• Schools won't have to contribute to early career bonuses for maths teachers

    The government has confirmed it will proceed with its plans for early career bonuses for maths teachers who choose to stay in the profession, and has announced that schools will not have to contribute at all to the payments. In October last year Schools Week reported that the maximum bursary on offer to new maths…

    13.08 Aug. 31st, 2018 | News

  • What I learned from the Shanghai maths teacher exchange

    The UK can certainly learn from the Far East, says Caroline Hamilton, but cultural context is key, and what our teachers need most is time-efficient professional development Two years ago, I was fortunate to be part of the Shanghai exchange as part of the Maths Hubs initiative. The experience was fascinating, and not at all…

    5.00 Jul. 22nd, 2018 | Opinion

  • Where did maths mastery come from?

    The roots of some ‘Asian’ teaching approaches lie closer to home than you might think, observes Mark Boylan Read or hear the word “maths” in England right now, and you’re likely to see or hear the word “mastery”, too. Teaching for mastery is both the name of the government’s preferred teaching approach in maths and…

    5.00 Jul. 21st, 2018 | Opinion

  • New early-learning goals to be trialled in 25 primary schools

    A new assessment model for reception pupils will be piloted in 25 schools from September. New draft Department for Education guidance sets out proposed changes to “early-learning goals” that reception pupils are assessed against. The new approach will be tested in pilot schools in the autumn ahead of a consultation and decision on a national…

    14.13 Jun. 22nd, 2018 | News

  • The chancellor can’t make maths schools add up

    Several leading universities have declined the opportunity to open specialist maths schools, and the government won’t admit how many are now due to open, six months after setting aside millions in extra funding. In last November’s budget, the chancellor Philip Hammond (pictured) promised an extra £350,000 a year for every new maths schools – institutions…

    7.00 May. 12th, 2018 | News

  • Disadvantaged pupils' maths attainment sees England fall behind

    England needs to double the number of disadvantaged pupils who achieve the top GCSE grades in maths to catch up with the best-performing countries around the world, according to new Education Policy Institute (EPI) research. Just one in 10 disadvantaged pupils in England achieve a grade 7, 8 or 9 in GCSE maths, while nearly twice…

    0.01 Apr. 19th, 2018 | News

  • EEF: Calculators do not limit learning in maths

    Using calculators in maths lessons doesn’t erode pupils’ skills and may actually make them better at problem solving, according to new research from the Education Endowment Foundation. The report on ‘Improving mathematics in key stages 2 and 3’ found that calculators do not hinder the development of pupils’ arithmetic abilities, and has a positive impact…

    0.01 Mar. 23rd, 2018 | News

  • £600 maths premium ≠ more maths A-levels

    The government’s policy to pay schools to get more pupils studying maths is misguided, argues Luke Sibieta – why not raise sixth-form funding instead? In Wednesday’s Budget, the Chancellor announced various measures aimed at expanding the teaching of maths in schools and colleges. One of the most eye-catching announcements was a commitment to pay “a…

    12.00 Nov. 24th, 2017 | Opinion

  • You can't compare GCSE maths grade boundaries

    The new maths GCSEs were designed to be different from the old A* to G GCSEs, says Cath Jadhav, so you really can’t compare new and old. Over the next two months we will be reporting on various aspects of summer 2017, including official statistics. Our very clear aim, in planning for the first new GCSEs…

    0.01 Nov. 3rd, 2017 | Opinion

  • Popular maths resource forced to become private company

    A subject body has stopped maths hubs from sharing their resources, forcing one academy to open a private company in order to keep offering materials for free. Maths hubs are no longer there to “produce or promote” resources for schools, according to the National Centre for Excellence in the Teaching of Mathematics (NCETM), which oversees…

    5.00 Sep. 29th, 2017 | News

  • The "big fat maths" GCSE is not working as planned

    Pupils will soon sit the first new “big fat maths” GCSE. Joanne Morgan looks at the challenges that it presented – and those still to come Two years ago we were uncertain about how our students would adjust to the demands of the new maths GCSE. We worried that many of them weren’t equipped with…

    5.00 May. 1st, 2017 | Opinion