Parents set to go back to school with new project to support whole families with learning maths
A Sunderland secondary school is to receive almost £70,000 of funding to help transform attitudes to maths and to boost performance in the core subject.
Venerable Bede CE Academy is to receive £68,100 in funding from SHINE Sunderland, a charitable trust which has committed to invest £11 million in schools across the city to “help improve GCSE attainment and access to future opportunities”.
At Venerable Bede, overall standards are rising and the school recently celebrated record-breaking GCSE results, placing it among the top 20 most improved schools nationally for grades 4+ and 5+ (Old grade C/low B) in English and maths combined.
However, the school’s leaders have identified that maths attainment still lags behind English.
Staff at the school feel for many many pupils, difficulties in maths are rooted in anxiety and a lack of confidence, a fear often mirrored at home, where parents and carers often report feeling ill-equipped to help because of their own negative experiences or unfamiliarity with the subject.
The school is part of the Northern Lights Learning Trust.
Executive Director of Secondary Education, Nikki Gibb, said: “People would never admit they can’t read, but they’ll easily say, ‘I can’t do maths.’ We need to get rid of that fear.”
As well as supporting pupils at the school, the programme aims to engage parents and equip them with the confidence and skills to support their children.
Maths Unmasked will deliver practical, confidence-building workshops for both pupils and parents and carers.
Acting head of school Lisa Turnbull said: “The main aim and vision is to strengthen family engagement in education and raise pupil attainment in mathematics. Everything we’re doing is built around that.”
The project will take place initially over the next three years with the first year’s focus on research and development, including focus groups and surveys to understand barriers to engagement within the local community.
Information gathered will be used to develop tailored resources such as take-home packs, online tools and parent workshops, and launch a four-week pilot with a group of Year 8 families.
The school plans to launch a dedicated website and digital and physical toolkit to support learning in maths.
Ms Gibb said: “Schools aren’t flush with money, so having the opportunity to apply and be awarded the funding through SHINE is wonderful for our school community.
“There's lots going on for the city at the minute – a lot of regeneration – and SHINE Sunderland is going to help the next generation to future success.”
Ms Turnbull added: “Particularly in areas of deprivation where the need is often greatest, we require additional funding to support schools in running projects like this.
“These initiatives help ensure that young people who may not have had the best start in life are given the opportunity to improve their life chances through targeted support.
“That is certainly the case with this project, as well as with the many other SHINE Sunderland projects being delivered across the city.”