daisy Burns-O'Keefe
Daisy Burns-O'Keefe
Digital Marketing Officer
Daisy works on National Numeracy's email marketing journey for key campaigns, plays an active part in planning and delivering social media strategies, paid advertising, and more recently turning her attention to our influencer outreach.
With a BA in Interior Architecture, Daisy comes from a design-centered background and actively builds on her marketing, creative and communication skills through her creativity podcast and as a mentor.
Puja Mistry
Puja Mistry
Digital Marketing Officer
Puja’s main focus is to maintain and enhance the digital presence of National Numeracy through developing new social media strategies, working on campaigns, interacting with our audience, and assisting with web and email content.
Puja has worked within the third sector for over four years and has a BSc Multimedia Systems degree.
Maya Metcalfe
Maya Metcalfe
Creative Design Manager
Maya helps out with delivering marketing and communication campaigns and is involved in raising awareness for National Numeracy Day.
She has a media production degree and experience in production, marketing and advertising.
Lizzie Green
Lizzie Green
Communications Officer
Lizzie’s role is to provide support to the External Relations team. She works primarily on producing National Numeracy’s case studies and the planning of National Numeracy Day.
She holds a degree in English and a master’s in publishing, and has previously worked as an English and Maths tutor.
Cassia Weaver
Cassia Weaver
Partnerships Manager
Cassia manages strategic partnerships with funders and the National Numeracy Leadership Council, working together to raise numeracy levels and achieve client goals.
For the past 15 years she has led business development and corporate partnerships in charity settings with Business in the Community, Crisis, EngineeringUK, Sustainability Trust and Lasa. She is especially interested in social enterprise, skills development, and sustainability.
Sophie Sweatman
Sophie Sweatman
Partnerships Manager
Sophie manages our strategic partnerships, working closely with corporates and funders to support initiatives that boost numeracy skills and promote number confidence across the UK.
With a background and passion in supporting disadvantaged groups, Sophie brings a deep commitment to empowering others and fostering fairness in society. She has extensive experience in fundraising, with a focus on individual giving strategies and building fruitful relationships with trusts and foundations.
Ellie Cornelius-Farrelly
Ellie Cornelius-Farrelly
Partnerships Officer
Ellie provides support to the Partnerships team, managing the relationships and communications with strategic partners and funders.
She has experience in retail and telemarketing with a degree in mathematics.
Operations & Impact Team
Kate Sumner
Kate Sumner
Operations & Impact Director
Kate is responsible for overseeing our Operations, Finance and Impact teams. With her team she is committed to building the foundations for National Numeracy’s sustainability and growth, as well as providing the bedrock of support for the entire staff team to do their best work.
Kate has over 15 years experience in operations and comes to us with previous leadership experience in the charity sector.
Paul Foss
Paul Foss
Head of Impact and Evaluation
Paul provides impact and data analysis in all aspects of the organisation, from Challenge statistics, educational projects and numeracy reviews, to surveys, working with external partners and helping to inform marketing strategy.
Paul was a freelance data analyst with over 20 years’ experience in the private sector, and a secondary school maths teacher for six years.
Sarah Hayter
Sarah Hayter
Head of Finance
Sarah leads the finance function and provides business partnering support across the organisation.
She’s a qualified accountant with a background in charity finance, and also has experience as a secondary school science teacher.
Rachel Bignell
Rachel Bignell
Operations & HR Manager
Rachel leads in all elements of the behind the scenes operations and HR across the organisation with a particular focus on recruitment, training and personal development, GDPR and safeguarding.
She has a degree in Sociology and Criminology and has several years experience in transport operations and HR.
Programmes Team
Paul Milner
Paul Milner
Programmes Director
Paul has managed the development and launch of the Essentials of Numeracy and the National Numeracy Challenge; he now oversees the Programmes team working on the different development projects within National Numeracy.
Paul has a degree in Mathematics and over 20 years’ business management experience, including roles in buying, marketing and project management.
Sally Hilton
Sally Hilton
National Relationship Manager
Sally works closely with employers in the UK to put a spotlight on the issue surrounding numeracy in the workplace.
Working across sectors such as the NHS, retail and hospitality, she helps them explore attitudes to numeracy amongst managers and employees and the impact this has both on productivity and career progression.
Tamsin Roser
Tamsin Roser
Relationship Manager
Tamsin is a point of contact between National Numeracy and the Local Authorities that we work with. She speaks with organisations across the country to raise awareness of the impact that low numeracy can have on workplaces, families, and livelihoods.
She has ten years’ experience of managing relationships in the commercial sector, and now wants to use her skillset to help improve the lives of others.
Laura Hill
Laura Hill
Volunteering Manager
Laura manages our new volunteer programme that increases our positive impact on numeracy in the UK by engaging volunteers from our corporate partners to deliver activities in primary schools.
She has a degree in Biology and Environmental Conservation, has worked in local government and has several years’ experience managing community and corporate volunteers for small charities.
Beth Barnes
Beth Barnes
Schools & Families Programme Manager
Beth manages our Schools & Families Programme, working with primary schools to improve number confidence among children, staff, and parents/carers.
She has a degree in Ancient History and Archaeology, and has previously worked as a primary school teacher specialising in both Maths and English.
Bryony Clark
Bryony Clark
Training Manager
Bryony leads on the delivery of our training, including the Numeracy Champion programmes, attitudinal workshops for organisations and parents/carers and our Corporate Volunteering Programme.
She has experience in a managerial role, recognising development needs and supporting her team with CPD opportunities. Within previous Learning and Development roles, she has catered for the learner journey and created interactive learning resources that are inclusive and engaging. This is underpinned with the knowledge she has gained through her Learning and Development qualifications.
Iain Evans
Iain Evans
Training Officer
Iain supports the delivery of our training, including the Numeracy Champion programmes and attitudinal workshops for organisations and parents/carers.
He has a degree in English and Media and has worked for over 25 years engaging disadvantaged learners in a range of contexts. Most recently he led the Functional Skills provision at an independent specialist college for adult SEND learners, and undertook educational research with Sunderland University focusing on supporting maths learning at pre-entry level.
Ishraq Li-Rahman
Ishraq Li-Rahman
Training Officer
Ish supports the delivery of our training, including the Numeracy Champion programmes and attitudinal workshops for organisations and parents/carers.
He has experience working in an education charity, where he helped young people improve their confidence and work toward their chosen aspirations. He also has a master’s in Occupational and Organisational Psychology, where he explored the science underlying topics such as self-esteem, motivation, and learning in the workplace.
Rowan Bache
Rowan Bache
Programmes Assistant
Rowan supports the Programmes team to deliver projects across the UK that help to achieve our mission of helping people to get on with numbers in order to get on with life.
She is a History and International Relations graduate and has previously worked in Education Publishing and as an English Language Assistant in Spain.
Zoë Mitchell
Zoë Mitchell
Programmes Assistant
Zoë supports the Programmes team with the delivery of projects and programmes around the UK, such as the Local Authorities Project and the Schools & Families Programme.
Having previously worked in various administrative environments, most recently a community hub that helped members make new connections and build confidence, she continues to care strongly about creating a positive impact through her work.
External Consultants
Derek Huby
Derek Huby
Maths advisor
Derek Huby is an experienced maths educator, writer and advisor, having worked on projects both nationally and internationally. He is the author of a variety of successful textbooks and is a registered Apple software developer. He is particularly interested in adult numeracy, and the role of ICT in mathematics learning.
For National Numeracy, Derek works extensively on our adult education projects.
Sue Skyrme
Sue Skyrme
Schools and parental engagement expert
Sue Skyrme has extensive primary maths education experience, both in headship, leadership and advisory roles. She has worked nationally and internationally, including in numeracy curriculum development for the Department for International Development. She also draws on her teacher training expertise from working with South Coast SCITT, the University of Winchester, and University of Portsmouth.
Sue’s work with National Numeracy to date has focused on engaging parents in their children’s education.
