Mathematics and numeracy plan: update 2024

As the 4 actions within the 'Mathematics and numeracy plan' represent a cohesive vision for improving standards in this area, this update represents our progress against all actions.

The Welsh Government has been working with practitioners, regions and partnerships, Estyn and academic experts to understand the needs of schools regarding mathematics and numeracy and how we can use existing resources more effectively. The evidence from these stakeholders has informed a specification which will procure national level intensive support for practitioners in mathematics and numeracy. The contract will be put out to tender this summer, with development work starting in the 2024 to 2025 academic year.

A pilot has been commissioned through the 'Maths Support Programme Wales' (MSPW) at Swansea University, exploring how parents and carers can be supported to engage with their child’s mathematics learning. This pilot will run throughout the 2024 to 2025 academic year.

The research, evidence and advice group has been an important source of informal advice and challenge during this work. Members of this group have been drawn from universities from across Wales and the UK. They represent a broad range of expertise in mathematics and the teaching of mathematics. 

The members of the research, evidence and advice group

• Dr. Ian Benson: Director, Sociality Mathematics CIC.
• Professor Christian Bokhove: Professor in Mathematics Education at Southampton Education School at the University of Southampton.
• Dr. Rosemary Cann: Senior Lecturer, School of Education at Aberystwyth University.
• Dr. Gareth Evans: secondary mathematics teacher, Head of Mathematics and Numeracy at Ysgol y Creuddyn.
• Professor Camilla Gilmore: Professor of Mathematical Cognition at Loughborough University
• Dr. Sofya Lyakhova (chair): Associate Professor of Mathematics at Swansea University, and Program Leader for Maths Support Programme Wales (MSPW).
• Dr. Rachel Wallis: Curriculum Tutor on the Primary PGCE Programme at the Open University in Wales.
• Professor Anne Watson: Professor Emeritus Mathematics Education at the University of Oxford.