Secondary

Being part of the Secondary Teaching for Mastery Development Programme will give you and your school chance to develop your whole maths department, and have an impact on the students you teach.

Who can take part?

Whether you want to take a teaching for mastery approach in your own classroom and department, or introduce mastery in both your own school and beyond, we have a CPD opportunity for you. The NCETM and Maths Hubs are offering funded professional development activities, available in 2024/25. 

In 2024/25, there is also the opportunity for teachers who work in special schools to come together to join a regional cross-phase Development Work Group. Primary and secondary special school teachers will work together to develop teaching for mastery in their own contexts.

Please contact our Secondary Leads Jayne and Lorna for more details – lgoulding@ourladyofpity.co.uk and j.watts@alsagerschool.org 

Please note: this project is for state-funded secondary schools in England.

What is involved?

Secondary maths teachers whose schools want to introduce teaching for mastery can nominate two teachers (‘Mastery Advocates’) to join a Work Group. Mastery Advocates then form part of a locally-based group of teachers who meet regularly to develop professional knowledge and expertise, and receive bespoke support.

Teachers will collaborate with colleagues from local schools, and get support and guidance from a Secondary Mastery Specialist, to introduce and embed teaching for mastery in their department.

Mastery Advocates

The fully funded programme enables you and another teacher from your school to become ‘Mastery Advocates’. Initially you will be part of a Work Group for a year. You will also get in-school support from a Mastery Specialist. Beyond the first year, you will continue to work with your local Maths Hub and take part in a Work Group as you embed mastery across your department.

This programme is for state-funded secondary schools in England. Mastery Advocates should be teachers with the commitment, experience and authority to lead developmental work across a maths department. The support of the head of maths, and the headteacher or a member of SLT, is also essential.

What is the cost?

The Secondary Teaching for Mastery – Development project is fully funded by the Maths Hubs Programme so is free to participating schools.

How to Apply

Please fill in the Google application form – Secondary Mastery Development 

Who can take part?

Participation is for maths departments in schools that took part in a Secondary Teaching for Mastery Development Work Group in 2023/24. Lead participants will ideally be the Mastery Advocates who participated in 2023/24 Work Groups.

What is involved?

Secondary Teaching for Mastery Embedding Year Support is available for those departments who participated in the previous year’s Secondary Teaching for Mastery Development Work Group, and who are beginning to embed their work on teaching for mastery. Mastery Advocates (designated previously in the Development Work Group) will work closely with an assigned Mastery Specialist to help them embed teaching for mastery approaches across the whole department. Specialists will provide three days of bespoke support tailored to each school.

The focus will be on constructing or refining a coherent development plan and supporting and leading the whole department in realising the aims of that development plan. The school will also be part of a Secondary Teaching for Mastery Embedding and Sustaining Work Group with other schools.

What will you learn?

• Your students will develop a deep, secure and connected understanding of the maths they are learning
• You will begin to develop teaching for mastery approaches across your department
• You and your department will collaborate to create coherent curriculums in a culture of professional learning
• You will produce a development plan and professional development programme for the department

What is the cost?

The Secondary Teaching for Mastery – Embedding Year Support project is fully funded by the Maths Hubs Programme so is free to participating schools.

How to Apply

Please fill in the Google application form – Secondary Mastery Embedding

Who can take part?

The project is for secondary heads of department/subject leaders, and is open to heads of department in schools already involved with Maths Hubs and to those who are not yet involved. In their first year of engagement with this project, participants will be part of a Work Group. In subsequent years they will be part of a Maths Hub-led subject leadership community.

What is involved?

This project provides an opportunity for participants to deepen their understanding of teaching approaches, of their wider roles, and of their capacity with their colleagues to transform secondary maths learning. 

They will work collaboratively with other subject leaders, discuss developments and engage with research, and use this experience to inform their work in leading and developing maths education in school.

What will you learn?

• You will promote and develop a shared vision, culture and set of principles for teaching and learning in maths
• You will ensure coherence in the curriculum and provide support for teaching for mastery across the department
• You and your department will establish collaborative ways of working to support ongoing developments
• You will develop in your ability to lead change

What is the cost?

The Secondary Maths Subject Leaders Community project is fully funded by the Maths Hubs Programme so is free to participating schools.

How to Apply

Please fill in the Google application form – Secondary Maths Subject Leaders Community

Who can take part?

The project is for those who lead maths across multiple schools within a MAT, including at least one secondary school. This includes MAT maths leads who are continuing from previous years, and new participants. To better engage in the programme, participants are encouraged to have at least one school in a Secondary Teaching for Mastery Work Group in 2024/25, but this is not essential.

What is involved?

Now in its fourth year, this project supports those who lead maths across multiple schools within a MAT. Participants will also develop their role as a leader of system change, curriculum change, and teacher professional development.

New participants will complete a bespoke programme, and those continuing the project will develop their work together as a community. There will be opportunities for new and continuing participants to work together, so all can benefit from central provision and the opportunity for practice exchange with peers.

What will you learn?

• You will promote and develop a shared vision for effective teaching and learning in maths
• You will work with subject leaders across your MAT to lead and manage maths teaching effectively and to develop teaching for mastery approaches within your own department
• You will understand the benefits of collaborative professional development for sustained development of professional knowledge and practice
• You will understand effective models of maths teacher professional development, the rationale for using them, and the evidence that supports them

What is the cost?

The Secondary MAT Maths Leaders project is fully funded by the Maths Hubs Programme so is free to participating schools.

How to Apply 

Please fill in the Google application form – Secondary MAT Maths Leaders Community

Who can take part?

This Work Group is intended for teachers whose students will study Level 2 maths across the secondary/post-16 phases. The target groups of participants in this Work Group are teachers of Year 10 and Year 11 students in secondary education AND teachers of post-16 GCSE Maths resit and/or Functional Skills Maths in secondary and further education. Participants may be based in secondary schools, UTCs, FE colleges, Sixth Form colleges, schools with post-16 provision, or other post-16 settings.

Participants will be representing their institution and working with colleagues between Work Group sessions, so ideally will have some responsibility to develop teaching and lead change. Participants are expected to attend the equivalent of three full days of workshops and to complete practice-based tasks between sessions. These tasks may include trying out an activity with students, observing the impact of different pedagogical approaches in their own class, reflecting on these activities, and preparing brief notes to support discussions in the following workshop. They may also be asked to contribute to online forum discussions.

What is involved?

In Years 10 and 11, it becomes apparent that some students will need to continue their mathematical studies beyond the age of 16 in order to achieve a Level 2 maths qualification. In this project, we will consider the mathematical learning experience of these students, to provide greater coherence for their learning across the phases.

Participants’ departments will, through shared good practice, become more effective in supporting students whose route towards a Level 2 qualification crosses phases of education. The development of transferable teaching techniques, which align to the underpinning principles of the NCETM’s Essence of Mathematics Teaching for Mastery, will be a pervasive element of the Work Group’s remit. 

It is expected that through their teachers’ participation in this project, students will be better prepared for transition from KS4 to post-16 (GCSE Resit and/or Functional Skills). In Key Stage 4, students will show an increased understanding of their route to a Level 2 qualification (either GCSE or Functional Skills), and in post-16 will demonstrate a more positive attitude to maths.

What will you learn?

Professional learning

Participants will have a deeper understanding of the approaches which will support students as they move from KS4 to post-16 (GCSE Resit and/or Functional Skills), including the importance of consistency of language and representations relating to specific areas of the curriculum.

Student outcomes

Students:

• are better prepared for transition from KS4 to post-16 (GCSE Resit and/or Functional Skills) 
• (in KS4) show an increased understanding of their route to a Level 2 qualification (either GCSE or Functional Skills)
• (in Post-16 GCSE and/or Functional Skills) demonstrate a positive attitude to maths.

What is the cost?

The Cross-Phase – Supporting Students to Achieve a L2 Qualification in Maths Work Group is fully funded by the Maths Hubs Programme so is free to participating schools/colleges.

How to Apply 

Please fill in the Google application form – Cross-Phase – Supporting Students to Achieve a L2 Qualification in Maths

This project is designed to support non-specialist teachers teaching maths in a secondary school in developing specialist knowledge for teaching mathematics, thus enabling them to understand, teach and support students in maths in the classroom. 

Who can take part?

This programme is for non-specialist teachers of maths in state-funded schools in England who fit the following definition:

“A non-specialist teacher of mathematics is a teacher in a state-funded school or college that is currently teaching some mathematics or has commitment from a headteacher/executive head to teach some mathematics within the next year, who has not undertaken Initial Teacher Training (ITT) in mathematics.”

What is involved?

There are significant numbers of people teaching maths in secondary schools without specialist initial teacher training. This programme supports non-specialist teachers in developing the specialist knowledge (the blend of subject knowledge and pedagogical knowledge) for teaching maths.

It is designed to take place over the equivalent of six days.

What will you learn?

• Your students will develop a deep, secure and connected understanding of the maths they are learning
• You will increase your confidence in planning for progression in maths
• You will improve your subject and curriculum knowledge of secondary maths 

What is the cost?

The SKTM Secondary Non-specialist Teachers Programme is fully funded by the Maths Hubs Programme so is free to participating schools.

How to Apply

Please fill in the Google application form – SKTM Secondary Non Specialist Teachers

Who can take part?

Phase 1 in this project is for those identified as Early Career Teachers – teachers in their first or second year of teaching. Phase 2 is for those in the early part of their careers. They will have engaged with Phase 1 before engaging with this phase.

What is involved?

Two maths-specific subject knowledge projects are available to support secondary Early Career Teachers (ECTs) – one is for ECTs who have not yet participated in this project and one is for those who participated in 2024/25. Both projects offer high-quality subject knowledge and pedagogy maths support for ECTs, recognising the requirements of the ECF.

The programme will build on the knowledge gained during initial teacher training. This will be achieved by focusing on one area of maths in detail: multiplicative reasoning for participants in Phase 1, and sequences and graphical representations for participants in Phase 2.

What will you learn?

• Your students will reason with increasing confidence in response to effective questioning within the classroom
• You will consider task and lesson design, with your students’ needs in mind
• You will notice aspects of teaching for mastery within a given task or lesson, and be able to articulate their purpose

What is the cost?

The SKTM Secondary Early Career Teachers Programme is fully funded by the Maths Hubs Programme so is free to participating schools.

How to Apply

Please fill in the relevant Google application form –

Phase 1 – SKTM Secondary ECT Phase 1 

Phase 2 – SKTM Secondary ECT Phase 2

Who can take part?

This is for teaching assistants who work predominantly with students in the KS3 maths classroom or who lead intervention sessions with groups of students. Participants’ schools should already be engaged with a Teaching for Mastery Work Group, and this programme will complement this provision.

What is involved?

This programme is designed to improve the subject knowledge and pedagogical knowledge for all TAs supporting the learning of secondary maths.

Participants will focus on using precise mathematical language, representations, and reasoning within the topics: addition and subtraction; multiplication and division; ratio; and fractions. They will also carry out follow-up tasks in school to enable practice transfer to the classroom. The programme will take place over the equivalent of four days; participants must attend all sessions.

What will you learn?

• Your students will demonstrate a positive attitude towards the learning of maths
• You will use appropriate mathematical language and representations with confidence
• You will develop your understanding of how to adapt resources to meet students’ needs
• You will develop an understanding of how algebra relates to the generalisation of number

What is the cost?

The SKTM Secondary Teaching Assistants Programme is fully funded by the Maths Hubs Programme so is free to participating schools.

How to Apply

Please fill in the Google application form – SKTM Secondary TAs

Who can take part?

Lead participants in this programme will be from the ITT community; they should be directly involved in ITT with a responsibility for maths. They will represent the various ITT providers across the hub region so may include HEI, SCITT and School Direct, and represent different phases of ITT including EYTS, QTS (primary and secondary), and post-16.

What is involved?

This project aims to form an established group of ITT representatives across the sector who are committed to developing communities of practice in order to review and evolve their provision.

Any work undertaken will be in conjunction with the leaders of maths provision in ITT institutions, to strengthen the partnership and agree actions that will support the deepening of understanding of teaching for mastery for ITT trainees at an award level. Activity may include working across hub boundaries and collaborating in larger regions.

What will you learn?

• You and those responsible for maths provision at your institution will review your practice and programme
• You will aim to ensure trainees have some understanding of designing lessons informed by mastery principles
• Maths Hub leaders will have a dynamic awareness of the local ITT provision and its school-based partnerships
• Maths Hubs leaders will create opportunity for collaboration and discussion across ITT providers, and use it to inform hub work

What is the cost?

The Strengthening Partnerships with ITT Providers project is fully funded by the Maths Hubs Programme so is free to participating institutions.

How to Apply 

Please fill in the Google application form – Strengthening Partnerships with ITT Providers

Want to become a specialist in teaching for mastery and support your own and other schools to develop teaching for mastery approaches? Join the Secondary Mastery Specialist Programme. During the Programme you will receive fully funded professional development from experts, have time to develop your own expertise, and then to support others.

Any teacher (excluding ECTs) who is teaching maths in a state-funded secondary school in England and who wishes to develop both their own classroom practice and their skills in leading professional development with others can apply to become a Secondary Mastery Specialist.

Please read this information document very carefully before submitting an application.

What is involved?

The Secondary Mastery Specialist Programme enables secondary maths teachers to become experts in teaching for mastery, so they in turn can develop maths departments that are well-led, high-performing, and provide high-quality professional development through collaborative working.

Over a minimum of three years, participants first work on their own understanding and practice, then with their own department, then with other departments as a Local Leader of Maths Education for their Maths Hub.

All the time, you keep in touch with other specialists across the country in online groups. You can share experiences and continue developmental conversations.

To support you in developing your role as a leader of professional development you will be enrolled in the NCETM’s PD Lead Programme during the second year of the Secondary Mastery Specialist Programme.

What is the cost?

The Secondary Mastery Specialist Programme is fully funded by the Maths Hubs Programme so is free to participating schools.

How can you find out more?

To watch videos from our Mastery Specialists, find out more about mastery in our case studies and take a more detailed look at the Mastery Specialist Programme visit the NCETM website here  – Secondary Mastery Specialists | NCETM.

How to Apply 

Ensure you have read the information document above, and spoken to your local Maths Hub. Then complete the application form online. 

Secondary Mastery Specialists | NCETM

NCETM Professional Development Lead accreditation is designed for those who lead professional development for teachers of maths.

Who can take part?

These programmes are for expert teachers of maths (all phases from Early Years to post-16) who have existing commitments and responsibility for designing, leading and evaluating maths teacher professional development, and who will lead maths professional development beyond their own institution. Participants must be based at a school/institution in England.

Please read this information document very carefully before submitting an application.

What is involved?

The PD Lead Programme is designed for participants who are working with other teachers to enhance teaching and learning of maths.

Participants benefit from the equivalent of three one-day workshops (face-to-face and online). The completion of an Accreditation Evidence Document, which facilitates critical reflection on participants’ learning and the professional development they design, deliver and evaluate over the year, is also required. Participants will design, lead, review and refine a programme of support for maths teacher professional development, drawing upon a range of evidence-informed models and activity.

What will you learn?

• You will design, lead, review and refine a professional development programme
• You will critically evaluate your own professional development programme against your intended outcomes
• You will identify key principles of maths CPD design and the implications of these for the programme you design 
• You will recognise the key distinction between teachers’ knowledge of maths, and teachers’ knowledge of teaching maths

Participants will also have the opportunity to pay to work with the University of Chester and gain an academic award (PG Cert) for completing an enhanced version of the programme.

What is the cost?

The Professional Development Lead Programmes are fully funded by the Maths Hubs Programme so are free to participants and their schools.

How to Apply 

Ensure you have read the information document above, and spoken to your local Maths Hub. Then complete the application form online. 

Professional Development Lead Programmes | NCETM 

Who can take part?

The programme is for colleagues working with school and subject leaders to improve maths teaching and learning in a school or group of schools other than their own. Normally, participants will have previously completed the NCETM PD Lead Programme. Participants will be expected to commit to the full programme of activities and will need the support of the headteacher of their own school and/or their MAT. The programme is for teachers working in England only.

Please read this information document very carefully before submitting an application.

What is involved?

This programme is specifically designed to enable the leaders of maths school development to enhance leadership capacity and capability in the schools they support. It will provide regional support through workshops (face-to-face run regionally across England, and online), practice development activities, and an online community.

Participants design and lead a maths school development initiative, working with school and subject leadership. They must maintain a reflection and learning log, and a record of their initiative.

What will you learn?

• You will develop your knowledge of a range of maths school development strategies and know why, when, and how to use them effectively
• You will strengthen your knowledge of the evidence base that underpins school development and change management
• You will design and lead collaborative maths school development initiatives
• You will increase your awareness of the skills needed by a maths school development lead and have a deeper self-awareness in relation to the role

What is the cost?

The School Development Lead Programme is fully funded by the Maths Hubs Programme so is free to participants and their schools.

How to Apply 

Ensure you have read the information document above, and spoken to your local Maths Hub. Then complete the application form online. 

School Development Lead Programme | NCETM