In July 2014, the government announced a network of 32 Maths Hubs spread across the country, founded with the aim of bringing together ‘outstanding practices in mathematical teaching’ to benefit  all schools and pupils. This network has since grown to 35 hubs.

Individual schools with exemplary mathematical teaching practices were selected to act as the local hubs, and are supported by a range of organisations, both nationally and locally.

The move came in response to international reports that the UK is falling behind in mathematical performance – we are currently graded 25th worldwide. However, in the opinion of Department for Education MP Elizabeth Truss,

“There is no reason why children in England cannot achieve the same standards in maths as those in Japan, Singapore and China. We put in more resources in England than in these countries and we have the best generation of teachers ever. Yet our children are 2 to 3 years behind by the age of 15.”

As such, a total of £11 million was pledged by the government to implement the hubs, with plans focussed on promoting collaboration between schools and introducing them to the mathematical ‘mastery’ approach.

What is the Mastery approach?

The Mastery approach is based on learnings from Singapore and Shanghai, where the expectation is that every pupil is capable of becoming an excellent mathematician. Compare this to the UK, where pupils are often written-off for being ‘not mathematically minded’ at a fairly young age, and consigned to a low set, destined to only learn enough material to eventually sit foundation exams at GCSE.  

The Maths Hubs will attempt to recreate this approach in the UK by changing both the mindsets and practices of traditional teaching. Primary mathematics will be delivered by specialist maths subject teachers, rather than by a single class teacher attempting to act as a ‘Jack of all Trades’. An increase in the amount of CPD (Continuous Professional Development) for secondary school teachers is also planned – teachers in Shanghai and Singapore are also provided with 50-100 hours of training and professional development each year, as compared to an often inconsistent and minimal approach in the UK.

The real core of the Mastery approach, however, is the depth of understanding which the pupils should hope to achieve through their lessons.  There can be a temptation from UK schools and teachers to ‘race-through’ many different topics, covering the curriculum quickly in order to then spend longer revising subjects nearer to exams.  A mastery approach, however, requires pupils to achieve a deeper understanding of each topic before moving on; really becoming immersed in the workings of the module, applying the methods outside of the context which they’ve been taught, and creating links to other areas previously learnt.

Our thoughts

At Manning’s, we love mathematics (our founder studied Maths at London Imperial). It has always been our belief that applying a technique outside of its original context (or simply repeating pages of repetitive exercises) not only serves to gain greater knowledge and capability, but also enhances the enjoyment of any subject. As this is the very ethos of Manning’s, you could say we’re a fan.

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P.s. We really recommend the following three sites for extending and entertaining maths puzzles / articles.

www.nrich.org.uk

www.brilliant.org.uk

www.plus.maths.org.uk