Every primary school to have a specialist maths teacher

Every primary school to have a specialist maths teacher

LONDON. June 17, 2008/3mnewswire.org/ -- Ed Balls and Andrew Adonis today accepted the recommendations of a major independent review of maths in primary schools and announced plans to train more than 1,000 specialist maths teachers a year over the next 10 years.

Mr Balls said he would raise maths standards in primary schools by paying specialist maths teachers up to £8,000 in incentive payments and rewards to train towards gaining a Masters in maths teaching.

The Government will invest £24million over the next three years to set up and begin implementing a major training programme for 13,000 existing primary school teachers as he welcomed the final report of the Williams Review of early maths teaching.

In his review Sir Peter Williams calls for an urgent shift to reverse the "can't do attitude" to maths - he said today that he wants every pupil to leave primary school "without a fear of maths".

He recommends that from an early age learning about numbers and shapes should be "rooted in play", he says children should do more "mental maths" in the classroom and urges parents to help their children through games, puzzles and activities like cooking at home.

The review will build on progress already made since 1997 - 83,000 more 11-year-olds each year now achieve the expected level in numeracy for their age, but more needs to be done to accelerate the pace and raise standards even further so that all schools are truly world class.

The Children's Plan set a new goal that every 11-year-old should be ready for success in secondary school and by 2020 at least 90% of children should achieve the right level for their age in English and maths.

Ed Balls said:

"I would like to thank Sir Peter for his report and am determined that we address his stark observation that it's acceptable in England to admit being poor at maths. This is something that needs to be changed urgently, and by accepting his recommendations we will start to do just that.

"That is why I asked Sir Peter to look at attitudes to learning maths, how we can make maths the most exciting subject to teach and learn, and how every school can have access to the most innovative and effective teaching methods.

"As Sir Peter says, basic maths concepts and language need to be firmly embedded in children's minds at a young age - so all children are confident using numbers. Therefore, it is critical that we engage all children early in maths in order for them to do well at secondary level and in their GCSEs.

"We know that excellent teaching is what really makes a difference to the quality of learning. As Sir Peter says, there are many fantastic teachers in our schools whose enthusiasm and skills are really helping children to learn and enjoy maths and I want to build on this.

"I want every primary school to have a specialist maths teacher. That means every school will have a "maths champion", who will act as a mentor and coach to their colleagues as well as being an outstanding classroom teacher for their pupils. I believe they will have a dramatic impact, bringing excitement to maths for every teacher and child in their school.

"Children should not be afraid of numbers. Teachers say that when a child really grasps a new maths concept - like fractions - there is a huge sense of achievement. That feeling of success is what spurs children on to find out more and develop a curiosity about numbers. And developing enthusiasm for learning is the key to helping all children to do better."

Launching the report at the National Centre for Excellence in the Teaching of Mathematics' (NCETM) national conference at the Royal Society today, Minister for Schools, Andrew Adonis, said:

"Children need to feel really confident using numbers from an early age and to do that they need to use maths in different ways, like in the playground with sand and water and games like hopscotch. Maths should also become embedded in different subjects across the curriculum, as well as in maths lessons.

"I agree with Sir Peter that we should have a renewed and sharper focus on the use of mental mathematics - particularly to help under-attaining groups of children.

"We all have our part to play in reversing the can't do attitude to maths - carers, childminders, parents and teachers - we all need to change attitudes and help children understand numbers and their importance in the world around them."

Sir Peter Williams said:

"The United Kingdom is still one of the few advanced nations where it is socially acceptable to profess an inability to cope with mathematics. We need to urgently reverse this trend so every pupil leaves primary school without a fear of maths.

"To do that we need to get young graduates to see that joining the teaching profession is valued by the people of this country and that it's a great career choice.

"The best teachers I met during the review were world class and inspired confidence in mathematics in the children they teach. But the best teachers were also those who were the first to accept that even the best can get better.

"That's why I want to see at least one teacher in every primary school in England going through a maths training programme to become a Mathematics Specialist who will inspire not only their children, but also fellow teachers.

"First and foremost, it is our duty and responsibility to each and every child to make sure they are competent in basic maths so that they can succeed in life. But it is also true that the benefits to society of adult competence in mathematics run into billions on pounds. I am a big fan of Every Child Counts."

Sir Peter Williams was asked to report on the status quo of maths in schools, identify what really works to help children be confident in maths, and to tell us what changes we need to make to meet our goal of every 11 year old leaving primary school confident in maths.

Accepting the recommendations in the Review, Ed Balls said he was committed to training the current teaching workforce in primary schools so that every school has a "maths champion" within 10 years, who will act as a mentor and coach as well as being an outstanding classroom teacher.

The key aspects of the recommendations are:

There should be a maths specialist in every primary school in 10 years

* At least 1,000 maths specialists should be trained every year for the next 10 years so there is one in every Primary School in the country;

* This person should be a 'maths champion' and have deep mathematical subject and pedagogical knowledge;

* Implementation should commence in 2009;

* The programme should be targeted initially to narrow attainment gaps;

* Teachers should be offered an incentive to train as a specialist maths teacher and a one off payment on completion;

* There should be a fast-track training programme for teachers who have specialised in maths teaching during their training.

From a young age children should play with shapes, time, capacity and numbers

* The Review supports goals set out in the Children's Plan to increase the proportion of graduate practitioners in early years settings;

* Children's natural interest in numeracy, problem solving, reasoning, shapes and measures should be fostered from an early age;

* Children should be given opportunities indoors and outdoors to explore, enjoy, learn, practise and talk about their developing mathematical understanding;

* Children's mathematical experiences must be fun, meaningful and build confidence. This will promote positive attitudes and deeply rooted learning;

* DCSF should commission a new set of materials on mathematical mark making and supporting children's mathematical development through play are needed to support early years practitioners' CPD.

All children should be competent in basic maths by the age of seven

* There remains a core of pupils who fail to achieve level 3 in mathematics by the time they leave the primary sector at age 11 and effective intervention at an early age could break this trend;

* Intervention for struggling children should happen before the end of KS1;

* Intervention should be led by a qualified teacher and should involve one child;

* Economic factors and social deprivation contribute to learning difficulties in all subjects, including mathematics;

* The use of video techniques in intervention should be investigated.

Children should do more mental maths in the classroom

* Too little attention is paid to building good attitudes to maths - there is a need for culture change both in and out of the classroom;

* The use and application of maths should be incorporated into the wider curriculum cutting across subjects to embed learning;

* A new focus is needed on the use of mental mathematics and would particularly help under-attaining groups of children;

* Teachers need to do more to stretch the most able pupils in maths with more open-ended problem solving tasks to help them see "big picture";

* More needs to be done to kindle children's interests - Jim Rose's review of the Primary Curriculum should consider including the cultural and historical story of science and maths to generate interest in the subject

Parents should work with teachers and help foster their child's interest in maths

* Parents' attitudes to maths has a significant impact on their child's numeracy skills;

* The "can't do" attitude to mathematics in England needs to be urgently reversed;

* Activities such as cooking at home can help children learn and understand maths;

* Schools need to work with parents to dispel myths about the mystery of mathematics and give both children and parents a good grounding and positive attitude to this subject;

* Teachers should work with parents to bring them up to date with the methods used to teach mathematics currently;

* There is clearly a link between parents' with low level skills and their children's under-attainment in mathematics.

The Department for Children, Schools and Families will now develop plans for training specialist maths teachers with a pathfinder programme in autumn 2008 and implementation beginning in 2009.

The specialist will work in the classroom along side colleagues to promote an enthusiasm and enjoyment of maths to help children, other teachers and parents understand the relevance and opportunities that maths offers. Sir Peter believes the long term impact will be better results at GCSE, increased take-up of maths A Level and further maths related study and career choice.

It is planned that existing classroom teachers will take up the role of specialist maths teachers and do between one and three years training depending on their knowledge and experience. They will then be able to work independently towards a Masters level qualification in maths teaching.

Ed Balls welcomed Sir Peter's conclusion that the current maths curriculum in primary schools is fit for purpose, well balanced and should continue in current form.

Commenting on the review, Sir Jim Rose, who is carrying out a review of the primary curriculum, said:

"The Review provided ample evidence to show, yet again, that the quality of teaching and how well children learn are inseparable; hence our emphasis on securing excellent teaching of the subject. Where the teaching was of this quality, children's good progress in, and enthusiasm for mathematics were all too obvious."

Backing the report, TV presenter Carol Vorderman, said:

"I am thrilled that at long last an official body is raising the spectre of our negative cultural attitude to maths, particularly in the media.

"Whether you like it or not, and no matter what the gossip or trivia or fashion of the day may be, the basis of our global future is one built on science and computing and manufacturing and hard business, and the language they all use is mathematics. Unless our number skills improve, by the time our children are tax paying adults, we will have been left behind."

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