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Teaching for mastery

‘Teaching for mastery’ is a voluntary programme that schools may choose to sign up for under the guidance of one of the 35 maths hubs around the country. The schools accepted onto the programme receive training and support, as well as match-funded money from the government to buy text books from an approved list. There are already 800 schools participating this year. The idea is that more will become involved over the next few years and the programme will be rolled out as more teachers are trained. It is hoped that by 2020, 8000 schools will be taking part. The Department for Education have been allocated £41m for its implementation - an indication of long-term commitment.

Posted on Wednesday 25th January 2017

What is Maths Mastery?

As most teachers will now be aware, the concept of mastery comes from countries such as Singapore, China and other East Asian countries which are way ahead of the UK in the international league tables.

The key principles are:

  • All children can succeed; no one should be left behind
  • Whole-class teaching and the use of high-quality text books
  • Procedural fluency – e.g. counting, times tables etc.
  • More time is taken on each of the key concepts so that the learning is deeper and sustainable
  • CPA approach Learning is embedded by the use of Concrete resources – well-thought out Pictorial representations – leading to the ability to think in the Abstract

Foam Magnetic Bar Model

More information:

The director of NCETM, Charlie Stripp, has written a very clear and concise introduction at here.

The NCETM (National Centre for the Excellence of Teaching in Mathematics) have a huge array of information, resources and videos on their website.

The TES website has many mastery resources for teachers, including a free, complete scheme of work covering year 1 – 6.

Bead string

Read our blog posts below focusing on Maths Mastery, Fraction Action, Introducing Singapore Maths to your classroom and 5 maths must haves.

Grab a cuppa and have a flick through our Maths Mastery digital catalogue by clicking here. Includes a 20% discount until the end of July 2017.

maths mastery digital catalogue

With thanks to Beverley Smalley for writing this blog. Beverley is an education specialist, writer and former primary school teacher.

Maths Mastery – Fraction Action, free downloads and more!

Introducing Singapore Maths to your classroom

5 maths must-haves

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