This project supports schools to embed teaching for mastery approaches with fidelity and consistency, making effective use of high-quality resources. Thus it contributes towards achieving the Primary Strategic Goal. Teaching for mastery requires significant change to teaching practices, school systems and structures, and culture within a school. Time and effort are required to embed change, and this Work Group provides the opportunity for schools to continue their journey. Work Groups build on Teaching for Mastery Development Work Groups, and involve scaling up teaching for mastery approaches from the lead participants’ classrooms to ensure practices across the whole school are consistently adopted. This involves working with school leaders and classroom practitioners, and establishing systems of professional development which support continual improvement.
The Embedding Work Groups are particularly needed to support schools to: continue to develop systems and culture to support teaching for mastery; develop the skills of the school and subject leadership; ensure a continued focus on the development of subject knowledge and lesson design; and develop professional development models within their school.
Each school will have a lead participant in the Work Group, normally the maths lead, who is responsible for leading and embedding developments in the subject. They are likely to have played a lead role in previous years. The lead participant will work collaboratively with others in the Work Group, both in workshops and in online communities. Participants will continue to observe lessons and reflect on the impact of the lesson design choices that the teacher has made on pupils’ learning. Participants will receive support to begin to develop teaching for mastery across their school, including at least one school visit from a Mastery Specialist, and at least five workshops across the academic year. There is an emphasis on schools and leaders developing a network of collaboration within workshops and between workshops.
Through working collaboratively, lead participants will be supported to identify ways in which they can embed teaching for mastery within their own schools. They will benefit from the support of the Work Group Lead to help them reflect on their own practice, as well as identifying ways that their colleagues can develop teaching for mastery. They will develop a better understanding of how to lead sustainable change, and be able to identify ways in which they can lead change in their own setting.
