During the first UK lockdown, many families reverted back to the traditional set-up of mothers doing more childcare. Experts say we are at a “coronavirus crossroads”: without more support for working mothers, the gender pay gap could widen. So what should be done? These activities help your learners: Analyse statistics about pay discrimination Consider the impact of a culture of secrecy around salaries Suggest solutions to help close the gender pay gap Learn about the law on equal pay Understand the impact of the coronavirus on the gender pay gap See this issue from different perspectives

Numeracy in the news: behind the headlines Designed to be used at home by a child working alone or with an adult or siblings. These activities help learners make sense of the numbers in the news and empower them to make their own judgments based on evidence.  Through a combination of numeracy skills and discussion questions, learners are able to see behind the headlines and better-understand the media they consume. Engaging scenarios help them to: Investigate how numbers can be presented to support a viewpoint Interrogate the accuracy of claims in the headlines Adjust their thinking in light of new findings Analyse numerical evidence to help solve a social issue A classroom version of this resource is also available to download here.

Download a full scheme of work to explore numbers in the news and how the media can shape a story. The covid-19 pandemic has kept people glued to the news, but is there such a thing as too much information? Has the pandemic led to an infodemic? Throughout the six hour-long lessons, students will use oracy to develop their numeracy skills, with a particular focus on the Skills Builder skills: creativity, problem-solving, speaking and listening.

Explore how numbers are used in news reporting through a week’s worth of good news stories! 90% of the news we consume is negative. But why? Learn about why we are drawn to negative stories and how this is reflected in the media. Then, investigate how numbers can be used to help us understand a news story. This resource is supported by KPMG

Six lessons to unpick numbers in the news. Created with support from data experts at The Economist, the 6-hour unit of work helps 10-16 year-olds explore examples in the news, hear from data journalists and interrogate the reliability of data across four lively lessons before reflecting on their learning. Students are encouraged to form their own conclusions and the final two lessons support learners to plan, create and share what they have to say about data decisions, presented in either audio, video or written format.