Supporting Maths Hubs

For the last 3 years, Maths — No Problem! has been selected to provide professional development and textbooks to selected Maths Hubs participating in the High-Quality Textbook project.

At a glance

• Maths Hubs are 35 regional centres of maths teaching excellence funded by the DfE
• Led by the National Centre for Excellence in Teaching Mathematics (NCTEM)
• Spearheading teaching maths for mastery in England
• Maths — No Problem! selected to provide CPD and textbooks to schools participating in the High Quality Textbook Programme for the third year running
• We’ve supported 85 schools, 214 teachers and 4,350 pupils across 25 maths hubs

Case study: North West Three Maths Hub

From the start of the project in 2015, we have now trained and worked alongside 67 schools from across the North West

Impact on teachers

In order to measure the impact of the project, we have collected data from a number of sources.

Firstly, from our initial training with schools we have an average 77% of delegates who rate it as ‘outstanding’ with the other 23% rating it as ‘good’. Alongside, it is often pointed out that the training itself has had a significant impact on teachers’ understanding of pedagogy and made them think differently about teaching.

Survey results show that 95% of Head Teachers and Maths Leads agreed that the approach has led to improved maths outcomes amongst pupils. One survey respondent stated, “We are at the beginning of our journey however the results so far have been amazing – this will revolutionise the teaching of maths in our school”. Many teachers have also stated that they have been particularly pleased with the impact it has had on struggling pupils – often the increased use of manipulatives, contextualisation of problems and the greater importance placed on communicating ideas and thinking, rather than just getting the right answer, are cited as being reasons for this.

Impact on pupils

Another key finding has been the increased enjoyment levels during maths lessons for both teachers and pupils. From the survey 90% of respondents agreed that the project led to teachers enjoying maths more than they did before and 100% agreed (62% strongly agreeing) that the project had led to pupils enjoying maths more. One survey respondent stated:

“The experience has been overwhelmingly positive for students and teachers. Maths is now cited as a favourite subject by students and teachers alike.”

Arguably a direct outcome of the above finding is the 94% of survey respondents who agreed (62% strongly agreeing) that the project has led to increased levels of engagement from pupils in maths lessons.

Ofsted feedback

Of the schools we have worked with so far, four schools have received Ofsted inspections. Below are some quotes from the inspection reports that are pertinent to the work that we have done with them in relation to the Singapore maths approach.

Change Management

Finally, it is important to note that, just because the impact findings so far appear to be overwhelmingly positive, it does not mean it has been easy for schools to implement. One survey respondent stated:

“Changing the approach [to Singapore maths] has been challenging for the teachers.” “It has required significant investment of both time and money but has given us a strong shared understanding of effective maths teaching.” “From our own informal findings we are starting to see that, where the model is strongest in schools, teachers work together collaboratively on a regular basis and often watch each other teach.”

– Lisa Bradshaw, Director of the St Helens TSA and National Maths Hub NW3