The Multiply Project is a scheme, launched by the Government, to offer organisations funding for ideas that can redress the growing problem of poor numeracy in adults.

It was launched in response to research which showed that around 17 million adults in England – half of the working-age population – have the numeracy skills of primary school children.

To address this in Warwickshire, the County Council has received funding via the UK Shared Prosperity Fund over a three-year period to deliver programmes to adults who do not already have a GCSE grade C/4 or higher in Maths or an equivalent qualification. This latest tranche of funding is the second call for organisations to apply.

The County will be working with local partners, including the five District and Borough Councils, community and voluntary organisations and the education sector, to identify local projects and allocate over 2 million pounds which has been made available to Warwickshire until March 2025. Of this funding, close to £600K remains which is the basis of the current call out.

The previous round of funding in Warwickshire took place last summer with the County Council able to successfully fund the following projects:

Pet-Xi – Designed to help people to use maths in daily life. Priority groups are the over-50s, economically inactive & unemployed residents, adults with learning difficulties and disabilities.

Coventry & Warwickshire Co-operative Development Agency: Money, Money, Maths – Using their existing community links to make links with residents who might not otherwise engage, this course offered a combination of one-to-one and group activities outside of formal standard educational settings.

Warwickshire Adult & Community Learning (ACL): Multiply Plus – Activities included intensive individual support for residents who want to achieve a Functional Skills Qualification, targeting learners who can’t attend a traditional class as their work commitments are not at fixed times, or they are experiencing mental ill health; and those who are geographically isolated. 

The Council is keen to ensure that any new projects that are funded should complement the three projects above and is particularly looking to support projects run with the County’s various employers.

Cllr Martin Watson, Warwickshire County Council Portfolio Holder for Economy, said: “Poor numeracy skills can hold people back from having the confidence to get on in life and into the world of work. We are very pleased to work with our partners across the county to really address local numeracy needs and make sure that, if adults have barriers to getting on and prospering in the workplace, we can help to overcome them.

“It’s not only about helping people to prosper in their working lives, through Multiply Funding there is the scope to fund projects which can help parents who are wanting to better support their kids with their Maths homework so we can pass the benefit onto other generations.”

The deadline for applications is Monday 7 August and organisations can find out more and apply by visiting: https://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/adult-learning-training-courses/new-multiply-projects

Find out more about the Warwickshire Multiply scheme and apply for funding before the deadline on Monday 7 August 2023 at 12.00noon https://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/multiply