Special Educational Needs: Dyscalculia

Baroness Barran Excerpts

Tuesday 10th March 2026 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Blake of Leeds (Lab)]

My noble friend touches on a really important issue, that of transition to different stages of education, when too many children and young people are extremely vulnerable. It is a broad area—the whole idea of rolling out restorative practice throughout schools, so that there is a much better understanding of behaviour, what has triggered it, and what support can be given. Too many young people have been let down when an assumption has been made that their bad behaviour is due to their personality, rather than any particular condition they might be facing.

[Baroness Barran (Con)]

The noble Baroness mentioned the importance of the maths hubs. High-quality maths teaching is of course essential for all children, but particularly for those who struggle with maths, including those with dyscalculia. However, she did not mention that the Government have cut funding for the maths hubs and scrapped funding for the computing and science hubs. Would she like to comment on that?

[Baroness Blake of Leeds (Lab)]

As the noble Baroness knows extremely well, there are always competing areas for funding, but that is not to underestimate the importance of maths hubs and the work they are doing. We want to make sure they can be as efficient as possible and reach as many young people as possible, using every available avenue of communication.