maths snapshots - teachers of maths: supply, training and...
TRANSCRIPT
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:[email protected]
www.acme-uk.org @ACMEmaths