Assistant Maths Hub Lead – Ruth Richmond

On 17^th April, the Department of Education shared a statement in the House of Commons. The main announcement was the Prime Minister’s campaign to have all students routinely study some form of maths up to the age of 18. The Expert Advisory Body can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/maths-to-18-expert-advisory-group#:~:text=The%20group%20will%20provide%20advice,study%20maths%20to%20age%2018. It includes Charlie Stripp, Director NCETM. The group will be expected to report back in July 2023. They have a wide brief as can be seen in their terms of reference: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1150741/Expert_advisory_group_on_maths_to_18_terms_of_reference.pdf.

The scope of the advisory group terms of reference means they will look at: the essential content that should be taught to 16-18 year olds; maths skills needed for STEM and non-STEM reliant jobs and maths knowledge necessary for managing personal finance. Their brief allows them to consider whether current qualifications are effective or should be adapted and whether new ones are needed. We await their feedback with interest.

Four further changes to maths education were also announced. These key points could potentially affect teachers from Early Years right up to Further Education. Detail will follow, apparently, but, for now, we thought we’d consider who might be affected.

1. An increase in the number of schools supported by the Maths Hubs Teaching for Mastery programme to reach 75% of primary schools and 65% of secondary schools by 2025. We will introduce intensive Maths Hubs support for the schools that need it most. We will also provide further support for teachers of 16–19 year olds who are resitting their maths GCSE or Functional Skills Qualifications.

These TfM percentage targets have already been shared with MHs and we are well on track to meet these. The Intensive Maths Hubs support is new and we expect it will be directed towards targeted schools. Following the intensive support, schools will continue to be supported by their local Maths Hub. This is exciting news for school that we are happy to be involved with!

2. An expansion of the Mastering Number programme, which helps children in the first years of primary school master the basics of arithmetic, including number bonds and times tables. This programme will be delivered by Maths Hubs, reaching over 8,000 schools by 2024. We will also expand the programme into Years 4 and 5 to bolster fluency in times tables.

We are pleased to share the Origin KS1 (EY-Year2) Mastering Number September 2023 cohort has been oversubscribed for the third year in a row, with lots of new schools interested in implementing this exciting and effective programme. A small pilot cohort for the KS2 Mastering Number Programme has been announced to be going ahead in September 2023 with the hopes that more cohorts will run in future years.

3. An expansion of the Taking Teaching Further programme, delivering funding for Further Education (FE) colleges to recruit and offer early career support to those with the relevant knowledge and industry experience to retrain as FE teachers. We will launch a financial incentive pilot this year for up to 355 teachers, targeted at some of the hardest-to-fill subjects, including maths.

Taking Teaching Further programme is a national initiative to attract experienced business and industry professionals to teach in Further Education. FE providers will have to apply to this new scheme where providers and participants will receive financial assistance.

4. A new fully funded maths National Professional Qualification for those leading maths in primary schools, teaching participants how to train other teachers to embed mastery pedagogy. We expect to make this available to all primary schools from February 2024. We will offer an updated Targeted Support Fund for the 2023-24 academic year, providing additional funding to incentivise primary school teachers and leaders, including in the smallest schools.

This NPQ is for Maths Leads in primary schools and further information about participant eligibility criteria will be released in due course. The qualification will focus on leadership and teach participants how to train and lead other colleagues to embed mastery pedagogy throughout the school. We already have two rigorous qualifications for leaders of maths education with the Professional Development Lead qualification and the School Development Lead programme. It will be exciting to see where exactly this new NPQ sits in relation to these existing programmes.