How can schools get involved?

All of the 40 Maths Hubs across England offer professional development to help teachers develop a mastery approach in their own classroom, department and school.

Primary

Primary Teaching for Mastery Work Group (TRG)

Hear from teachers who have taken part in the Teaching for Mastery programme in this video, where they reflect on the impact the professional development has had on pupils:

 

 
A Teaching for Mastery Work Group (TRG) is a professional development opportunity designed to support teachers like you to develop best practice in maths in your school. It is suitable for schools interested in implementing a teaching for mastery approach to maths.

What does the opportunity involve?

Two teachers from each participating school join a Work Group, consisting of six or seven local primary schools. Each Work Group is led by a trained primary Mastery Specialist.

Work Groups (sometimes known as Teacher Research Groups, or TRGs) meet regularly to plan, observe and discuss teaching for mastery. In between meetings, teachers explore mastery approaches in their own classrooms and across their school. Work Groups run for a year initially, with light touch support continuing beyond the first year as mastery is embedded in participants’ schools.

Support is provided from a local classroom-based Mastery Specialist who leads the group. This model of professional development involves hands-on learning and peer-to-peer support. It is evidence-based and designed to support substantial long-term change.


Primary Mastery Specialists

Mastery Specialists are classroom practitioners who develop expertise in the mastery approach to teaching maths. Through rigorous and interactive training, they become experts in introducing and embedding mastery. After first developing a mastery approach in their own classrooms, they go on to support colleagues in their own and other schools.

There are currently hundreds of Mastery Specialists supporting colleagues in their own schools and beyond to develop mastery approaches to maths teaching. Mastery Specialists are classroom-based practitioners who develop expertise in mastery and lead Work Groups to support other schools and teachers locally.

The Mastery Specialist Programme for primary teachers started in 2015/16. Each year around 140 primary teachers – four from each Maths Hub – complete a programme of professional development to become Mastery Specialists. In every subsequent year, each of these teachers leads a Teaching for Mastery Work Group. This involves working with participant teachers from six or seven primary schools within their Maths Hub area, so that these schools can start to introduce teaching for mastery themselves.

By the end of the 2019/20 school year, there will be 700 Primary Mastery Specialists established and operational. They will collectively have worked with more than 8,000 other primary schools, which represents around half of all primary schools in England.

For a video and more information please click on this link.

Secondary

Secondary Teaching for Mastery Advocate/Work Group

Work Groups

Secondary maths teachers whose schools want to introduce and embed teaching for mastery can nominate two teachers (Mastery Advocates) to join a Work Group. You will be part of a locally-based group of teachers who meet regularly to develop professional knowledge and expertise, as well as receiving bespoke support.

In a Teaching for Mastery Work Group you will:

  • collaborate with colleagues from other local schools to share best practice

  • get individual school support and guidance from a local leader of maths education (LLME)

  • take away ideas to help your students become more confident mathematicians, ready to tackle GCSEs and A levels

  • introduce and embed teaching for mastery in your classroom and department

 

Mastery Advocates

The fully funded programme enables you and another teacher from your school to become ‘Mastery Advocates’. Initially you will be part of a Work Group for a year. You will also get in-school support from a Mastery Specialist. Beyond this, you will continue to work with your local Maths Hub and take part in a Work Group as you embed mastery across your department.

This opportunity is suitable for all maths teachers, from NQTs to Heads of Department. It requires the support of your headteacher/a member of SLT.

For a video and more information please click on this link.


Secondary Mastery Specialists 

The Secondary Mastery Specialist Programme began in 2016/17. It is smaller than the primary programme and more exploratory in nature, but the number of Secondary Mastery Specialists is growing all the time.

What is involved?

Year One: attend three residential training events and concentrate on your own classroom teaching.

Year Two:  work in your own school to help spread mastery teaching approaches across your department.

Year Three:  support two other local schools along the same route.

All the time, you keep in touch with counterparts across the country in online groups. You can share experiences and continue developmental conversations.

Further Education

Following the success of the Primary and Secondary Mastery Specialist Programmes, Maths Hubs, working in conjunction with the NCETM are now recruiting for Further Education Mastery Specialists.

The programme is aimed at those who teach GCSE Mathematics resit and/or Functional Skills Qualifications (FSQs).

The Further Education Mastery Specialist Programme is fully funded by the Maths Hubs Programme so is free to participating FE establishments.

 Find out more here! Further Education Mastery Specialists


To register your interest to train as a Mastery Specialist or to take part in a Teaching for Mastery Work Group, please complete the form below:

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