Last week, Ofsted released ‘Coordinating mathematical success’, the latest mathematics subject report. The report is the first since 2012’s Mathematics: made to measure.
Pleasingly, the report finds that in “the last few years, a resounding, positive shift in mathematics education has taken place in primary schools”, with notable improvements in secondary mathematics education also having taken place since the previous report. Chief inspector Amanda Spielman has said “the picture for maths education in England has continued to improve”.
It will be no surprise that the report also found that recruitment and retention of high-quality, specialist, maths teachers is a challenge for many schools. The report states “leaders’ curriculum decisions are increasingly influenced by the need to cope with these difficulties. Some schools that identify this problem do not take steps to develop the subject knowledge and subject specific pedagogical knowledge of less experienced and non-specialist teachers, usually provide a weaker mathematics education to their pupils.”
We believe that ongoing engagement with subject-specific CPD plays a vital role in teacher retention. The report highlights that networks of support, such as the Maths Hubs, provide regular and highly useful training and that “it is now common for teachers, in both primary and secondary schools, to receive regular subject-specific professional development”.
The report also found that in primary schools “curriculum is now at the heart of leaders’ decisions and actions” and curriculum planning around the teaching of mathematical facts and methods is strong in secondary. However, “long term curriculum planning to develop pupils’ ability to use the facts and methods they have been taught to solve familiar, and unfamiliar, problems is uncommon”.
We believe that by working collaboratively with science departments, mathematics teachers can develop long term, joined up, curriculum planning. This would incorporate useful, real-world contexts in which to solve problems. The development of practical and sustainable ways for departments working together takes time and continued support.
The report also states that “in some schools, pupils are taught a narrowed curriculum that allows them to be successful in exams without securing the mathematical knowledge they need to be successful later.”
At STEM Learning, we recognise the important role that science teachers play in giving students a rounded understanding of mathematics, and that is why we’ve been working with science teachers to develop a range of mathematics CPD support for teachers of science.
You can read the full ‘Coordinating mathematical success’ report here.