Have you ever stood at the supermarket trying to work out the cost of loose vegetables verses packaged, and got confused with the sums?

Numeracy skills across the England are down and many people are living with a poor maths education.

Fortunately for people in Basildon there is a numeracy scheme to help improve maths skills and jobs prospects.

Fifty-seven per cent of the working age adult population in England are estimated to have low numeracy skills, with three in 10 saying they are not a “numbers person”.

The government-funded programme Multiply launched at the start of the year as Essex County Council teamed up with charity Clarion Futures to create the programme.

The scheme includes courses on budgeting, healthy eating on a budget, maths for work, helping children with maths and access to qualifications through virtual one to one tutoring.

Liz Butcher is a volunteer at The Advice Store in Basildon. The trained accountant is set to teach the level two course and took the level one course to find out what it was like.

“The course is all about using maths for practical life skills and in a positive way. If people have had a bad experience in their school days, which has put them off learning maths, this is a great way to get back into it.”

Liz saw first-hand how a better understanding of maths can positively impact people’s lives.

“People get a paralysis when faced with maths. In the course they go through situations in supermarkets to work out if a product on offer is actually cheaper or just clever marketing. Once people get into it, it gives them confidence in real life situations.”

“Once people move through the level one course they can enrol into level two where I will be teaching mathematics, which is the equivalent of a maths GCSE.”

Clarion Futures is the charitable foundation of Clarion Housing Group which owns and manages more than 900 homes across Basildon.

Multiply courses are available free of charge to those aged 19 and over without maths GCSE at grade C or equivalent, this programme will be delivered from The Basildon Advice Store.

Visit www.basildon.gov.uk for details.