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A maths 'champion' in every school

MMU leads primary 'transformation'

A UK-wide drive to place a mathematics ‘champion’ in every primary school is being assisted by Manchester Metropolitan University.

The University was chosen to be a regional hub for MaST (the Maths Specialist Teacher Programme) and will train teachers at around 1,000 schools to improve the nation’s maths know-how.

The recent launch of the two-year Masters level course will "transform the way the subject is taught in primary schools" according to the Schools Minister, and follows the findings of the Williams Review in 2008.

Sir Peter Williams, a physicist, found specialist maths teaching in primaries to be rare, unsurprisingly, as less than 3% of teaching staff have a maths-related degree.

He recommended that over the next 10 years, up to 13,000 primary teachers should train as maths specialists.

On-the-job learning

MMU, in partnership with Liverpool Hope University and 12 local authorities, including Manchester, is offering MaST as a mix of on- and off-the-job learning to enable teachers to develop three areas of competence: - maths knowledge, teaching expertise and coaching skills.

Group training at MMU will combine with work back at school, sometimes accompanied by MMU lecturers, to try out newfound ideas and knowledge in the classroom.

170 teachers have already signed up with a further 140 starting in September, and more than 100 each year until 2019, funding allowing.

"We’ve found teachers are not particularly confident about their maths, so this course should make a significant difference,” says project leader Frank Eade, of the Institute of Education at Didsbury.

Excellent feedback

"The feedback so far has been excellent, and unlike previous initiatives, this one empowers teachers by allowing them to go back to their schools and influence how maths is approached by their colleagues."

Andy Jones, Dean of the Institute of Education, said: "The Institute is proud to be playing a significant role in this important initiative. The mathematics team here are at the cutting edge of pedagogy and they deserve our congratulations for leading this programme with our partners."

Teachers will receive an incentive payment of £3,000, and those passing the course are granted Mathematics Specialist Teacher status by the DCSF, and a Postgraduate Certificate in Specialist Primary Mathematics, worth 60 points towards a Masters degree.

Schools interested in taking part in the MaST programme should contact their Local Authority in the first instance. To see if you might be suitable for MaST, go to www.ncetm.org.uk/resources/21133 and click on the box with a tick in it on the right-hand side of the page.

Among local authorities involved are: Bolton, Cumbria, Kirklees, Liverpool, Manchester, Oldham, Salford, St. Helens, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford, Warrington, Wigan, Wirral.

Published Wednesday, 10th March 2010