We know that parents are working hard to balance the challenges of Covid-19 and whilst we are not expected to be teachers, our support in promoting and engaging our children in their learning, continues to be of great importance. We are also aware that when supporting learning at home, many parents report that they find maths a particular challenge. Parents have highlighted that they often lack confidence with numeracy and mathematics, perhaps as a result of their own experiences at school, or as a result of children learning maths in ways that may differ from how they remember being taught.
Whatever our confidence level is – numeracy and mathematics continues to be very important to our daily lives, whether that’s managing money, baking or sports.
The NPFS is working in partnership with ‘Count On Us’ with the Support of Education Scotland to bring 8 online numeracy and mathematics events for parents in June 2020. These ‘Learning Together’ sessions will focus on the use of interactive and visual methods to help you and your child confidently engage with numeracy and mathematics problems, whilst supporting learning at home.
Deputy First Minister John Swinney said: “This initiative from the National Parent Forum Scotland perfectly captures the leadership and creativity of our education partnerships in Scotland and I am pleased to see it introduced.
“This approach brings to life the key themes of our Learning Together report on parental engagement and our Making Maths Count report produced by the National Profile-Raising Group on Mathematics.”
These free events are intended for parents with children currently working at First level: Primary 2 – 4 (P2, P3, P4) or Second level:Primary 5 -7 (P5, P6, P7) numeracy and mathematics, as outlined within Curriculum for Excellence (CfE). The content of each session has been produced in consultation with Education Scotland to complement the wide range of learning activities, provided by local authorities and schools during this current context. The sessions will cover themes that are explored within CfE across the age ranges of five and twelve years of age. However, as children move through levels at their own developmental pace, parents with children currently outwith this age range may also find the session beneficial and are also invited to attend.
Each session will be delivered by Chris McKenna, founder and Director of ‘Count On Us’ Education. Chris has been involved in maths education in a variety of roles including Principal Teacher of Maths and as a Lead Numeracy Development officer at South Ayrshire Council. ‘Count On Us’ have worked with most local authorities in Scotland and have engaged with over 300 schools delivering educational support for learners, teachers and parents with overwhelmingly positive feedback. You can find out more about Count On Us on their website: https://www.countonus.org.uk
The themes, dates and times, and sign up links for the session are as follows:
1. 5thJune ’20 10am- 10.45am Theme: Early Number Development
2. 9thJune ’20 10am- 10.45am Theme: Addition and Subtraction
3. 11thJune ’20 10am- 10.45am Theme: Multiplication and Division
4. 16thJune ’20 10am- 10.45am Theme: Fractions, Decimal Fractions & Percentages (Part 1 of 3)
5. 18thJune ’20 10am- 10.45am Theme: Fractions, Decimal Fractions & Percentages (Part 2 of 3)
6. 19thJune ’20 10am- 10.45am Theme: Fractions, Decimal Fractions & Percentages (Part 3 of 3)
7. 23rdJune ’20 10am- 10.45am Theme: Algebra
8. 25thJune ’20, 10am- 10.45am Theme: Problem Solving & Word Problems using Bar Modelling Approach
Missed a session? – Visit our Youtube
All of the sessions are uploaded to the NPFS youtube channel shortly afterwards. You can find them all in our playlist here.
For further information and support with learning at home and maths resources visit: