Parents to have maths lessons with children

The final report by Sir Peter Williams, chancellor of Leicester University, is published today and is due to blame a massive lack of expertise in most primary schools for the fact that one in four 11-year-olds do not have the counting skills expected of their age.

Ministers, who are expected to accept most of his recommendations, hope that the report will usher in a culture change so that it is no longer seen as "okay to laugh about how rubbish you are at maths".

The review was ordered by Schools Secretary Ed Balls, in one of his first major decisions on being appointed to the job last year by Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

Sir Peter's interim report, which was published in March, warned there was "no room for complacency" if England's failings at maths were to be tackled.

"The United Kingdom remains one of the few advanced nations where it is socially acceptable - fashionable even - to profess an inability to cope with mathematics," he said at the time.

"That is hardly conducive to a home environment in which mathematics is seen by children as an essential and rewarding part of their everyday lives."

His recommendations are expected to include:

A specialist maths teacher for every primary school.

Joint lessons for parents and their children in nursery and primary schools.

Intensive lessons for pupils who are struggling.

More maths graduates in nurseries and playgroups and better integration of the subject's curriculum for twoand three-year-olds, and those further up the age scale.

All new primary school maths teachers should have at least Cs in the two maths GCSEs being created from the current, single qualification, one of which involves harder, more theoretical content.

All existing primary school teachers, not just those who are their institution's designated maths specialist, should undergo fresh training in the subject.

The maths curriculum should be reviewed although Sir Peter believes that the content - criticised by some teachers as too demanding for many pupils - is broadly correct.

Mr Balls also told primary schools to teach times tables a year earlier, from the age of eight, and restrict the use of calculators in classrooms, when he announced the review.

The hardest recommendation to implement will be the recruitment of sufficient maths specialists to give every primary school such in-house expertise.

In 2006, just 227 out of almost 10,000 primary teacher trainees had a degree in maths, a science or an engineering or technology subject, according to the Training and Development Agency for Schools.

The National Union of Teachers warned that implementing Sir Peter's recommendations would cost a huge amount of money.

NUT acting general secretary Christine Blower said: "Extra resources should be guaranteed for posts for maths specialists in small primary schools. Indeed mathematics tuition carried out by qualified teachers should be guaranteed for all children who need it."