At National Numeracy we’re all about the importance of everyday maths, so it was fantastic to see celebrities discussing the issue on national TV recently.
Speaking about research from Rishi Sunak and Akshata Murty’s The Richmond Project, This Morning presenters Cat Deeley and Ben Shephard were joined by radio host Nick Ferrari, presenter Ashley James and National Numeracy Ambassador Martin Lewis.
Mums are typically less confident than dads with maths homework – but not less competent
Reacting to the research, which found that 69% of mothers feel confident helping their children with maths homework, versus 83% of fathers, Nick admitted he had struggled with maths and had previously got tutoring for his children, saying: “I do think they’re onto something, I think there is a problem with a lot of people.”
Meanwhile, both Cat and Ben said it is the mothers in their families who are better at helping with maths homework and Ashley said her five-year-old son Alfie loves times tables and asks her to recite them when she’s brushing his teeth.
The former Made In Chelsea star added:
“Traditionally, we are socialised a bit more to assume that men or boys are just better at maths, but this research also shows that even though women and girls are more likely to have maths anxiety, actually we perform as well as boys when it comes to the actual exam results.”
The UK needs to lose the ‘bad at maths boast’
Praising the four for how they dealt with the discussion, Martin said:
“I’m an ambassador of the National Numeracy campaign and have been for a long time. I have seen over the years too many television presenters go: ‘I’m terrible with maths!’ In a way you would never go: ‘I’m terrible at reading!’…It’s something that we should work on and not boast about and we have had a society that has boasted about our lack of numeracy skills.”
Ben added:
“Annie [my wife] is so engaged with that sort of thing and it really helped and both my boys went on to do maths A level...I’m incredibly proud of the fact that they have that astute way of approaching these things.”
Why not start your numeracy improvement journey today?
It was great to hear this discussion on This Morning and hopefully it’s opened up a wider conversation about numeracy, how we cope with it and how instead of boasting about not being confident with it, we can look for ways to improve, bringing benefits to everyday life.
The free National Numeracy Challenge is a great way to start your numeracy improvement journey – it’s full of everyday maths questions and has resources to help show where you could improve your skills.
Image credit: ITV
