Why Making Maths Compulsory to 18 Won’t Solve the Digital Skills Gap

In this article, Magda discusses why making maths compulsory to age 18 won’t solve the UK’s digital skills gap. Instead, teachers need better support, training, and resources to deliver digital skills to schools. Greater emphasis on early years and primary education is needed, and the development of critical thinking, creativity, problem solving and digital literacy.

In January 2023, Rishi Sunak hit the headlines with a controversial proposal to make studying maths compulsory up to age 18. Data is everywhere, and statistics underpin most modern jobs, he argued– extending maths education would therefore better prepare youngsters for the modern workplace. 

The UK’s digital skills gap is prevalent, and we are happy to see STEM high on the Prime Minister’s agenda. However, this proposal is far too narrow and fails to address both the current needs of the education sector and UK businesses.

Education Is Struggling – You Do the Maths

The list of education sector challenges is not short. In February, we saw teachers out on strike over conditions and pay. We’ve also had years of steadily rising teacher shortages, deficits in school budgets and alack of investment in SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities) and mental health services. 

Schools are feeling the pressure and need urgent relief from the myriad of challenges they face if we’re to truly better STEM education. Not forgetting that it’s in STEM subjects where we see the biggest need for more teachers. 

Considering digital skills education more broadly – not just maths – teachers are also feeling ill equipped, under resourced and without sufficient training to deliver these skills to young learners. We recently surveyed primary school teachers and found nearly a quarter of those surveyed cited limited teacher knowledge and a lack of digital skills as a huge hinderance to effective teaching, while 3 in 5 blame a lack of resources – both time and the necessary devices and tools.Teachers also criticised the rigidity of the curriculum as an obstacle to spending more time exploring creative thinking and new tools in lessons

It isn’t enough to create a policy in isolation of the current teaching climate. For the teaching of digital skills to be as effective as it needs to be, it is essential that teachers are sufficiently supported, trained, and have access to the necessary resources. 

Getting an Early Start

Another key consideration we’d urge the government to consider is puttinga greater emphasis on Early Years and Primary Education too – not just post-16. The sooner we can engage children in learning analytical and digital skills, the better, and evidence shows that improving attainment at primary level makes the biggest difference to outcomes at GCSE level and beyond. 

To bridge the gap more successfully between primary and secondary education, it is vital to better engage children’s mathematical, digital, and analytical talents – and excitement for – these subjects at primary school age. Children are far more likely to be inspired and motivated to continue honing their STEM skills and progressing to these subjects at GCSE and A Level if they have a firmer understanding before attending secondary school.

Bridging the digital skills gap

To truly prepare young learners for our increasingly digital world, it is important to inspire passion for technology at a young age, which is not just limited to maths. Computing, critical thinking, creativity, problem solving, and digital literacy are all vital skills that the UK’s businesses are in desperate need of and that can be honed in areas outside of mathematics. 

Digital literacy is a core requirement for tomorrow’s workplace, not just to fill the existing technical skills gap and create more engineers and developers, but for all young people to have an understanding of how the technology that informs so much of the world around them is created. And, as the world moves towards greater automation and the use of machine learning-powered tools, these skills have never been more important.

By Magda Wood, Chief of learning at Micro:bit Educational Foundation