SECONDARY MASTERY PROGRAMME

Secondary Mastery Specialists - Focusing on their own school

The intention of Venn Essex Maths Hub is to ensure that every school has direct and constant access to a highly-trained professional who is well-versed in both teaching for mastery and leading professional development. Some of these specialists will go on to lead work with other schools, at a time that is right for them, their school and our hub.

We are raising the expectation that all schools engaging with a Secondary Teaching for Mastery Work Group or Programme

should also attend a Subject Leader Community. The subject leader in a secondary school fulfils a pivotal role in the day-to-day working of the maths department, making decisions about how the curriculum is developed and enacted, as well as being responsible for all of the professional development activity of the teachers within the department, particularly elements that are often overlooked as being developmental.

Planning for discussion about how a particular topic is going to be taught, decisions about assessment strategies, and considerations around the staffing of various groups to enable co-planning and support, are often taken at the department level, and each of these provides an opportunity for teacher development. These decisions, and many others, can work either in favour of or against teaching for mastery. It is vital for long-term success that subject leaders make decisions informed by a good understanding both of teaching for mastery and effective professional development strategies.

The national recruitment window has now closed for 2025/26, but if you are still interested, or want to find out more, please contact us using the link below:

We have opportunities available now for you and your department to get involved.

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.

Previously

Maths Hubs Support Secondary Schools to:

i. establish a culture of high expectations for all students (including disadvantaged students and students with SEND) in which they develop deep knowledge, understanding and confidence in mathematics, succeed in GCSE mathematics, and are ready to continue studying mathematics post-16

Mastering Number in Key Stage 3

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Maths Hubs Support Secondary Schools to:



i. establish a culture of high expectations for all students (including disadvantaged students and students with SEND) in which they develop deep knowledge, understanding and confidence in mathematics, succeed in GCSE mathematics, and are ready to continue studying mathematics post-16

ii. introduce, embed, and sustain teaching for mastery approaches with fidelity and consistency, making effective use of high-quality resources

iii. ensure their mathematics teaching is knowledge-rich and fulfils the aims of the National Curriculum: every school’s teaching containing a coherent and detailed sequence of essential content to support pupils’ progress, building on prior knowledge and understanding, over time

iv. ensure that all teachers of mathematics have the specialist knowledge and skills required to teach mathematics effectively

v. work with teachers and leaders of mathematics to establish professional cultures and practices that support ongoing development

vi. work in a collaborative and sustained way with other schools and local leaders of mathematics education to overcome challenges and support ongoing improvement.

Mastery Embedding Work Group

This is our EMBEDDING programme. It will involve two teachers from your school and a commitment from the department as a whole.

If your school has already taken part in the development programme then you are eligible to apply for the embedding programme. This is your second year working with your Mastery Specialist to carry on developments in the maths department. Your own mastery advocates will lead this in your school, working closely with your department and the advocates from partner schools nearby. This is a fully-funded workgroup. The project is linked to the SUSTAINING programme and you will also benefit from working with schools now in the third year of their mastery journey.

After year two you will then move onto the SUSTAINING programme.

Mastery Sustaining Work Group

This is our SUSTAINING programme and brings together schools on their second, third or fourth year of developing teaching for mastery.

If this is your third year of your mastery journey, you join this work group and share your developments with other schools. Now you are at the sustaining phase of your mastery work. In your second year, as an embedding school, you will automatically have membership of this work group in order to learn from the wider and more experienced participants.

This work group refines the systems already in place in your school and helps you to sustain your teaching for mastery curriculum approaches. You will be encouraged to develop a collaborative approach to the professional development that your staff still need as they hone their mathematical pedagogy. Your mastery advocates will be working with your Mastery Specialist to create those bespoke training opportunities and to share the very best practice from your local partner schools.

The Mastery Specialist’s own school will also be part of this work group.