In our latest podcast, two London-based secondary heads explain the benefits that are being shared by teachers in their maths departments engaging with the local Maths Hub.

Both schools have maths teachers who spend significant time out of the classroom and the school, which their heads say has strengthened maths teaching school-wide.

‘The only way that we keep teaching fresh, alive and high-quality is to allow teachers headroom, where they can meet other mathematicians, to explore and co-plan,’ says Janis Davies, headteacher of The Sydney Russell School in east London. A maths teacher at her school is currently in the second year of the Mastery Specialist Programme, working with the London North East Maths Hub.

Andy Roberts, head of nearby Riverside School, has a similar outlook on his school’s work with the same Maths Hub.

‘Giving teachers space and time to develop professionally is incredibly expensive, so what’s most important to us is the quality of provision,’ he says, explaining the benefits he’s seen come from one of his maths teachers also participating in the Mastery Specialist Programme.

Both heads argue that individual professional development and improvements across the whole maths department have gone hand in hand during the school’s engagement with the Maths Hub.

If you and your school would like to engage with the Mastery Specialist Programme, or other collaborative teaching for mastery activities, visit our Secondary Mastery Opportunities page.

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