[Omah]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-17224600

Poor numeracy is blighting Britain's economic performance and ruining lives, says a new charity launched to champion better maths skills.

The group, National Numeracy, says millions of people struggle to understand a payslip or a train timetable, or pay a household bill.

Government figures show almost half the working population of England have only primary school maths skills.

A government spokeswoman said poor numeracy was a national scandal.

The new organisation quotes from research which suggest that weak maths skills are linked with an array of poor life outcomes such as prison, unemployment, exclusion from school, poverty and long-term illness.

It also wants to challenge a mindset which views poor numeracy as a "badge of honour", promising to name and shame public figures who boast of being bad at maths.

Last year's Skills for Life survey showed that the drive to improve literacy was working, with almost six out of 10 people in England having strong reading and writing skills.

But the same figures also showed that high level maths skills in England were declining.

Only 22% of people have strong enough maths skills to get a good GCSE in the subject - down from 26% when the survey was last carried out in 2003.

A spokeswoman for the Department for Education said: "We want the vast majority of young people to study maths up to 18 within a decade to meet the growing demand for employees with high level and intermediate maths skills.

"We are undertaking a root-and-branch review of how maths is taught in schools, attracting the best maths graduates into the profession."

Rachel Riley, presenter of TV's Countdown said: "If children are engaged with maths from an early age and enjoy the subject they are far more likely to be successful in it.

"We need to find imaginative ways to switch them on to maths and teach them to be proud to be numerate."

Bring back the 3 R's and the Dunce's Cap .....