2024 was a year of incredible partnerships and progress for National Numeracy. We introduced new programmes, new celebrity ambassadors and launched our new 2025-2028 strategy detailing the Three Big Changes we want to see and help bring about.
Sam Sims, CEO of National Numeracy said: "Reflecting on a year filled with milestones, partnerships and progress, I am proud of National Numeracy's role in empowering individuals and creating a more numerate society. Together with our partners, we are making a lasting difference."
2024 in numbers
- 836,067 actions to improve numeracy taken as a result of our campaigns
- 988,614 interactions online
- 484,756 people estimated to have been supported with our resources by those who signed up to National Numeracy Day
- 40,886 children participated in our programmes
- 29,606 adults participated in our programmes
- 162 volunteers trained – reaching 17,619 children
- 1,192 Numeracy Champions trained – with 96% feeling more confident to support others who lack confidence with numeracy
- 985 workshop participants - with 96% feeling more able to take next steps, and 86% feeling more confident with numbers
- 953 media mentions – with 105m print and broadcast reach, and 3.19bn online readership
See more statistics in the full report
Big Change 1: Numeracy for equality
The numeracy gap between those from lower socio-economic backgrounds and their wealthier peers can last a lifetime. This is a major barrier to social mobility. And low numeracy can prevent people from accessing work – and is something felt most acutely by women. But this can be changed.
This year we took more steps than ever to fight these barriers, including taking National Numeracy Day on the road to visit areas of higher need, giving Number Confidence Week a new gender theme, and launching our Gender Taskforce on International Women’s Day.
We also launched our new strategy to drive social mobility and gender equality through improved numeracy, The strategy was launched at a Parliamentary Reception attended by Secretary of State for Education, Bridget Phillipson, who said:
"As well as being the Secretary of State for Education, which is such a privilege, I also lead our work as Minister for Women and Equalities as well. And there is so much more we need to do on that front, too, because, let’s be honest, we know that it’s often women and girls who find this a particular challenge and lack confidence early on. We’ve got to do a lot more to tackle that to make sure that everyone in our country has the chance and the confidence to succeed."
Take a look at the report for more information about how we’re addressing inequality
Big Change 2: Numeracy for success
We want all of society to see the value of numeracy in their lives, and have the confidence to thrive with numbers – from cradle to career.
To inspire those of a young age, our corporate volunteering programme reached more people than ever before – delivering sessions to 17,619 children. And our brand new Schools & Families programme, which launched in September 2024, reached over 3,000 individuals within its first three months.
And we built on relationships with partners to grow our network of workplace Champions – including in the NHS where we trained over 200 Champions – bringing us to over 500 NHS Numeracy Champions to date.
Plus, we teamed up with Mumsnet to research generational maths anxiety, and reveal the impact that parents’ attitudes can have on their children’s number confidence and competence.
Read the report to hear all about how we’re setting people up for success
Big Change 3: Numeracy for community
The third “Big Change” we want to see, is communities feeling motivated, empowered and supported to improve numeracy at the local level. And a shining example of this was our partnership with The Lord Mayor’s Appeal, which came to an end in 2024. The three-year partnership had an incredible impact, seeing 548 Numeracy Champions across all London boroughs.
Meanwhile the Multiply initiative, from the Department for Education, entered its third and final year. Our work with local authorities on their Multiply adult numeracy programmes in 2024 helped to support 15,740 adults who are the target audience of Multiply, and trained 556 Numeracy Champions.
And our campaigns were tailored to be more inclusive and accessible than ever before.
Find out more about our work to empower communities in the report
Get involved
We’re incredibly proud of the work we do with our partners to drive positive change across the UK. Together, we are supporting more people than ever before to improve their numeracy and build brighter futures.
Working together brings a host of strategic benefits. To learn more about how our work can support your charitable goals please get in touch, we’d love to talk:
