Looking back on ten years of Maths Hubs

The time seems to have passed by so rapidly that I find it hard to believe that the Maths Hubs Programme has now been running for ten years. In the same period, we’ve had the Covid pandemic, four general elections and ten Secretaries of State for Education. A constant throughout the past ten years has been continued funding for the Maths Hubs Programme from the DfE. Without that long-term commitment, the programme could not have succeeded. Quick fixes don’t last; the Maths Hubs Programme provides a national structure that can embed change and enable ongoing long-term improvement.

Following the change of government, I’m now looking forward to discussing with new ministers how the work of and lessons from the Maths Hubs Programme can help support their ambitions for education, including the ‘phonics for maths’ manifesto commitment and the implementation of any changes coming out of the Curriculum and Assessment Review.

The NCETM began its work to support the teaching and learning of mathematics in 2005, following the recommendations of Professor Sir Adrian Smith’s report, Making Mathematics Count. In 2013, the NCETM first proposed the idea of setting up a national network of school-led hubs to provide high-quality professional development for teachers of maths. Our vision was to develop a collaborative culture for maths teacher professional development within and between schools throughout England, to improve maths education for all. Following some ‘proof of concept’ pilot work, the DfE agreed an initial three years of funding for the NCETM to set up and coordinate the Maths Hubs Network, starting from September 2014.

In February 2014 I visited China to find out what we might learn from maths teaching practices in Shanghai, given their exceptional performance in the 2012 PISA Mathematics Framework assessment measures. I was sceptical before I went but impressed by what I saw. Two key aspects stood out. Schools in Shanghai had a clearly-structured, research-informed pedagogy that promoted deep, connected mathematical learning for all pupils in primary and secondary schools. There was also a coherent professional development structure for teachers of maths. This supports continuous improvement through teacher collaboration at school and municipal level – subject-specific professional development was embedded as an integral part of a teacher’s job. I returned to England thinking that, over time, through professional development provided by the Maths Hubs Programme, it would be possible for us to embed a Shanghai-informed maths teaching pedagogy that could improve mathematics teaching across England’s primary and secondary schools.

The NCETM’s maths teaching for mastery pedagogy and its associated professional development programmes were developed as a direct result of that initial visit to Shanghai. These initiatives were further informed by the England-China maths teacher exchange programme, which ran from 2014 to 2019, as well as by broader education research.

Starting in 2022, we’ve successfully expanded our work into Further Education colleges, supporting FE teachers to employ our teaching for mastery approach to teach post-16 students taking GCSE re-sit and Functional Skills maths qualifications.

The NCETM plays the key role of coordinating and supporting the work of the Maths Hubs Network and providing central training to support expert classroom teachers to become local leaders of maths education (LLME) for their local Maths Hub. This enables Maths Hubs to provide coherent national support and inform one another’s practice to support ongoing improvement.

Education in England faces difficult challenges in the recruitment and retention of maths teachers and in addressing under-performance in education caused by social and economic disadvantage. The Maths Hubs Network is helping to address these challenges by providing professional development for teachers of other subjects to equip them to teach Key Stage 3 maths and offering targeted, intensive support for schools in the greatest need.

Thousands of teachers of maths in primary and secondary schools have embraced the support of their local Maths Hub. LLMEs report how much they relish their role, which enables them to develop the expertise of other teachers, while retaining their crucial role as classroom maths teachers; they both ‘walk the walk’ and ‘talk the talk’. Teachers who have received training through their Maths Hub greatly appreciate working with highly expert, practising teachers and value the support of their peers. Teachers of maths report that working with their Maths Hub has helped to keep them in teaching.

Through the Maths Hubs Programme, we have made strong progress in embedding high-quality, research-informed professional development as part of the working life of teachers of maths at all levels. The maths teaching for mastery pedagogy is transforming the way maths is taught, and young people’s maths education outcomes are improving. Since the Maths Hubs Programme started, engagement from schools and teachers has continually increased. England’s performance in maths education relative to other countries has improved ⁱ, ⁱⁱ, and Ofsted has reported improvements in maths teaching and learning, whilst highlighting that there is still much work to do ⁱⁱⁱ.

The Maths Hubs Programme has always evolved and developed, and no doubt will continue to do so, but the underlying principles – being evidence-based, building on and supporting the work of classroom teachers and encouraging teachers of maths to work collaboratively within and between schools and colleges – will remain the same.

The success of the programme is down to the dedication of teachers of maths and school leaders from primary schools, secondary schools and colleges across the country. By working collaboratively through their Maths Hub, they are improving maths education. This enhances young people’s life chances and contributes to national success.

ⁱ Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) 2019: National report for England (publishing.service.gov.uk)

ⁱⁱ PISA 2022: national report for England (publishing.service.gov.uk)

ⁱⁱⁱ Coordinating mathematical success: the mathematics subject report - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)