Justin Tomlinson MP spoke in Parliament on the importance of ensuring that children leave school with good mental arithmetic.
The Westminster Hall debate, led by Elizabeth Truss MP, on the use of calculators in schools put the case that the use of calculators too early is meaning that British students are not becoming fluent in basic mathematics. This is causing problems for maths capabilities at high school and in later life.
In the debate, Justin Tomlinson MP said "Mathematical ability is incredibly important for personal confidence. This week, I visited an excellent school, Sevenfields, in my constituency. It has transformed itself into an outstanding school, and the main driver behind that is confidence in subjects such as maths, driven by mental arithmetic.
"Confidence in maths drives forward the ability to acquire entrepreneurial skills... I recall from when I was running my business the number of times when I met suppliers who simply could not do mental arithmetic. They relied on a calculator, which they were embarrassed to use in front of me and which allowed me to run rings round them, and make reasonably good profit margins. That is a serious observation, because that was not just a one-off, but happened time and time again."
Justin continued "As the chair of the all-party parliamentary group on financial education, I absolutely support this call about calculator use because the absolute cornerstone and bedrock to making the next generation of consumers savvy, quick-thinking and financially literate is having a good grasp of mental arithmetic. Without that, it will be impossible for us to deliver improved levels of financial education."
The 2007 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) examined calculator usage at school in different countries for students aged ten. In Singapore, which came second for maths in the 2009 PISA tables, the study found almost no ten year olds used calculators in the classroom. Similarly it showed that calculator usage was also much lower in Germanic nations, which outperform Britain in maths. Calculators are more heavily used in Anglophone and Scandinavian countries such as America, Britain, New Zealand and Denmark. England is the country that uses the calculator the most, with only 2 percent of primary schools choosing to not use it.
Speaking after the debate, Justin Tomlinson MP, Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Financial Education for Young People, commented: “It is vital that children are well practiced in mental arithmetic, and do not become reliant on calculators, so that they are able to routinely calculate sums that arise in everyday situations and can be active consumers.”
Read the full speech here