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With a long history of promoting the very best in learning and teaching Mathematics, The Mathematical Association actively engages in consultation and discussion on the issues currently affecting Mathematics education through our Teaching Committee.
The purpose of the Teaching Committee is:
- to keep under review matters concerning the teaching and learning of mathematics and to address matters of potential future importance;
- to advise the Council on response and representation by the Association to outside bodies on matters which affect the teaching and learning of mathematics;
- to initiate, in collaboration with other Committees of the Association, the dissemination of its findings through publications, conferences, meetings and other appropriate means.
The Teaching Committee has two sub-committees:
Primary (joint with ATM), Secondary 11-18
If you would like more information about joining the Teaching Committee or a sub-committee, please email amber.richardson@m-a.org.uk
We respond professionally and constructively to ministerial announcements and to proposals from the Department for Education, and from bodies concerned with curricula, assessment and training. We comment on inquiry reports, academic research findings and reports published by organizations and learned bodies supporting Mathematics in Britain. Occasionally, we adopt position papers prompted by discussions amongst ordinary members, and at our committees.
We hope that we have something distinctive to say on Mathematics curriculum and pedagogy, formative and summative assessment, inspection, the dissemination of quality assurance information, and the training, expertise, professional development, recruitment and retention of Mathematics teachers.
November 2024
The Joint Primary Group (JPG) of the Mathematical Association (MA) and the Association of Teachers of Mathematics (ATM) have responded to the Curriculum and Assessment Review, chaired by Professor Becky Francis CBE, CEO.
The review is asking for suggestions and proposals to help improve the curriculum and assessment system, including feedback on what works well in the current system, what doesn't work well and suggestions for potential improvements. This call for evidence is an important step in the review process, and information provided will feed into the review and the initial recommendations (report due out in the Spring term).
The JPG responded to 25 out of the 55 questions (some questions were admin questions and others beyond our remit or key stage). While the response was coordinated by a sub group, all 121 current members of the group were invited to offer their thoughts and opinions. Our response to each question was discussed at length and draws on high quality research in order to reach a consensus to each question.
The Joint Primary Group of the ATM and MA are pleased to launch ‘KS1 Assessment Tasks – Tasks not Tests’.
The tasks have been created by authors: Janine Blinko, Helen Williams, Pip Huyton and Alison Borthwick, edited by Cath Gripton and Liz Woodham.
These tasks are now freely available to access by all..
There are 12 tasks in total which cover all stands of the KS1 National Curriculum in the UK.
The tasks are designed to assess the understanding of all Year 2 children in the essential aspects of KS1 mathematics that prove the important foundation for their future learning of mathematics. The tasks provide teachers a way of assessing children without the need for a test. The tasks offer a more informative alternative to tests, with each task expected to take up the duration of a mathematics lesson. We believe that tests give limited information; these tasks are rich, genuine, playful and get to the heart of the important mathematics.
To access the KS1 Assessment tasks booklet and slides, please click here: Tasks Not Tests
April 2024
Our Teaching Committee have produced this article to express their concerns regarding the dwindling number of mathematical degree courses at universities in the UK, and how this is having an impact on the future of the teaching of mathematics.
March 2024
Our Teaching Committee responded to the Advanced British Standard consultation.
November 2023
Both sub-committees of the MA's Teaching Committee have put forward their thoughts on the Mathematical Futures discussion paper.
Questions answered:
1. Do we support the vision for the future of mathematics and data education?
2. Is the vision appropriate for all students?
3. Are there areas of the Mathematical Futures vision that need further development?
4. What are the first steps needed to begin the process of change?
October 2023
The end of statutory assessment in KS1 offers schools the opportunity to review how their assessment practices support children’s learning, and how colleagues are best supported, moving forward. The following questions and sample tasks are designed to stimulate discussions within schools and illustrate how teachers can make the most effective use of assessment to determine:
? how secure children are in Y1 content
? whether they have a flexible and deep understanding of content from Y2
? their preparedness for content in Y3.
September 2023
In order to support Primary teachers and leaders with how to respond to the recently published Coordinating Mathematical Success: the mathematics subject report (July 2023), the ATM/MA Joint Primary Group have produced the following short document.
January 2023
Our response to request for comment from the Times Educations Supplement. re the recent announcement from the Prime Minister to introduce maths education to the age of 18.
December 2022
October 2022
September 2022
New Secretary of State for Education
July 2022
MMSA Update June 2022
These documents have existed before but have been revised by the group working on bringing the associations together. I would encourage all members to read them, in particular the Draft Proposal for the putative new association and the Frequently Asked Questions. The former sets out a potential structure for the new association whilst the latter should help to clarify many questions and doubts that colleagues might have about the move to come together.
Proposal for a new Association
Association for Mathematics in Education
Association for Mathematics in Education FAQs
January 2022
Background documentation can be found here
On 30th September, much anticipated information about the examinations in England was released by the Department for Education and Ofsted. We welcome your views on this.
We offer our congratulations to the Rt. Hon Nadhim Zahawi, MP, for the appointment of Secretary of State for Education.
Read the reply received in October 2021
Mathematics is a ‘creative and highly interconnected discipline’ (DfE, 2013, p.3) which is often misinterpreted as having a narrow, arithmetic focus. Both
associations uphold the current National Curriculum (NC) aims of fluency (conceptual understanding), reasoning (following a line of enquiry, conjecturing
relationships and generalisations, developing an argument, justification of proof using mathematical language) and problem solving (non-routine
problems). One of the purposes of this document is to remind practitioners of the importance of these aims in interpreting the Ofsted Research Review.
After all, these aims support a ‘high-quality mathematics education [which] provides a foundation for understanding the world, the ability to reason
mathematically, an appreciation of the beauty and power of mathematics, and a sense of enjoyment and curiosity about the subject’ (DfE, 2013, p.3).
Pupils need to develop an understanding of the multiplicative composition of numbers, fluency in working flexibly with multiplication bonds and automaticity in knowing them.
This Position Statement arises from meetings of the Joint ATM/MA Primary Group which have frequently turned to discussing issues around the teaching of multiplication. In the light of these discussions, we hope this statement will help to inform the debate around how best to teach and learn multiplication bonds.
Proposals for an additional exam series in autumn 2020 in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
This consultation ran from 1pm on 22 May 2020 to 11:45pm on 8 June 2020
This consultation ran from 2 July 2020 to 11:45pm on 16 July 2020
This consultation ran from 4:45pm on 15 April 2020 to 11:45pm on 29 April 2020
OFSTED has proposed changes to the initial teacher education inspection framework and handbook for September 2020, and consulted on them. Teaching Committee discussed this over the internet and responded. We agreed strongly with all of OFSTED's proposals, and made substantial comments, some of them specific to mathematics.
Read our full response here, including OFSTED's proposals.
OFSTED propose to remove the exemption, which can leave some schools uninspected for up to ten years, and they conducted a consultation about it. We discussed this at Teaching Committee, and agreed with the proposal. We always look for implications specific to mathematical education, but this time we didn't find any.
Read our full response here
The following was discussed at the meeting on 23rd October 2019:
Read the full report here.
Read an associated TES article here.
When Gavin Williamson MP was appointed Secretary of State for Education, we wrote to him to introduce ourselves as the sort of people he might want to consult. Here is our letter. He wrote back and invited us to arrange a meeting to brief one of his officials. We are now setting that up, so this will be our first opportunity to speak truth to this particular power.
Consultation document seeking views on OFSTED proposals for changes to the education inspection framework from September 2019.
Read the MA response here.