MA welcomes the Budget's support package for mathematics education. 24 November 2017

MA welcomes the Budget's support package for mathematics education.

The Mathematical Association welcomes the package of measures to support mathematics education announced in the Budget.  The Government clearly understands the unique value of our subject to the economy and its role in equipping young people to achieve their potential.  

In our recent meeting with the Department for Education, we highlighted the issues of post-16 funding, GCSE resit policy and teacher supply as areas of concern.  We are therefore pleased that schools and colleges that succeed in increasing the uptake of Level 3 mathematics are to be rewarded with additional funding and hope this will encourage a greater number of institutions to build Core Maths provision into their students’ study programmes.  However, we are yet to be convinced that this funding model will succeed in reversing the expected decline in the uptake of A level further mathematics. 

It is also pleasing to see new provision for the development of innovative approaches to the delivery of GCSE resits and the significant injection of funding to train additional teachers of mathematics for the Further Education sector.