Labour says it will replace Rishi Sunak’s demand for compulsory maths classes until 18 with improved maths teaching for younger children and “real world” numeracy lessons for pupils in England.
The proposal would see a new “phonics for maths” programme for early years and primary school classes, aiming to replicate the focus on literacy in primary schools pioneered by the previous Labour government.
Bridget Phillipson, the shadow education secretary, will tell Labour’s conference in Liverpool that its curriculum review would “bring maths to life for the next generation”, using practical examples drawn from household budgeting, currency exchange rates for tourists, sports league tables and cookery recipes.
“Maths is the language of the universe, the underpinning of our collective understanding. It cannot be left till the last years of school.
“It’s why I’m proud to tell you today that we’ll tackle our chronic cultural problem with maths, by making sure it’s better taught at six, never mind 16,” Phillipson is to say.
Sunak has recently proposed a new requirement for students to take some form of maths classes after GCSEs, from the ages of 16 to 18, as a way of tackling England’s underperformance and skills shortages in mathematics.
But many experts say that the problems begin far earlier and that the lack of specialist maths teaching in primary schools leads to gaps in knowledge among adults unable to understand basic graphs or calculate the value of supermarket offers.
Paul Whiteman, general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers, said: “It is vital that Labour builds upon the excellent maths teaching that is already taking place in our primary schools. There is a high level of expertise within our schools, and teachers and leaders have worked incredibly hard to develop their maths curriculum in recent years.
“We urge Labour to work closely with the profession as it develops this policy proposal so that it properly meets the needs of school leaders and teachers. Such a policy must be done with teachers, not to them.”
Labour said it would redirect Sunak’s maths advisory group, announced by the prime minister in April, so that it “focuses on primary maths as a first priority and investigates the maths equivalent to phonics” rather than on Sunak’s new maths qualification for 16- to 18-year-olds.
Phillipson’s plan centres on extra training for primary school teachers who are not maths teachers, to be funded out of the more than £1.5bn Labour expects to raise from adding VAT to private school fees and other tax breaks. It also wants to help nurseries develop “maths champions” to encourage learning before school.
The planned curriculum review would be tasked with “bringing maths to life and directing teachers to show children how numeracy is used in the world around them”, such as using the concept of Isas to teach about percentages.
Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said it was important to recognise that primary schools in England already taught maths to a high standard.
“Focusing on how numeracy is used in the outside world is sensible, particularly as students get older, and we support plans for a curriculum review to ensure pupils are being taught the skills that are most required in daily life,” Barton said.
