The essence of teaching for mastery

During the autumn term 2022, the NCETM has published a new, updated document, The Essence of Mathematics Teaching for Mastery. This document defines what the NCETM means by ‘teaching for mastery’ in maths.

The new ‘Essence’ document is underpinned by maths education research, our own experience from the NCETM/Maths Hubs’ teacher exchange programme with Shanghai between 2014 and 2019, and our work through the Maths Hubs to encourage and support primary and secondary schools across England to use the approach in their maths teaching. Since 2015, over 9,000 primary schools and 1,500 secondary schools have engaged with the various teaching for mastery programmes that form the core part of the Maths Hubs’ CPD offering. Using what we have learned from this sustained work, we have tried to set out what we mean by teaching for mastery in maths in a way that will help education leaders and teachers of maths understand the central ‘essence’ of our approach to maths teaching.

The document is organised under three headings: Underpinning principles, Lesson Design and In the classroom. It describes the philosophy behind the approach and how it is put into practice. It applies to maths teaching at all levels, from primary through to post-16. Details of how maths teaching for mastery is best implemented may be different in different education phases and contexts, but the ‘essence’ of the approach remains the same.

All of the NCETM’s work with the Maths Hubs to improve teaching and learning in mathematics at primary, secondary and post-16 level is consistent with the ‘Essence’ document. It sets out a high aspiration, evidence-informed approach to teaching maths, and many thousands of schools are working towards it. I know their work is making a positive difference to improve the maths outcomes for their students.

These quotes below, from Ofsted inspections at one primary school, four academic years apart, exemplify the impact teaching for mastery can have on maths learning:

‘A number of teachers are struggling with the new mathematics scheme. There are misconceptions that the scheme requires them to teach to the middle. Low-attaining pupils find the work too hard. Most-able pupils finish the work quickly and are not then sufficiently stretched or challenged. This leads to some incidents of pupils losing concentration and focus on their work and some low-level disruption.’

Ofsted autumn 2018

‘The mathematics curriculum is ambitious. It is coherently sequenced and has made clear the important information the pupils need to learn. Teachers build on this core knowledge in later years. Pupils can talk confidently about their learning in mathematics. Pupils demonstrate a wide range of knowledge and competence in mathematics from an early age.’

Ofsted summer 2022

Every year since the first of these Ofsted reports, the school has engaged with their local Maths Hub, progressing through the Primary Teaching for Mastery Programme to help them improve the teaching and learning of maths.

I hope education leaders and teachers of maths at all levels and across all phases will find the new ‘Essence’ document a useful guide to effective maths teaching. To support them in putting mathematics teaching for mastery into practice, all state-funded schools can access the NCETM’s primary and secondary mathematics teaching for mastery programmes through their local Maths Hub. The programmes are fully funded by the DfE.