I AM urging local schools to throw themselves into all things maths as part of a special Wales-wide fundraising day in aid of NSPCC Cymru / Wales.

On Friday, February 7, schools can take part in Number Day using a range of curriculum-based activities, all free and provided by the charity, to liven up their lessons including ‘Who wants to be a Mathionaire’, ‘Number Hunt’ or ‘Wish Upon a Star’.

It’s a fantastic way to engage children from early years to KS4 with numbers and make maths more meaningful, and I hope even more schools will join us this year to celebrate 20 years of Number Day.

The fundraising day has raised an incredible amount of money since it launched 20 years ago, and we are grateful to the 3,500 schools across the UK that have been involved, raising nearly £2 million in the process for the charity.

Money collected so far has been used to protect children through NSPCC services such as Childline, which has bases in Cardiff and Prestatyn, and its ‘Speak out. Stay safe’ programme.

In the last school year (2018/19) the charity reached more than 80,000 children in 436 primary schools across Wales with the free ‘Speak out. Stay safe.’ programme, which is delivered by trained volunteers and staff who help children to understand the signs of abuse and neglect and who to talk to if they are worried.

Schools can still sign up to take part in Number Day at nspcc.org.uk/numberday2020

CANDIA CROSFIELD,

Schools Service Manager for Wales, NSPCC