Teachers have slammed plans to dismantle a pioneering maths scheme which has sent results soaring.
More than 100 primary schools in Greater Manchester currently use the Every Child Counts programme to help struggling pupils.
Funding is being scrapped as the government stops giving out money for specific subjects, instead handing over a single payment for schools to decide how to spend.
Staff at St Peter’s RC Primary in Wythenshawe say intensive one-to-one lessons have helped pupils get to grips with adding, subtraction and times tables.
Deputy head Dave Wilson said that the decision would see his pupils missing out on thousands of pounds worth of extra help.
He said: "This has brought about a huge difference to some of our pupils. Our children don’t come from the most affluent area and if they don’t understand numeracy at this age they will be disadvantaged for life.
"We get a lot of support from specialists within the local authority as well as experts at Edge Hill University who assess our results, tell us how well we are doing against other schools, and feed back. All their funding will be stopped if this is axed."
The Department For Education said schools would not lose money as part of the changes and headteachers would still have the power to spend their budgets on similar projects.
A spokesman said: "It is not for government to decide how the money is best spent."
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60% thought it a bad idea,10% did not know and 40% thought it was a good idea.to scrap the scheme.
What a shame that these children will not get this help when it is needed. These will be the children who then go on to cost the nation a huge amount because they will leave school without the required amount of numeracy knowledge. This will cost the economy and the tax payer more in the long run!
These will be the children who will need support in every year as they go up through the scholl. They will switch of and become de motivated! it makes a huge amount of sense to support them in their early years...
Some of these children on the Numbers |Count programme have made two years progress in just twelve weeks. Wow. Surely it is a scheme worth saving...
It is a fantastic sheme with some children making 2 years progress in 12 weeks!!Surely these children if taught the key maths skills earlier willnot then be the children who go on cost the economy huge amounts in the long run through further intervention schemes, behaviour problems as they become de motivated because they can not acess the curriculum and crime, benefits etc as their work prospects grow less due to having poor maths skills.
Numbers Count works and needs to be retained and developed further..