Time to Count pupils and Zurich volunteers visit Wexford Library
As part of Business in the Community Ireland’s (BITCI) Time to Count programme, the pupils of St. John of Gods Primary School visited Wexford Library with their volunteers from Zurich.
The Time to Count programme, which began in 2016, aims to build children’s confidence around numbers, reinforce their conceptual understanding around numbers and support them in mathematical problem solving. BITCI runs this nationwide programme by pairing companies with a 3rd class in a local DEIS school and company volunteers deliver 10 sessions with the class using maths games, activities and challenges and then the pupils attend a workplace visit.
This is the 7th year of collaboration between St. John of Gods Primary School and Zurich. In this group, 28 students were paired with 7 volunteers.
Andrea Lazenby Simpson, BITCI Head of Education said “These library visits are an important element in delivering our Time to Count programme for pupils to see first-hand the wealth of free accessible resources and books available to them. Spending further quality time with the volunteers outside the classroom deepens the pupil / volunteer relationship which is truly rewarding for all involved as the children’s social skills and confidence grows.”
In 2025, BITCI celebrates its 25th anniversary and as leaders in sustainability and social inclusion, the partnering of corporate volunteers with local DEIS schools with the intent of addressing education disadvantage and achieve greater equity of opportunities remain vital to BITCI’s social inclusion objectives.
Rose-Marie O’Loughlin, Principal, said “The Time to Count initiative is bringing Maths to life in a fun and engaging way for children. Through this initiative the children show improved engagement, develop their problem-solving skills and learn the value of teamwork, collaboration and communication”.
Cathy Byrne, Zurich Insurance’s Time to Count coordinator said “The programme has been a great success. Time To count is a great fit with Zurich’s volunteering programme which encourages its people to get involved in community-based projects. It builds on our previous engagement with BITCI’s Time to Read programme.”
The Time to Count programme external evaluation conducted by DCU found not only does the programme enhance the child’s mathematical learning but also increases their social skills and confidence through the evolving relationship between the pupils and volunteers over the course of the programme.
The Time to Count programme is funded by Tusla, the Department of Education (through the Dormant Accounts fund) and An Post.
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