Nicola's numeracy improvement journey has also included attending a course in financial resilience with the Nottingham Financial Resilience Partnership.
The NFRP is an independent, multi-agency partnership – of which National Numeracy partner Experian are a member – working together to improve the financial resilience of people and communities in Nottingham.
Nicola's story:
At secondary school I struggled with maths and my attitude at 15 was very different to now. Back then there was peer pressure and not wanting to be seen as a ‘nerd’ and wanting to be one of the ‘cool’ ones. I had a completely different attitude and perspective on life then.
Also, I used to think: “How is trigonometry going to help me in life?! I'm not sure how I'm going to need that when I'm trying to get a job.”
When I did my GCSE maths, my grade was quite low and I felt ashamed, if I'm honest. I knew I hadn't really made much effort in that area, and it always bugged me after I left school. It was embarrassing admitting that I'd come out with an ‘E’.
I always thought: “Gosh, I'm really going to have to sort this out one day. If I ever get the opportunity, I'm going to do it.”
Revisiting maths learning later in life
I am a mental health peer support worker within the NHS in Nottinghamshire. A peer worker level 3 apprenticeship opportunity came up via work, so I grabbed it with both hands. One of the requirements was to have a ‘C’ or above grade in GCSE maths.
The apprenticeship – at West Notts College – looked at the eight principles of peer support and took place one Wednesday a month for about a year and a half.
Those of us who didn’t have the ‘C’ grade stayed after class for an hour of maths teaching to work towards getting a Functional Skills Level 2 qualification.
It was something I’d always wanted to do, and I suppose really it was about facing that demon and being out of my comfort zone.
I was grateful for the opportunity because I didn’t want to say to my daughter and grandchildren that I got an ‘E’ in maths and it didn’t matter, because it did matter, and I knew I could do better.
The whole point of life is about learning and even when things go wrong or you have a setback, you do not give up.
If my grandchildren ever come to me asking about maths, I'd like to be able to say: “Look, I do know what you mean because I've been down that road myself.”
When my daughter was younger it was OK, I could help her with maths because it was calculations, which I loved. But as she got into her teens, I couldn't help her with algebra and Pythagoras – I didn't have a clue.
You can only go on Google so many times until you think: “Look, I'm a fraud.” So, I embraced the challenge.
Dedicating time to my maths improvement journey
As soon as I started the course, I vowed to myself I would do one hour's learning of maths every evening instead of just watching telly and being on my phone.
So, I sat in my backroom, no telly, no disturbance, sometimes just me and the cat, and literally studied the book we were given from college, starting with the basics – subtraction and all those sorts of things. I’d then explore the modules via the BKSB online programme at college.
My teacher, Nick, was very good, his whole approach was casual. The way he delivered the maths teaching, without pressure, was very calm and relaxed and that helped me with my anxiety.
I’d say: “I've done four papers this week Nick, have you marked them?” and he'd say: “I can't keep up!” Then I'd hit a brick wall and feel like I'd burn out.
He’d say: “Look, you can get there, but it's OK to take breaks.”
He'd give me an example of how he and a friend went walking on a 110-mile trip, and they’d both covered the same distance, yet he stopped off for a couple of breaks, yet they both finished at the same time.
It made me reflect and think: “Well, actually, sometimes you need to go away from something in order to rest your brain, go back to it and then have another look at it with fresh eyes.”
The whole process was amazing.
Taking on the maths exam
When it came to the actual exam, my anxiety was through the roof. I was sweating buckets, and it was right in the peak of summer.
It was almost like I felt dizzy and sick and like I was back in that classroom. I just couldn't think. I got the first paper, and I kept looking at the questions and thinking: “I should know this, this is the easy paper.”
Yet my mind just went blank, high levels of anxiety and panic kicked in, sweat dripping from my forehead and a nauseous feeling in my gut. A flashback from school day classes.
I know I couldn't have done that well on that first paper, but the second one, which was harder, I sailed through that one. But still I thought I'd failed. I got the bus home, and I was crying, thinking: “What a loser.”
“How am I going to face people, saying that after all this time I messed it up?” I was down for a few days, I felt ashamed. I didn't even know if I'd keep my job because a part of my role was to pass the apprenticeship.
That was on the Wednesday, but by the weekend I was revising again. I thought: “I can't let this beat me,” and started going back over ratios and things.
Luckily, we had college the following Wednesday. I'd already emailed Nick saying: “I don't know what happened. I don't think I've passed.”
He called me out of the room and said: “I need to have a word,” and I thought: “Oh, here we go.” Then he said: “You passed!” I thought: “Oh, my gosh,” I couldn't speak!
I went back into the classroom clutching the certificate, feeling completely dazed and confused and flustered.
I was later nominated for the First Time Achiever’s award at the college, and I won!
Out of the whole college for that year I had won – it was great, I couldn’t believe it! My mum and I went to a ceremony, and I got a plaque and a certificate, it was such a lovely surprise.
They even hinted at saying, would I like to be a maths tutor? I was just shocked – really? Me??
Helping others in the community with financial wellbeing
As a Community Champion volunteer for Nottingham City Council, my role is to promote healthy living within the community.
The chance to do a one-day course in financial resilience with the Nottingham Financial Resilience Partnership came up while I was studying for my maths qualification and I thought: “Great, this is another thing that can help me.”
Also, while it’s good to understand maths, to be able to apply it in everyday practical life, that is really what people need – to be able to budget and understand things like percentages and APRs.
I also figured that not only would I be able to support the people I’m volunteering with in the city, but also my own service users at work. The course covered things like financial wellbeing and things I previously didn’t have much knowledge about.
Most people accept that mental health and financial management go hand in hand and a lot of people I see struggle to comprehend and budget. I thought if I did the course, I’d be able to say: “Have you checked out what the local council’s doing?” or “You might be able to get some training for that” because depending where you live there are courses you can do on financial resilience.
Improving numeracy for career progression
I wanted to do the apprenticeship for career progression. I'm a band 3 within the NHS and if I pass the apprenticeship, I'll be able to apply for band 4 jobs, jobs like peer supervisor, for example.
I love my job, I've been in it for over two years, but a part of me feels like you must always be willing to learn new things and keep things fresh and keep moving.
The benefits of gaining the Functional Skills Level 2 qualification have been improved self-esteem, self-confidence and being able to pass my knowledge on to my peers and the people I support within my role.
I feel more confident that I can apply maths in everyday life now, when I'm reading articles or working out percentages and differences.
I really enjoyed the training we did, and it’s helped me a lot. There are opportunities to turn things around if you really want to.
Let’s try and change the grade in Nottingham. I'd like for us all to be passing on something, exchanging knowledge and having conversations about maths, rather than feeling ashamed about it.
