Strengthening governance through specialist expertise

Number Champions was founded in 2018 with a simple belief: every child deserves to be as comfortable with maths as with reading and writing. Yet many children, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds, struggle with numeracy, and their self-esteem and long-term life chances often fall with it. 

To change this, the charity provides trained volunteers in state primary schools across London to run weekly one-to-one sessions with seven- and eight-year-olds that make maths fun, engaging and confidence-building.  

As demand for the programme grew, and more schools asked to take part, the charity recognised that it was important to strengthen governance, particularly by bringing specialist educational expertise onto the board. That’s when they turned to Reach, a platform they already trusted from previous experience, to connect them directly with skilled, motivated people. 

As Trustee Ron Finlay explains: 

“We’re a small charity. We simply couldn’t afford paid services to find trustees - and we needed people with real expertise.” 

Through Reach, they were able to: 

• Access a diverse database of skilled professionals, including those with educational expertise 
• Use filters to proactively search for candidates with school-sector experience 
• Refine their trustee advertisement using Reach’s guidance 

Ron shared that Reach had been “the most successful” method they tried, especially because it connected them with candidates, they “wouldn’t normally be able to find”. 

Through this process, they recruited a trustee with significant experience from the education sector, who brought: 

• Deep insight into how primary schools work day-to-day 
• Understanding of what teachers and school leaders truly need 
• Strategic guidance for expanding into new boroughs 

This expertise unlocked new avenues for the charity - strengthening relationships with schools, shaping volunteer training and informing decisions about safe and sustainable growth. 

Over 1,800 children have now benefited from the charity’s highly successful programme. The impact is clear in the classroom, with teachers particularly noticing the improvement in maths confidence of the children who take part. As one teacher in Brent remarked: 

“[The child] has a newfound confidence in class maths lessons, now putting her hand up eager to answer questions and take part in whole class problem solving.” 

The charity was so pleased with Reach’s results that it is in the process of using the platform again to recruit a new batch of trustees to replace those retiring.  

Ron’s advice to other charities is simple: 

“Definitely go onto the Reach platform. Follow the guidance, refine your role description, and use the filters to search proactively. Reach is a very valuable ally in building your charity with skilled people.” 

Reflecting on his own journey, he adds: 

“I’ve gained several trustee roles myself through Reach. It’s given me a wonderful mix of voluntary experience and the chance to work with very nice people doing purposeful work.” 

Number Champions’ story shows what’s possible when skills-based volunteers and small charities connect: organisations grow in capability and the lives of beneficiaries – and even volunteers – can be transformed.