What is involved?

One of the strategic goals of the Maths Hubs Programme is for Maths Hubs to work with a range of partners to ensure there is effective initial training of new teachers of maths in primary and secondary schools, so that they have the specialist knowledge required to support the learning of maths. By 2023, the aim is for all engaged ITT programmes to include initial preparation for teaching for mastery. These communities are therefore needed to support sustained best practice networks between ITT providers and local hubs, with a focus on teaching for mastery. The communities are also needed to support the hubs in identifying the mathematical needs of their ECTs, to inform their local offer. 

What does the programme cover?

In order to support the sharing of expertise from this group, Community Leads will be asked to focus their local work in one key theme area. These themes are designed to respond to the needs of the ITT sector and to ensure local needs are met.

The themes for this year are:  

• Theme 1: for an established group to have local/regional meetings leading to additional partnership work focusing on the issues relevant to that locality, to strengthen the understanding of teaching for mastery pedagogy 
• Theme 2: reviewing the CCF to identify the maths-specific elements, how they relate to teaching for mastery, how they feature in provision, and how the provision can develop this further 
• Theme 3: developing the subject-specific expertise of mentors to support trainees in mastery-related maths learning and teaching. 

Who can take part?

Participants in this community will be from the ITT community; they should be directly involved in ITT with a responsibility for maths. It is expected that these participants will represent the various ITT providers across the hub region, so may include HEI, SCITT, and School Direct, and represent different phases of ITT including EYTS and QTS (primary and secondary). 

It is anticipated that lead participants will be supported by their institution to attend all the scheduled meetings and to review their provision in light of the discussions and work they take part in.

What is the cost?

This project is fully funded by the Maths Hubs Programme so is free to participating schools/colleges.

Evaluation of the work in previous years identified that: 

• this community provided a timely opportunity to develop participants’ ITT programmes and connect this with the CCF 
• the community had provided opportunities for professional discussion of practice. Participants shared common challenges such as working with rigid schemes of work or formulaic approaches to lesson planning 
• ITT leads, especially those in smaller settings, appreciated the opportunity to speak to others about developing maths pedagogy and challenges in maths education. Cross-phase and cross-provider collaboration was valued 
• this community provides a forum for high-quality discussion around maths pedagogy and the opportunity for professionals to work together to meet local need.