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What opportunities for helping children develop their numeracy skills can we point out to parents? |
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Research taster
There is a whole variety of activities which children take part in their everyday lives which help them become confident and adept in using number. Examples from one project include darts and Monopoly, as well as household activities, such as cooking and keeping a check on pocket money. 
Your evidence
What you know about the amount of informal numeracy activities your pupils do outside of school might help you to understand their progress in numeracy better. It can also inform your discussions at parents’ evenings. You could develop a simple diary sheet like the one below and ask each child to complete it, for a period of time, such as the weekend. Because some children see carrying out calculations as only a formal activity you might want to discuss with them at the start the types of activities they could include, and list these on the board.
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What counting did you do?
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Was it easy or hard?
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Friday evening
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Saturday morning
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Saturday afternoon / evening
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Sunday morning
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Sunday afternoon / evening
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(Adapted from reflective activity 7-2a)
Moving forward
Now you’ve got a picture of what numeracy activities children do outside school, how can you help parents realise the value of these activities, and encourage them to do more? Would it be feasible for you and colleagues to arrange a special event where you can discuss informal numeracy activities with parents? What opportunities are there for holding a meeting at a location other than school?
 Find out more about the TLRP Home-school knowledge exchange project at: http://www.tlrp.org/project%20sites/HomeSchool/index.htm
Find out more about effective home-school liaisons at: http://www.gtce.org.uk/policyandresearch/research/ROMtopics/parentalrom/ or
http://www.standards.dfes.gov.uk/research/themes/parents/
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