The Secondary Strategic Goal sets out an ambition for 65% of secondary schools to have engaged with teaching for mastery programmes by 2025 in order to improve outcomes for all young people. The Secondary Mastery Specialists are key agents in supporting development and sustained change in schools. This programme gives teachers an opportunity to develop a range of effective classroom practices as well as developing their skills in leading and managing change.

This provision forms part of an overall Teaching for Mastery Programme designed to develop secondary maths departments that are well-led, high-performing, and provide high quality professional development through collaborative working.

This is a (minimum) three-year programme involving a mixture of central online and face-to-face sessions, hub support, and in-school development activities.

• In Year One the emphasis is on developing specialists’ own understanding of teaching for mastery and their own classroom practice.

• In Year Two, the programme will support specialists to work within their own department to develop teaching for mastery practices, including beginning to develop department-wide systems and structures. As an integral part of their development, Secondary Mastery Specialists will be enrolled on the NCETM PD Lead Programme to support them in leading their departmental work, as well as preparing them to work effectively with other schools.



• In Year Three and beyond, specialists will work with teachers from other schools as a Work Group Lead. The emphasis is on supporting and enabling key teachers in each school to lead the developments within their own departments.

Maths teachers with QTS in state-funded secondary schools who have substantial teaching experience (at least 2 years) are eligible to apply to become a Secondary Mastery Specialist. Teachers should have a strong desire to develop both their own classroom practice and their skills in leading professional development with others.

All Maths Hubs will have an agreed allocation within this cohort and will select the most appropriate candidate(s) to participate. Participants in this programme will form Cohort 9 of the Secondary Mastery Specialist Programme. Requirements for both the school and the individual are laid out in the information document (on the NCETM website) and include a requirement that the headteacher attends a part of the autumn term launch event alongside the specialist.

Year One of the programme is structured as follows with 15 days comprising 5 days (equivalent) attending central events and 10 days in-school and in-hub development, including:

• developing approaches in own classroom
• developing lessons and resources in collaboration with Cohort 9 peers
• visiting classrooms (primary and secondary) to see teaching for mastery in action
• meeting with the hub’s Secondary Assistant Maths Hub Lead and wider team
• participating in other hub events related to teaching for mastery.