Volunteer-supported assemblies and lessons
Get children thinking about the maths in the real world with our volunteering programme!
Our corporate volunteers will come into school to share their experiences through our ‘My Maths Story’ assembly and/or our ‘Maths in the Real World’ interactive class lesson. It's a great way of raising the profile of maths in your school and helping children see its value, and why they learn it.
The assembly and classroom session aim to:
- enable pupils to make the link between what they are learning and the world of work,
- get children thinking about jobs that involve maths,
- inspire children to see the maths in everyday life beyond school,
- challenge stereotypes about careers and the world of work,
- meet the Gatsby Benchmark of Good Career Guidance: Benchmark 4 – Linking Curriculum Learning to Career and Benchmark 5 – Encounters with employees.
Our volunteers complete training in understanding numeracy in the UK, maths anxiety, how to support number confidence, supporting children to develop positive attitudes towards maths, safeguarding in schools, and activity delivery.
'My Maths Story' assembly
Volunteers will share their own numeracy journey, what their job role entails, what they do in their spare time and how it all involves numeracy. They will also encourage the children to think about how they use numeracy every day.
- Assemblies take approximately 15 minutes.
- Assemblies are suitable for Key Stage 2 (can be split by year groups if required).
- Volunteers will use pre-prepared slides to deliver the talk with photos and a video.
- Please have a laptop attached to a screen available for use.
- We advise you encourage children to prepare some questions to ask the volunteer about their job / career in advance of the session.
"The assembly went very well. The children were engaged and had many questions… it helped them to see the real-life examples and uses of maths, in and out of work, and children are always more receptive to these messages from a visitor."
– St Mary’s Primary School, Nottingham
"The assembly was really well prepared with use of key words and visuals to support children with English as an additional language. Lots of opportunities for children to ask questions and well timed."
– William Davis Primary School, London
'Maths in the Real World' classroom session
This session is designed to be teacher led and supported by up to three volunteers. Children will meet characters, some in real life and some fictional, and explore the maths they use in their jobs and hobbies. Children are split into small groups and take part in a carousel activity, with the groups visiting different characters in turn. A short reflective activity follows the carousel.
- One 45– 60 minute lesson.
- Suitable for upper Key Stage 2.
- A PowerPoint slide deck will guide you through the lesson.
- A full lesson plan is provided with character details, job profiles, activity sheet.
- The school will need to provide 6 large pieces of paper, pens and pencils.
- There is an option to invite parents and carers to attend, to support positive conversations about maths.
"The session was really good. All children were engaged throughout the lesson and enjoyed coming up with ways that maths could be used in jobs and hobbies. The children also enjoyed interacting with the volunteers and asking them questions about their jobs and hobbies."
– Maths Lead, Hempshill Hall Primary, Nottingham
"We were very pleased – children were engaged and loved meeting all the volunteers and talking to them and hearing about their lives and the maths they use. They enjoyed seeing the same volunteer who had been previously to lead the assembly and questioning all volunteers who responded honestly and pitched their answers well for the children. The images of the 'digital characters' and bullet pointed descriptions were just right to allow children to think about these as real people too."
– Maths Lead, St Mary's Primary, Nottingham
We currently have volunteers available to deliver both activities in Belfast, Gosport, Havant, London, Nottingham and Portsmouth. If you are a primary school in those areas and would like to express an interest in a volunteer visiting your school, please complete the form.
For more information, please contact laura@nationalnumeracy.org.uk.
