Snapshotsmaths

DECEMBER 2014

•Urgentlyrecruitandretainexpertmathsteachersinsecondaryandfurthereducation.

•Establishspecialistteachersofmathsinallprimaryschools.

•Providehighqualitysubject-specificprofessionaldevelopmentforallteachersofmaths.

Teachersofmaths:supply,traininganddevelopment

Therearenotenoughspecialistteachersofmathsinprimary,secondaryandfurthereducation.Thereisanurgentneedto:

• attractmorehigh-qualitymathsteachersintoallsectors

• trainallteacherstoteachmathsmoreeffectively

• supportteachersthroughhigh-quality,career-longprofessionallearningandprovidecareeropportunitiesformathsteacherstodeveloptheirknowledgeandskills

• retainagreaterproportionofthebestteachersinclassrooms.

Wherearewenow?

Thereisashortageofappropriatelyqualifiedteachersofmaths.•Manyprimaryschoolshavenoteacherswithspecialisttrainingandexpertiseinsecondaryteachingmaths.

•Secondaryschoolshaveashortageof5,500specialistmathsteachersinEngland.(1)

•Onequarterofthoseteaching11-14yearoldsdonothaveamaths-relevantqualification.(2)

•Oneinfivemathsgraduateschoosetogointoteaching(3)

•Acrossallsubjects,almostoneinfourteachersleavesteachingwithinfiveyears.(4)

Differentroutesintoteachingcontaindifferentquantityandqualityofmaths-specifictraining.•Thereisnoguaranteeofhigh-quality,maths-specifictrainingacrossInitialTeacherTraining(ITT)routes.

• In2012-13,Ofstedreportedthatschool-basedmodelsofprimaryITTofferedweakmathematicalsubjecttraining.(5)

•SubjectKnowledgeEnhancement(SKE)coursesprovideanessentialsupportforentryintomathssecondaryteachingforthosewithlimitedsubjectknowledge.

Thereisnooverarching,long-termstrategyforcareer-longprofessionaldevelopment.

•Therearenoguidelinesaboutprogressionfromnovicetoexpertteacherofmaths.

•Teachers’accesstomaths-specificprofessionaldevelopmentisvariableandgeographicallyinequitable.

•Thereisnosystem-widequalityassuranceofprofessionaldevelopment.

•Thequalityofmaths-specifictrainingprovidedthroughTeachingSchoolsisunknown.Theseschoolsarejudged‘outstanding’byOfstedbutthegradingdoesnotrequiremathstrainingexpertise.

•Somehighlyeffectiveprogrammeshavebeendiscontinued,suchasthePrimaryMathematicsSpecialistTeacher(MaST)programme.

•WiththeaimofcoordinatinganddevelopingprofessionaldevelopmentfromprimaryonwardsinmathematicstheGovernmentin2014establishedover30‘MathsHubs’.(SeeMathsSnapshot:Internationalcomparisons.)

Whatarethechallenges?

Thedemandforteachersofmathsisgrowing.

•By2022,pupilnumbersinmaintainednurseryandprimaryschoolsareprojectedtoincreaseby15%comparedto2013.(6)

•ThenewGCSEwillrequiremorelessonsperweek,andincreasedteacherexpertise.

•Allstudentswhodon’tachieveaGCSEgradeCinmathsorEnglisharenowexpectedtocontinuewiththesesubjectspost-16.Asaconsequenceanestimatedextra600teachersayearwillbeneededby2020inschoolsandfurthereducationcolleges.(7)(SeeMathsSnapshot:Mathsforallto18.)

•From2015anewpost-16‘CoreMaths’qualificationwillbeavailable(analternativetoAS/AlevelMaths).Over2000moreteacherswillberequired.(8)

Teacherretentionratesneedtobeimproved.

•Betterretentionofteacherscanamelioratetheshortageofteachersofmaths.

•Animprovedeconomicoutlookislikelytoincreasethedemandformathematicalskillselsewhereandrestricttheflowofgoodgraduatesintoteaching.

Theprofessionaldevelopmentlandscapeischangingquickly.

•ThenewMathsHubsfaceahugetask.Eachofthemwillbeservingabout600primaryandsecondaryschoolsandFEcolleges.

•Thewiderangeofindependentandcommercialprovidershasledtoissuesofaccessibilityandavailabilityofhigh-qualityprofessionaldevelopment.

Whatneedstohappen?

1.Thereisanurgentneedtorecruitandretainmoreteachersofmathsinsecondaryandfurthereducation.

•Ananalysisisneededonhowroutesintoteachinganduseofincentiveshaveimpactedthequantityandquantityofmathsteachers.

• Astrategyforrecruitingteachersofmathstofurthereducationisneeded.

•Salariesandotherincentives,includingjobsatisfactionandprofessionalautonomy,shouldreflectthegrowingmarketformathematicalskillsacrosstheeconomy.

•Betterevidenceisneededtodevelopstrategiestomitigateteacherattrition.

2.Thetrainingofprimaryteachersofmathsrequiresurgentattentioniflong-termchangeinmathseducationistoberealised.

•Incentivesforprimarymathsspecialistsneedtobefurtherdeveloped.

•Areviewofthequalityandeffectivenessofroutesintoprimaryteachingisrequiredwithafocusonmathematicalexpertise.

3.Theprofessionaldevelopmentofteachersofmathsatallcareerstagesandinalleducationphasesneedstobeimproved.

•TheMathsHubsschemeneedsearlyevaluationtoinformfurtherdevelopmentsandmaximiseimpact.

•Longertermplansfordevelopingwidely-accessibleandhigh-qualityprofessionaldevelopmentareneeded,withinspirationtakenfromothercountries.

• Allpolicydevelopmentsandinitiativesmustbeunderpinnedbywell-designedprofessionaldevelopmentopportunities.

1.https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/268206/DFE-00289-2013.pdf

2.https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/school-workforce-in-england-november-20133.https://www.gov.uk/government/news/quality-maths-graduates-flock-to-teaching4.http://data.gov.uk/dataset/the-database-of-teacher-records5.http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/resources/promoting-improvement-initial-teacher-education-ite-primary-mathematics

6.https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/national-pupil-projections-future-trends-in-pupil-numbers-december-2013

7.https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/teacher-supply-model-a-technical-description8.http://www.acme-uk.org/media/10520/20121217acme_post_16_strategy.pdf

Forfurtherinformationaboutthe

AdvisoryCommitteeonMathematicsEducation:

Tel:+44(0)2074512588email:acme@royalsociety.org

www.acme-uk.org @ACMEmaths