Ten years of the Maths Hubs Programme

We speak to some of the teachers who have been involved since the very beginning of the Maths Hubs Programme in 2014, and look at the impact that teachers of maths in England have made together, to improve the quality of maths education, for millions of young people.

A vision for maths teaching and learning

The NCETM was set up in 2006 to improve the teaching and learning of maths in England, and in 2014 the first Maths Hubs were established with the aim of achieving that goal. The idea was to create a school-led system, harnessing the expertise already present in England’s schools and colleges, to improve maths education for both teachers and their pupils. The Maths Hubs model, underpinned by the principles of teaching for mastery and with an evidence and research-informed approach, enables teachers themselves to drive improvements in maths teaching and learning.

"To bring about transformation and sustained improvement within a system of organisations as complex as educational settings, it is vital to have both strong organisation leadership and strong system leadership. In its ten years of operation, the Maths Hubs Programme has achieved this, leading both from the top and from the ground, at a local level. The impact teachers and leaders in schools have made to improve the teaching of maths, supported by the system leadership of the Maths Hubs Network, can be most clearly seen in the impact on pupils in thousands of schools."   John Westwell, Director for System Leadership, NCETM

In 2016/17, the first cohort of 140 Mastery Specialists – expert teachers in the mastery approach – began their training. The Maths Hubs Programme is now recruiting for its tenth cohort, and there are 960 active specialists, with almost 500 network events taking place at national, regional and local level every year.

“The Maths Hubs Network has been a fundamental part of my own professional development. Being a part of this community of system leaders has helped me understand what a really effective national approach to teacher development looks like.”   Andy Ash, Maths Hub Lead, Cheshire and Wirral Maths Hub

Sharing expertise

Ten years ago, the first England-China exchange took place, so those recruited to deliver the programme could see, first-hand, how maths is taught successfully using a teaching for mastery approach. It was followed by a series of similar exchanges, where teachers from both countries got the opportunity to share their practice and develop the expertise needed to make the Maths Hubs project in England a success.

Deb Friis is a maths teacher and Assistant Maths Hub Lead at Sussex Maths Hub. She has been involved in the Maths Hubs Programme from its earliest days, and was one of the first group of teachers to travel to China to see teaching for mastery in action:

“I was lucky enough to be part of the first secondary Shanghai exchange in 2015. By accident really, as someone dropped out and I was a last-minute replacement! I have worked with the hub ever since. Becoming involved in the Maths Hub has dramatically enhanced my teaching career. I have made a huge network of contacts and friends, and my teaching practice has changed (and continues to change) immeasurably. I know it will have impacted positively on the hundreds of students I have taught, as well as the many colleagues I have worked with.” Deb Friis, maths teacher and Assistant Maths Hub Lead, Sussex Maths Hub

Since the Maths Hubs Programme was set up, the number of hubs has grown from 32 to 40. The number of Network Collaborative Projects, focusing on teaching for mastery and other classroom pedagogies, as well as subject knowledge in all phases, has grown from 17 to 33. 

Over 50% of all schools in England are now involved with the Maths Hubs Programme with an amazing 4.7 million pupils impacted since the programme’s inception.

Surviving and thriving

The programme faced its greatest challenge in 2020 when Covid hit, and schools were placed into lockdown measures. The NCETM and Maths Hubs adapted swiftly, taking CPD online, adapting resources such as Numberblocks to make them suitable for at-home teaching, and creating video lessons and resources to support teachers, both in the classroom and at home. 

Heather Martin, Assistant Maths Hub Lead at Abacus NW Maths Hub remembers:

“It was challenging to adapt our CPD offering during Covid, particularly for EYFS, but we were keen to ensure Maths Hubs continued to support teachers and maintained our relationships with schools. We quickly adapted and worked hard to find creative ways of making our activities work online. We were also proactive in offering support to those delivering online, purchasing Zoom accounts and offering support to use new online tools which really helped.” Heather Martin, Assistant Maths Hub Lead, Abacus NW Maths Hub

The experience of delivering CPD remotely has prompted the Maths Hubs’ model for CPD delivery to evolve further. Hubs now use a blended approach of online and face-to-face delivery, to suit their geographical challenges and the needs of individual schools and participants.
 
There are over 1,500 active local leaders of maths education (LLMEs) leading Maths Hubs work across England, at all phases from Early Years to post-16.

A Maths Hubs Programme for the future

As school systems continue to change and evolve, so too does the Maths Hubs Programme. Its work is informed by the changing local landscape for schools, as well as by action research carried out by Research and Innovation Work Groups (RIWGs) at hubs across the country. Each RIWG explores different areas relevant to their hub’s local schools, such as problem solving, SEND and oracy.
 
A recent development has been in the way hubs support multi-academy trusts and groups of schools, which has led to the implementation of teaching for mastery CPD at scale, as well as a different pathway for middle and senior leaders. Many teachers who have trained to become LLMEs have benefited from an exciting new career option into leading teaching and learning, impacting on hundreds, if not thousands of children. 

One such teacher is Emily Pringle. One of the first Mastery Specialists to be trained with Archimedes Maths Hub and a former primary teacher, she is now a Primary School Improvement Advisor for Bishop Wilkinson Catholic Education Trust, supporting over 40 primary schools to improve maths attainment in the North East. She explains:

“I was five or six years into my teaching career and was at a stage where I was looking for a different challenge. Maths has always been an area that I've been passionate about, so I thought becoming a Mastery Specialist with Archimedes Maths Hub would be beneficial for my own school, but also a way of me being able to develop professionally. I love working with teachers as much as with children, so being able to go into other schools and build that kind of shared understanding and lead professional development has been something that I really enjoy.” Emily Pringle, Primary School Improvement Advisor, Bishop Wilkinson Catholic Education Trust

Andrea Wickham is a secondary head of maths at Didcot Girls School and a Mastery Specialist for BBO Maths Hub. She is also Mastery Maths Lead for Ridgeway Education Trust (RET), supporting and developing the implementation of maths teaching for mastery across all of the schools in her rapidly expanding trust. She has been participating in one of the Maths Hubs’ newest projects, the Secondary Maths MAT Leads Community.

“It’s improved the quality of the CPD sessions and collaborative planning that I lead. It’s given me the bigger picture and, as my trust is growing, it’s been really helpful to talk to people in bigger trusts. As my trust expands, there are new and exciting career opportunities opening up for teachers within my trust, which I am able to support with CPD that focuses on teaching and learning.” Andrea Wickham, secondary head of maths, and Secondary Mastery Specialist, BBO Maths Hub

A supportive community of teachers leading system change

What is immediately apparent, when teachers involved with a Maths Hub share their experiences, is the community and friendship which forms the centre of every hub, as well as the feeling of being part of something exciting and important for the teaching of maths. 

Diane Ellithorn, Assistant Maths Hub Lead at NW1 Maths Hub, shares her experience:

“Over the years I have made some great friends and had fantastic opportunities including going to Shanghai. Being involved with the hub has been the best CPD, and I learn something new every year. It still excites me to be part of a national programme and I am very proud of my hub involvement. The pleasure and sense of achievement from having an impact on colleagues and children beyond my own school makes me feel very lucky. I am so grateful for everything the Maths Hub has allowed me to do.” Diane Ellithorn, Assistant Maths Hub Lead, NW1 Maths Hub

Many teachers that have engaged with their local Maths Hub note that the sense of purpose and community they have found there has encouraged them to remain within what is an incredibly rewarding, but undeniably challenging, profession. Maths Hubs have been able to provide teachers of maths with a supportive community of fellow teachers and a way to realise their vocation as teachers, through their own professional development and by driving improvements in maths education for the children they teach, locally and nationally.

"Working with Maths Hubs reignited my teaching career. I was working in a secondary school as a head of department and was at an important crossroads in my career. I felt alone in the profession at times and was ready to leave teaching. With Maths Hubs I found a community of other passionate, enthusiastic and dedicated maths educators that put teaching and learning at the top of their agenda. Maths Hubs have now created a community for maths teachers to engage with and develop both themselves and others.” Aidan Gollaglee, Maths Hub Lead, London South East Plus Maths Hub