Autumn Term 2016 Newsletter 4 9 December 2016 We hope that you’ve all had a very productive and enjoyable term and are looking forward to a well-deserved rest. This is a bumper edition newsletter which we suggest you print off a copy of and enjoy reading, at your leisure, with a steaming hot chocolate and a fresh mince pie! The Maths Hub has been busy organising courses and workgroups; we hope that you have enjoyed and benefitted from anything you have attended and look forward to welcoming you on more courses and events in the future. Maths Hubs are funded by NCETM as part of the government’s drive to improve the teaching of maths in schools. We are therefore in the very fortunate position to be able to provide most of our courses free of charge to participating schools. We provide high quality, relevant events reflecting the latest thinking in maths pedagogy. Some of our work group and course foci are nationally directed but others are offered in response to local need, as determined by you. Therefore, our courses tend to be more relevant and of higher quality than those that you might pay for. We are delighted that many of our sessions (particularly primary ones) are oversubscribed and hope that we will see the same growth in demand from secondary schools in the coming years. However, we have been a little concerned that a number of participants drop out at the last minute thereby depriving another school of a place. Reluctantly, we have decided that in future we will have to charge schools who book a place which is not then taken up. Schools will still have the chance to cancel up to 7 days before the first session and may change the teacher at any time before the first session. In this way, we hope to ensure that precious opportunities are not wasted. Christmas Event for Secondary Teachers It was great to see many of you at the BBO Maths Hub Secondary Event on December 5th at Bisham Abbey. Ben Sparks’ presentation was both informative and inspiring, giving delegates some great ideas to take back to the classroom. We hope you also enjoyed the speedupdating from the Maths Hub about future projects and workgroups you can get involved in, as well as hearing about projects already underway. All in all, it was an enjoyable twilight, with plenty of food, a festive atmosphere and Ben’s rendition of ‘Windmills of your Mind’ has had us humming the tune all week in the BBO Maths Hub office! JANUARY 2017: Primary Maths Mastery Shanghai Demonstration Sessions KS1 and KS2. Join us on the morning of Tuesday 17 January (KS2) or the morning of Thursday 19 January (KS1) when we will be hosting our FREE Shanghai experience sessions at Holtspur School, Beaconsfield. These will be two half day sessions, both providing a fantastic opportunity to observe teachers from Shanghai delivering a mastery lesson. This will be followed by an in-depth debrief and discussion to enable you to discover more about how the teaching for mastery approach helps children to develop their conceptual understanding of mathematics and engage positively in lessons. Each session will incorporate a showcasing of a lesson, discussion and Q&A. To find out more and to make a booking, please email mathscourses@whs.bucsk.sch.uk. For more information: http://cygnustsa.co.uk/courses/details/117/BBO-Maths-Hub-KS2-Shangai-Showcase-Lesson/ or http://cygnustsa.co.uk/ courses/details/118/BBO-Maths-Hub-KS1-Shangai-Showcase-Lesson/ JANUARY 2017: Further opportunities to see Mastery practice in action Are you interested in observing mastery-style lessons? Disraeli School’s AHT, Anna Raine, was part of the initial BBO Maths Hub Shanghai Exchange in 2015- 2016. Disraeli School are kindly opening their doors for a series of open mornings in the week beginning Monday 30 January 2017, to enable maths leaders and teachers keen to find out more about how the school has developed maths in the light of their Shanghai experience. 30 January - 3 February 2017, am sessions, at Disraeli School, The Pastures, High Wycombe, Bucks HP13 5JS Tel: 01494 445177 Places must be booked in advance. To reserve a place, please contact the school directly: office@disraeli.bucks.sch.uk (places are limited and offered on a first come, first served basis) Join the BBO Maths Hub by emailing mathscourses@whs.bucks.sch.uk Follow us on Twitter @BBOMathsHub Maths Hub Lead - Julia Brown at JBrown@whs.bucks.sch.uk Administrator - Sarah Yarwood at SYarwood@whs.bucks.sch.uk Ruth Long at RLong@whs.bucks.sch.uk
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JANUARY 2017: Twilight for KS2 Teachers of Mathematics A free opportunity to spend time exploring mathematics, including teaching for mastery and to share ideas for use in your classroom. These sessions are run by Rachel Walters at Wycombe High School, High Wycombe and by Elizabeth Glaister at Kendrick School, Reading. Sessions are open to all teachers of KS2 Mathematics. The next session at Wycombe High School is on Thursday 26 January, from 4:30 – 5:30 pm. Due to popularity we are restricting participants to a maximum of 2 per school Please email mathscourses@whs.bucks.sch.uk to book a place. The next session at Kendrick School is on Thursday 23 February. Please email eglaister@kendrick.reading.sch.uk for information and to book you place. SPRING TERM: Teacher Subject Specialism Training (TSST) Secondary Mathematics Cohort 2 This NCTL funded course is designed for teachers in the area who are teaching, or plan in future to teach Maths to learners aged 11-16 but don’t have a secondary ITT specialism in the subject. The course has been designed to:
Develop your understanding of the big ideas of mathematics to give you confidence to teach mathematics through understanding Inspire your enthusiasm for mathematics Develop your understanding of mathematical pedagogy and how to engage pupils in learning mathematics Support you in teaching mathematics content at Key Stages 3 and 4. Provide mentoring and support throughout the course
All NCTL TSST courses also offer the opportunity to gain some Masters accreditation without cost to the participants. All those joining this course will have the opportunity to gain up to 40 Master’s level Credits. There will be an information evening for this course on Monday 30 January 2017 from 4.30 – 5.30. To reserve your place, please email: mathscourses@whs.bucks.sch.uk SPRING TERM: Open sessions for KS3 mastery. Jo Walker, one of the KS3 Teaching for Mastery Specialists for our hub, will host a series of Open Sessions for KS3 Mastery at Wycombe High School. You are invited to come and observe lessons and discuss how maths mastery is developing in the School. Wednesday 25th January 11.30 to 2 pm Thursday 2nd February 11.30 to 2 pm Thursday 23rd February 11.30 to 2 pm Wednesday 15th March 11.30 to 2 pm Thursday 23rd March 11.30 to 2 pm As these sessions take place during normal lesson time, there are a strictly limited number of places at each session, which must be reserved in advance by emailing: mathscourses@whs.bucks.sch.uk MARCH 2017: Primary Conference We are finalising details for the Maths Hub Primary Conference which will be held at Bisham Abbey, Marlow in March. The afternoon conference will begin with lunch at 1pm and will involve a Speed-updating session by the BBO Maths Hub, outlining current and future projects as well as a key note speaker. Further details will be published in January. EYFS Mathematics Work Group In response to your feedback, Sue Gifford from the University of Roehampton will lead a work group to develop Mathematics pedagogy in EYFS. We are finalising details at present and will email out details as soon as they are finalised but if you are interested in joining this group, please email: mathscourses@whs.bucks.sch.uk
EYFS
Join the BBO Maths Hub by emailing mathscourses@whs.bucks.sch.uk Follow us on Twitter @BBOMathsHub Maths Hub Lead - Julia Brown at JBrown@whs.bucks.sch.uk Maths Hub Administrator - Sarah Yarwood at SYarwood@whs.bucks.sch.uk Ruth Long at RLong@whs.bucks.sch.uk
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SAVE THE DATE! 22 JUNE 2017 Conference for Secondary Heads of Maths Charlie Stripp, Director of the NCETM, will be delivering the keynote speech at our Conference for Secondary Heads of Maths. More details to follow.
SPRING TERM: Pre-Mastery Work Groups Are you thinking about using Singapore style text books in your school, or have recently purchased some? BBO Maths Hub will be holding a number of work group meetings, led by Jane Liddle, from January 2017 onwards in which we will be able to explore getting started with text books, and thinking about effective pedagogies that help us to make the most of the resources. These sessions will be of interest to those primary teachers who would like to use the text book as a useful introduction to getting started with mastery and who are not currently involved in one of the Teacher Research Groups (TRGs) with the Maths Hub. Sessions will be held in three geographical venues (further information to follow), with the first cohort to be held at The Disraeli School and Children's Centre, the Pastures, High Wycombe, Bucks, HP13 5JS starting on Tuesday 21 February from 4.00-5.30pm To register interest, please email: mathscourses@whs.bucks.sch.uk
Secondary Mastery Workgroup This year we are training three Secondary Mastery specialists who will be working with groups of schools to help them develop teaching for mastery in their schools. The first of these groups will start at Wycombe High School in the spring term as this department is furthest along the journey to teaching for mastery. We will give you information on how to apply early next term but in the meantime discuss this with your teams and the leadership of your schools, as we need to be sure that there is full commitment and support before giving a place to any school. We would also expect serious applicants to have visited to see a mastery lesson in action. Why should you consider teaching for mastery? In the two year groups following a mastery approach at Wycombe High the gap has been narrowed and the students say they are more confident about their maths.
Preparing your students for the new style GCSE Following requests from heads of maths departments, we are currently preparing a series of three twilights for Maths Leaders to cover aspects of the new GCSE. Following each session, which will be run in three locations across our hub area, the Maths Leaders will be given the powerpoint and materials to run this session with their own teams. A flyer with full details will be available at the start of next term.
JANUARY 2017: Twilight session for teachers of Post-16 Mathematics 17 January 2017, 4 - 6pm at Mary Hare School, Newbury. This BBO Maths Hub twilight event will offer information and guidance about Core Maths and advice to help prepare for teaching the new linear A level which will be introduced in September 2017. There will be an introductory session for all, followed by your choice of workshop on, either Core Maths or, the new A level Maths syllabus for September 2017.
Post-16 Enrichment Workgroup We are looking for four schools across our hub area to work with us to design and organise four events in or near their schools to inspire Y9/10 students to continue to study Mathematics beyond GCSE. You will be paid for your time and the event will be fully funded by the Maths Hub. If you would like to be involved in this project please email Julia Brown, at jbrown@whs.bucks.sch.uk Join the BBO Maths Hub by emailing mathscourses@whs.bucks.sch.uk Follow us on Twitter @BBOMathsHub Maths Hub Lead - Julia Brown at JBrown@whs.bucks.sch.uk Maths Hub Administrator - Sarah Yarwood at SYarwood@whs.bucks.sch.uk Ruth Long at RLong@whs.bucks.sch.uk
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School Experience Days for potential ITT trainees in Mathematics This is a funded project in which we will work collaboratively with up to 12 schools to develop a day’s high quality school experience for prospective ITT applicants in Secondary Mathematics. The participating schools will benefit from:
Support and funding to develop a day’s school experience programme High quality materials to support visitors with information on training routes Well-designed programmes to use in their schools Promotion of experience days to increase interest in their training vacancies Funding to support the time given to potential applicants in school (£50 per day)
Potential applicants in Mathematics School Experience Days will receive:
A well-planned day which will give them the opportunity to see what is involved in teaching Maths An understanding of what good Maths teaching looks like Information on how to apply for training Essential school experience to cite on their UCAS application
Please email jbrown@whs.bucks.sch.uk if you would like to be involved. Explaining core maths The Core Maths Support Programme have asked us to reproduce a poster, created by Sophie Cole at Wycombe High School to explain the Core Maths Qualification to students and parents, (page 5) as an exemplar. Sophie took the information from the CMSP website and has created a clear and concise overview of the qualification’s content and purpose.
New from NCETM Qualifications and Curriculum Microsite NCETM have recently launched a new Microsite providing information about qualifications and curriculum. Please follow the link to find out more: https://www.ncetm.org.uk/qandc Marking Guidance for Secondary Maths Teachers If you have not signed up to receive the NCETM newsletter, then please register on their website and do so. For those of you who missed it the November issue has guidance on marking which you may find helpful and wish to discuss in your own schools https://www.ncetm.org.uk
Maths Association Annual conference 7-9 April 2017 Do you need some mathematical or teaching inspiration/affirmation/recharging? The MA annual conference 2017 runs from 7-9 April, at Royal Holloway College, Egham, Surrey. Teachers at previous conferences have been extravagant in their description of the benefits - see http://www.m-a.org.uk/annual-conference. You’ll find a great programme, costs and early bird booking now available at that web address, together with support for getting funded by your school or college. Excellent value, and a superb and fun way to get on top of the teaching needed for new curricula 5-19. Primary Special Day 8 April; Further Maths Day 9 April; Teaching and learning with technology strand throughout. Good company, civilised surroundings and hands-on mathematical recharging. Join us for this lively and inspiring conference. Discounts available for new teachers, for groups of 4 or more booking together or personal members early in their career or new to conference. For more information please go to www.m-a.org.uk Join the BBO Maths Hub by emailing mathscourses@whs.bucks.sch.uk Follow us on Twitter @BBOMathsHub Maths Hub Lead - Julia Brown at JBrown@whs.bucks.sch.uk Maths Hub Administrator - Sarah Yarwood at SYarwood@whs.bucks.sch.uk Ruth Long at RLong@whs.bucks.sch.uk
“Core Maths is the single most important initiative in post-16 mathematics in a generation.” Professor Paul Glaister, Reading University
What to expect
Students will be in a position to apply the enhanced skills they have learned in a variety of subjects. These include • Biology • Business • Chemistry • Economics • Geography • Psychology • Sociology
Students learn through using and applying mathematics to solve meaningful and ‘real life’ problems including: • Personal contexts e.g. budgeting, household finances, tax returns computations and calculating interest • Occupational contexts e.g. analysing and evaluating data, financial calculations, modelling • Societal contexts e.g. probability and estimation calculations relating to local or global communities • Scientific contexts e.g. sequences and growth scenarios related to the natural world, science and technology
Students will sit two external exams at the end of Year 12, both 1 hour and 40 minutes in length. Both will require a source booklet which will be released in April/May. The qualification is weighted 40% comprehension and 60% application.
• Retain, deepen and extend your mathematics
• Confidently deal with everyday financial matters
• Make sense of data
• Apply mathematical reasoning to solve real life problems
• Be better prepared for Higher Education and employment
The Core Maths Advantage
And many more!
Links with other subjects
Skills Learned
Why choose Core Maths?
We will be following the specification for Pearson Edexcel Level 3 Certificate in Mathematics in Context. The builds on and extends GCSE Mathematics with a sharper focus on problem solving skills. The content is approximately 80% of the current higher level GCSE and then 20% additional content that is level 3. Students will be assessed on the following subject areas: • Applications of statistics • Probability • Linear Programming • Sequences & Growth
• Carries the same UCAS points as an AS Level
• Designed in association with employers, universities and professional bodies as valuable preparation for employment and further studies
• Introduced by the Department of Education in September 2014, it forms part of the Government’s plan to increase participation and raise standards in mathematics education
• A new Level 3 course for students in post 16 education who have passed GCSE Mathematics but have decided not to study A Level Mathematics
What is Core Maths?
A new qualification for work, study & life
Core Maths: Mathematics in Context
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The Back Page Christmas Quiz
With special thanks to our friends at the Primary Maths Challenge for supplying the Christmas quiz questions.
We wish you all a very Happy Christmas and a joyful and peaceful New Year! Join the BBO Maths Hub by emailing mathscourses@whs.bucks.sch.uk Follow us on Twitter @BBOMathsHub Maths Hub Lead - Julia Brown at JBrown@whs.bucks.sch.uk Maths Hub Administrator - Sarah Yarwood at SYarwood@whs.bucks.sch.uk Ruth Long at RLong@whs.bucks.sch.uk