Making it Count: Numeracy for Life -House of Lords Report

The House of Lords report Making it Count: Numeracy for Life published 3 November 2026 warns low-achieving pupils are getting ‘caught in a spiral of resits’.

Recommendations to improve numeracy in schools include an increased focus on early years numeracy, the recruitment of maths specialists in schools and school staff should receive pre- and in service training on dyscalculia – a learning disorder that affects someone’s ability to learn and process numbers. This would allow pupils with the condition to receive early intervention and targeted support, given the “low rates of awareness among educators”.

Recent research, provided for the committee by the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology, found that dyscalculia affects around 6 per cent of the population, but remains “under-recognised and under-diagnosed”.

Full report can be read here:

https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld5902/ldselect/ldnumeracy/67/67.pdf