Jisc adopts free online maths offering

Citizen Maths is moving to Jisc from its developers and previous suppliers Calderdale College

A free online course designed for adults who want to improve their grasp of maths at GCSE level has been transferred to the UK’s education technology solutions organisation, Jisc.

The move from Calderdale College means that the Citizen Maths course will remain freely available to all and will be updated and developed in the future.

Citizen Maths is a good match for Jisc’s existing content for further education colleges, such hairdressing training and an e-books collection that includes text books for compulsory English and maths GCSE retakes.

The transfer of Citizen Maths took place earlier this year, and Jisc’s initial focus will be on ensuring the continuation of all its current features and on maintaining excellent support for learners and partners.

In the future, Jisc plans to improve Citizen Maths to meet the needs of a wider range of learners.

Karla Youngs, Jisc’s Head of Digital Content Services for Further Education and Skills, said: “This maths course is a good fit with Jisc’s existing offering to further and adult education, and we have worked closely with Calderdale College to ensure a smooth transfer of the service and to make the transition invisible to learners and to partner organisations.”

We can’t think of a better long-term home for the project, which has seen steady growth in number of users since its launch. – John Rees, Calderdale College

“We now have a team in place to support the service into the future.”

John Rees, Principal and Chief Executive of Calderdale College, said: “We are pleased that Citizen Maths has now transferred to an organisation which provides digital solutions for the whole of UK education and research. We can’t think of a better long-term home for the project, which has seen steady growth in number of users since its launch.”  

Citizen Maths was developed between 2014 and 2017 by Calderdale College, with funding from the Ufi Charitable Trust, working with the UCL Institute of Education and OCR.

Citizen Maths is aimed at people who want to improve their grasp of maths and become more confident in using these skills at work and in life. Maths may have passed you by at school, or you may be rusty. Maybe you’ve passed maths exams but find it hard to apply what you know to the types of problem you need to solve now – like using spreadsheets, judging amounts, or assessing odds.

The course uses practical problems to help people learn and is pitched to meet the standard of maths that a 16-year-old should achieve. There are five modules which should take between five and ten hours each to complete. While the course does not result in a formal qualification, a statement of participation is available for people who successfully complete the whole course.