End the intergenerational cycle of poor numeracy
3 Nov 2026 04:08 PM
The Numeracy for Life Committee publishes its report Making it Count: Numeracy for Life.
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Background
Numeracy impacts the everyday life of millions in their work, raising children, buying a home, managing health and finances, including our earning capacity, and preparing for retirement. It also has an impact on the UK’s economy.
Whilst there is much to celebrate with the improvement in maths attainment in schools and among adults, over 8 million adults still have numeracy skills below those expected of a nine year old.
The Report
The Report says that there is a risk a two-tier system being created with low achievers at school being trapped in a spiral of GCSE resits with only one in five 16–19-year-olds who resit the exam achieving a Grade 4. This creates a barrier to further education and employment, reduces future earning capacity, restricts civic engagement and has an impact on the economy.
In its report, Making it Count: Numeracy for Life, published 3 November 2026, the cross-party Numeracy for Life Committee has made recommendations to improve numeracy skills from the cradle to retirement and calls for a National Year of Numeracy to promote and celebrate its importance for all ages.
Key recommendations
After hearing from a range of witnesses including; teachers, academics, charities, education providers, financial experts, Government officials, a Minister and former Prime Minister, the Committee calls on the Government to support people:
- from the cradle to the school gate by ensuring guidance for parents and carers on literacy and reading is matched with guidance on numeracy skills;
- through school years by sustaining its investment in the recruitment of specialist maths teachers, and ensuring schools provide in service training on dyscalculia so that pupils with the condition receive early intervention and targeted support;
- between 16-19 years old as they move towards work by providing further education colleges and other post-16 providers with sufficient funding and specialist teaching capacity to deliver effective GCSE mathematics resits;
- through working years by establishing a ‘no wrong door’ approach under which relevant public-facing services, including jobcentres, primary care, housing services and probation, routinely signpost adults who may benefit from improving their numeracy to suitable support;
- for older people by helping them re-train for work, prepare for retirement, and manage health conditions.
Chair's comment
Lord Agnew of Oulton, Chair of the House of Lords Numeracy for Life Committee yesterday said:
“Numeracy impacts the everyday life of millions in their work, raising children, buying a home, managing health and finances and preparing for retirement. Whilst there is much to celebrate with the improvement in maths attainment in schools and progress made in adult numeracy, the reality is that over 8 million adults still have numeracy skills below those expected of a nine year old and children from areas of high deprivation are still more likely to struggle with maths in school. Our report calls for the intergenerational cycle of poor numeracy to be broken through an increased focus on early years numeracy, the recruitment of maths specialists in schools and more focus and work on supporting and signposting adults to access work and community learning opportunities. This will not only empower them to meet and manage daily tasks and finances with renewed confidence but also help build the economy.”
Further information