Parents should stop boasting about their lack of mathematical skills and instead encourage their children to work confidently in the subject, a government-backed review of maths teaching in primary schools suggests.

The interim report from Sir Peter Williams, Chancellor of the University of Leicester, recommends that parents should play a key role in fighting the nation’s “can’t do” attitude to maths.

It calls for the introduction of specialist maths teachers in every primary school within five years and for one-to-one tuition or small-group teaching for pupils struggling with maths.

Jim Knight, the Schools Minister, agreed that it was important to shake off the “I’m useless at maths” attitude. “We need as a nation to be more confident about maths and address the numeracy skills gaps,” he said.

The review also recommends more maths training for primary teachers and said that training for childminders and nursery workers should include “appropriate mathematical content” so that children could start learning numbers from an early age.

Sir Peter’s review was ordered by Ed Balls, the Children’s Secretary, last July in his first act after taking over the schools portfolio. It comes after concern that almost a quarter of 11-year-old pupils are failing to meet the expected standards in numeracy.

Although primary schools are under heavy pressure to drill children in numeracy skills to improve their SATs, the percentage of children underperforming in maths in Key Stage 2 tests and achieving only a Level 3 pass at age 11 has remained constant at about 6 per cent for several years.

Sir Peter said that the importance of being able to count, calculate and work confidently with mathematical ideas could not be overstated. One of the biggest barriers to raising standards was the cultural attitude towards maths. He said: “The United Kingdom remains one of the few advanced nations where it is socially acceptable, fashionable even, to profess an inability to cope with mathematics. That is hardly conducive to a home environment in which mathematics is seen by children as an essential and rewarding part of their everyday lives.”

Bringing parents into the maths equation was vital, he added, because teaching methods had changed so dramatically in recent years. “On visits to schools we heard time and again from children that they would like their parents to be taught the methods they are learning,” he said.

Last year the Government announced a £22 million pilot catch-up maths programme for primary school pupils, funded by KPMG and a coalition of finance companies and charities. The programme, Every Child Counts, involves one-to-one tuition for children who at the age of 7 are identified as falling behind. It is modelled on the Every Child a Reader literacy programme, which the Government is introducing nationally to improve literacy levels.

The review of maths teaching coincided yesterday with a survey suggesting that Britons lost £1.45 billion last year because of poor maths and English skills. The Learndirect survey of 2,000 people found that failure to calculate tips correctly, work out exchange rates or add up bills cost the average adult £32 in 2007.

— A SECONDARY SCHOOL is offering pupils up to £200 each as an incentive to get better exam results. Year 11 pupils at Joseph Leckie Community Technology College, in Walsall, are being encouraged to work together to improve their grades, with the best teams earning cash prizes each term.

As they approach their GCSEs, the top team prize goes up to £800. Keith Whittlestone, the school’s head, said: “Cash is an incentive. It is shortsighted to criticise it. There are lots of things people are doing in the name of motivation. Some schools reward youngsters by letting them choose what they want to do, like having a pizza party.We hope that a team approach will raise attainment.”

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