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Podcast Episode

The Richmond Project's Lizzie Gaisman on the maths anxiety we pass to our children

Best Beginnings··3 August 2026·41 min

About this episode

Lizzie Gaisman, CEO of the Richmond Project, joins George to discuss the findings from the UK's largest ever survey on how people feel about numbers and what it reveals about a confidence crisis that starts early, falls hardest on mothers and travels between generations. They cover why maths anxiety leads to real skill decline, why low-income mothers are both the most affected and the most motivated to change, and how our Everyday Maths programme is working to interrupt the cycle before children reach school age. A practical, evidence-led conversation about one of the most underweighted problems in early years.