THE numbers are adding up for primary school pupils who are using an innovative initiative to learn maths.
Pupils at Christ’s College, Sunderland, were keen to show off their new-found numbers knowledge when their local MP and Labour’s shadow education secretary Bridget Phillipson visited.
Winning With Numbers is described as ‘phonics for maths’ and is designed to ensure children become fluent and confident with their calculations.
The primary maths curriculum and learning platform is used in school and at home and is proving to be successful.
The school’s acting key stage 1 lead Rachel Clayton said: “It is proving to be very effective at developing fluency, confidence and depth of knowledge.
“The children were very excited to meet their local MP and delighted to show her what Winning With Numbers looked like in the classroom.
“They were also delighted to meet Ben Harding, an experienced school leader, maths teacher, advisor and edtech specialist who founded Winning With Numbers, as they had watched him on many resource videos.”
Mr Harding said: “We are on a mission to ensure all children are fluent and confident with numbers. Winning With Numbers provides access to a structured and systematic programme that ensures every child acquires number knowledge.”
Mrs Phillipson has been MP for Houghton and Sunderland South since 2010. She was appointed Shadow Secretary of State for Education by Keir Starmer in 2021 and is responsible for Labour's education policy in England.
She said: “Across the country, too many children are being let down and are leaving school without the maths they need to succeed. The next Labour government will bring maths to life for our young people, so children are succeeding by six, not leaving it until 16. It was great to see the brilliant work in this area already in train at Christ’s College.”
