§ Mr. Hooleyasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he will invite the Schools Council to examine the criticism of the teaching of mathematics in schools made by the Engineering Industry Training Board, regarding the lack of competence of craft apprentices in basic arithmetic and algebraic skills.
§ Miss Joan LestorMy right hon. Friend has recently made clear his concern about the effective teaching of mathematics in schools. The Schools Council shares this concern and is currently sponsoring six development projects in this field at a cost of over £450,000. More generally the problems of developing mathematical skills and relating schools courses to later requirements including those of apprenticeship have been discussed by professional bodies and are receiving continuing attention. Other relevant work is being undertaken under the auspices of the Department's Assessment of, Performance Unit, and the national survey of secondary schools on which Her Majesty's Inspectors are engaged will devote attention to mathematics in the wider context of the secondary curriculum.