A new National Numeracy Trust is needed to tackle the problem of poor maths skills amongst children and adults.

Count me in, a new report by charity think tank New Philanthropy Capital (NPC), finds that government intervention is not enough and that more needs to be done to change public attitudes to maths and improve standards in schools.

The research finds that many people are happy to admit that they dislike numbers and struggle with them, which is a major barrier to improving skills.

A fifth of children leave primary school without passing the maths test at the expected level, and a fifth of adults do not have the basic numeracy skills needed for everyday life.

While NPC's research acknowledges the efforts made by government to improve numeracy in the last ten years, it points to the lack of an overarching strategy to improve teaching, attitudes and skills across all the different age groups in a co-ordinated way.

It also highlights the concern over the lack of specialist maths teachers in both primary and secondary schools and the lack of co-ordination when pupils move from primary to secondary school.

Report author Belinda Vernon, said: "Poor numeracy can affect people throughout their lives. People who struggle with numbers are twice as likely to be unemployed as those who are competent.

"Changing negative attitudes to numbers is crucial if we are to see a real, sustained improvement in numeracy skills. We believe a National Numeracy Trust, along the lines of that launched for literacy nearly twenty years ago, could do that."

The research shows that some charities supporting maths in schools are innovative and effective, but funding is patchy and the work fragmented across many different organisations.

It highlights the need for charities to do more in this field, especially in re-engaging hard to reach adults and children and in developing innovative approaches to teaching numeracy.

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