Heard about teaching for mastery? Interested in high quality professional development?
Who can take part?
Whether you want to take a teaching for mastery approach in your own classroom and department, or introduce mastery in both your own school and beyond, we have a CPD opportunity for you. The NCETM and Maths Hubs are offering funded professional development activities, available in 2023/24.
Our diagram shows a school's journey towards mastery. Use it to determine where your school's journey starts (click/tap diagram to show a larger version with more detail of the journey).
In 2023/24, there is also the opportunity for teachers who work in special schools to come together to join a regional cross-phase Development Work Group. Primary and secondary special school teachers will work together to develop teaching for mastery in their own contexts.
Contact your local Maths Hub for further details. Please note: this project is for state-funded secondary schools in England.
What is involved?
Secondary maths teachers whose schools want to introduce teaching for mastery can nominate two teachers (‘Mastery Advocates’) to join a Work Group. Mastery Advocates then form part of a locally-based group of teachers who meet regularly to develop professional knowledge and expertise, and receive bespoke support.
Teachers will collaborate with colleagues from local schools, and get support and guidance from a Secondary Mastery Specialist, to introduce and embed teaching for mastery in their 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 the first year, 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 programme is for state-funded secondary schools in England. Mastery Advocates should be teachers with the commitment, experience and authority to lead developmental work across a maths department. The support of the head of maths, and the headteacher or a member of SLT, is also essential.
What is the cost?
The Secondary Teaching for Mastery – Development project is fully funded by the Maths Hubs Programme so is free to participating schools.
What will you learn?
Hear from teachers who have taken part in a Work Group
Teachers who have been involved tell us more about the benefits of mastery for them and their students
Vicci Williamson, Maths teacher and Director of Research and Development, Hungerhill School, and Secondary Mastery Specialist, Yorkshire and the Humber Maths Hub
“For me as a Mastery Specialist, it is rewarding to see the lessons students are now experiencing with teachers who are teaching for a deeper understanding.
“SLT and the leaders of my department have been completely supportive and trusting as I have introduced teaching for mastery in maths because they see the benefits it has for the students.
“I would say to senior leaders and headteachers whose maths departments are considering introducing teaching for mastery to go for it. When you hear the conversations students have in maths lessons, see their engagement and depth of understanding, and listen to them telling you about their experiences of learning maths, you will see why it is worth it.”
Simon Petri, Secondary Mastery Specialist, working with Surrey Plus Maths Hub
“It requires a bit of bravery to say actually, we’ve got to step away from old models and look at how we can facilitate this. A huge part of my role is to understand the context that schools are in and see how this fits into their lessons. I think the first thing is to get an understanding of what we mean by the term 'teaching for mastery', to remove the fear, to say 'teaching for mastery is this... and these are all the things you are already doing in your school
"I want teachers to gain an understanding of teaching for mastery and something they can go away and try...and pass their understanding on to their department.”
Hear from a Mastery Specialist and head of maths in a school where teaching for mastery has been introduced in Years 7 and 8
Who can take part?
Participation is for maths departments in schools that took part in a Secondary Teaching for Mastery Development Work Group in 2022/23. Lead participants will ideally be the Mastery Advocates who participated in 2022/23 Work Groups.
What is involved?
Secondary Teaching for Mastery Embedding Year Support is available for those departments who participated in the previous year’s Secondary Teaching for Mastery Development Work Group, and who are beginning to embed their work on teaching for mastery. Mastery Advocates (designated previously in the Development Work Group) will work closely with an assigned Mastery Specialist to help them embed teaching for mastery approaches across the whole department. Specialists will provide three days of bespoke support tailored to each school.
The focus will be on constructing or refining a coherent development plan and supporting and leading the whole department in realising the aims of that development plan. The school will also be part of a Secondary Teaching for Mastery Embedding and Sustaining Work Group with other schools.
What will you learn?
- Your students will develop a deep, secure and connected understanding of the maths they are learning
- You will begin to develop teaching for mastery approaches across your department
- You and your department will collaborate to create coherent curriculums in a culture of professional learning
- You will produce a development plan and professional development programme for the department
What is the cost?
The Secondary Teaching for Mastery – Embedding Year Support project is fully funded by the Maths Hubs Programme so is free to participating schools.
Want to become a specialist in teaching for mastery and support your own and other schools to develop teaching for mastery approaches? Join the Secondary Mastery Specialist Programme. During the programme you will receive fully funded professional development from experts, have time to develop your own expertise, and then to support others.
Any teacher (excluding ECTs) who is teaching maths in a state-funded secondary school in England and who wishes to develop both their own classroom practice and their skills in leading professional development with others can apply to become a Secondary Mastery Specialist.
Our diagram shows a school's journey towards mastery. Use it to determine where your school's journey starts (click/tap diagram to show a larger version with more detail of the journey).
What is involved?
The Secondary Mastery Specialist Programme enables secondary maths teachers to become experts in teaching for mastery, so they in turn can develop maths departments that are well-led, high-performing, and provide high-quality professional development through collaborative working.
Over a minimum of three years, participants first work on their own understanding and practice, then with their own department, then with other departments as a Local Leader of Maths Education for their Maths Hub.
All the time, you keep in touch with other specialists across the country in online groups. You can share experiences and continue developmental conversations.
To support you in developing your role as a leader of professional development you will be enrolled in the NCETM’s PD Lead Programme during the second year of the Secondary Mastery Specialist Programme.
What is the cost?
The Secondary Mastery Specialist Programme is fully funded by the Maths Hubs Programme so is free to participating schools.
How can you find out more?
Hear from Mastery Specialists in our videos below. Find out more about mastery in our case studies. And take a look at the Mastery Specialist Programme in more detail in this diagram.
This video was produced in 2018/19. It describes the programme in more detail and lets you hear from teachers in some of the schools involved.
In the 2017 summer term, we asked some Mastery Specialists for examples of what was changing at their schools as a result of their participation in the programme. They told us about work both in their own classrooms, and with colleagues in maths departments. These short videos are the result. Each video is no more than three minutes long.