British Abacus Association

During last week’s Inclusive Abacus Education Briefing, we were privileged to hear from Susan Parsons, Adult Learning ESOL Lecturer at Dundee and Angus College.

Her expertise, generosity, and guidance have been essential in supporting the development of inclusive numeracy approaches for visually impaired learners. Without her insight and encouragement, much of this work would not have been possible.

✨🙏 A heartfelt thank you to Sue — your support over the years has made this journey possible.

During last week’s Inclusive Abacus Education Briefing, we were honoured to share international written reflections from Yeh Shiuh-Pei (National University of Tainan) and Liao Hui-Wan (Taiwan Chamber of Commerce). Their perspectives added valuable global context to inclusive education discussions.

✨Inclusive Abacus Education Briefing at Abertay University highlighted seven years of work integrating tactile learning, heritage abacus, and international reflections. Thank you all!

Exciting insights from inclusive education research!

We met with Drs Murray & Bryson at the Stirling Centre for Research into Curriculum Making (SCRCM) to discuss integrating heritage abacus innovation into the Scottish curriculum. Inspired by the potential for inclusive numeracy and social justice to unlock students’ abilities.

🌍 Participating in the European Accessibility Summit 2025 today!
Engaging in discussions on the latest advancements in accessibility and inclusion. Excited for the afternoon sessions and networking opportunities.

European Accessibility Summit 2025 The European Disability Forum is thrilled to invite you to the 5th European Accessibility Summit, organised with the support of Microsoft. The Summit, taking place in Brussels and online on October 14th, is an excellent opportunity to stay up to date on advances in accessibility and to network with....

⭐Exciting News from the British Abacus Association (BAA)!

We’re proud to introduce the Centre for Inclusive Abacus Education (CIAE), leading inclusive abacus innovation for learners of all ages and abilities—including those with visual impairments and diverse disabilities.

By transforming the UNESCO-recognised abacus into a modern, accessible tool, we aim to make numeracy education creative, empowering, and inclusive.

➡️Learn more: https://baauk.org/

✨Dundee Innovation with UNESCO Heritage✨
Excited to explore a world-first three-pillars initiative in Dundee, connecting Education, Health, and Employment through the UNESCO-recognised abacus. A true chambers-to-chambers moment between DACC and TCOC.

Dundee & Angus Chamber of Commerce

We really appreciate Shelley McCarthy for actively supporting our initiatives at NHS Tayside Charitable Foundation. Her guidance has been invaluable in helping our inclusive abacus projects progress and reach the community.

Did you use an abacus at school? I did briefly which totally shows my age 😳 A huge thank you to Tsao Pei-Ling for joining us in the Foundation office today! Pei-Ling shared the inspiring work… | Shelley McCarthy Did you use an abacus at school? I did briefly which totally shows my age 😳 A huge thank you to Tsao Pei-Ling for joining us in the Foundation office today! Pei-Ling shared the inspiring work she’s leading to support people with visual impairments and neurological conditions, using the abacus a...

✨ Inspiring Meeting at NHS Tayside! ✨
We recently met with Shelley McCarthy, Chief Officer of NHS Tayside Charitable Foundation, at their Dundee office. We shared our work supporting people with visual impairments and neurological conditions through our abacus initiative.

It was inspiring to see the excitement and interest in our approach — showing how local innovation can create real opportunities for learners and future employment.

A big thank you to Shelley McCarthy and NHS Tayside Foundation for their support!

We will develop a multi-phase project of the integration to explore educational innovation. We would like to say thank you again to the institutions and people who helped and shared knowledge, and advice with us.

Preparing for integration of abacus maths in educational innovation | European Blind Union The British Abacus Association (BAA) will develop a multi-phase project of the integration to explore educational innovation. At the current planning phase, the aims are the completion of new teaching methods of basic arithmetic operations; the initiation of knowledge integration and structuring an....