Beginning with the very foundations of maths, this course will start by looking at how numbers are put together, before guiding you through how to use percentages, fractions and negative numbers. Taking real-life examples you will have the opportunity to practise your new skills and build your confidence in using maths to solve problems in everyday life and the wider world.

This course will encourage you to not just mechanically follow the rules that are written to help with maths, but to also gain an understanding and appreciation of what lies behind these rules.

Enrolling on the course will give you the opportunity to earn an Open University digital badge. Badges are not accredited by The Open University but they're a great way to demonstrate your interest in the subject and commitment to your career, and to provide evidence of continuing professional development.

Once you are signed in, you can manage your digital badges online from My OpenLearn. In addition, you can download and print your OpenLearn statement of participation - which also displays your Open University badge.

The Open University would really appreciate a few minutes of your time to tell us about yourself and your expectations for the course before you begin, in our optional start-of-course survey . Once you complete the course we would also value your feedback and suggestions for future improvement, in our optional end-of-course survey . Participation will be completely confidential and we will not pass on your details to others.

Course learning outcomes

After studying this course, you should be able to:

• Use maths in a variety of everyday situations
• Understand how to use percentages, fractions and negative numbers in some everyday situations
• Begin to develop different problem-solving skills
• Use a calculator effectively.