: How Evidence‑Informed Professional Development is Changing Maths for Good Why sustained, evidence-informed professional development is key to improving maths outcomes for every pupil.
—
Blog
How Evidence‑Informed Professional Development is Changing Maths for Good
Why sustained, evidence-informed professional development is key to improving maths outcomes for every pupil.
Share on:
by Exchange Research School at Don Valley Academy
on the
Jamie Heathcote
Jamie Heathcote is an experienced Primary Maths Consultant who supports schools to deliver a Mastery curriculum. He also works as an Every Child Counts Lead Trainer, Maths Hub work group lead, NPQ facilitator and Maths Researcher for the Department of Education at Oxford University.
As a young maths lead early in my career, one of my biggest inspirations was the 5‑day primary maths course. It gave me the opportunity to share my passion with other maths leads and to learn from the brilliant specialists delivering the workshops. I still use some of the ideas in my role today.
Although I liked the course and felt that it benefited me enormously, it only got me so far as a leader. Being able to answer colleagues’ questions about dividing fractions is useful, but it doesn’t create the kind of culture that transforms maths teaching across a school.
Professional development (PD) in maths has shifted significantly – it’s moved from attending courses to developing expertise. PD practice has shifted from delivery, coverage and teaching techniques to a model that develops deeper subject knowledge, effective pedagogy and opportunities for sustained reflection and long-term improvement.
So how is it different? Current maths PD is evidence-informed and prioritises curriculum coherence, teaching for mastery and the development of structures and systems that drive long-term improvement and change.
This is encapsulated in the Leading Primary Maths National Professional Qualification (NPQLPM) that I have the privilege to facilitate. At the heart of the NPQ is that:
‘An excellent mathematics leader will have a deep understanding of how children learn mathematics. They will be skilled in teaching so that their pupils build a deep, interconnected understanding of concepts, as well as developing procedural fluency, automaticity in key number facts, and good number sense. They will understand the importance of building pupils’ self-belief that they can achieve and will foster positive attitudes towards the subject. They will understand the critical importance of primary mathematics to later academic success and wellbeing’.
The NPQ is a sustained, evidence-informed leadership programme designed to shape whole-school culture. It develops leaders who can build, embed and sustain a coherent maths curriculum, strengthen staff capacity, and ensure equitable access to high-quality maths teaching.
The NPQ LPM builds the foundations for lasting improvement from knowledgeable, empowered leaders who have a vision for long-term change.
To enable this change maths leaders are encouraged to interact with the up-to-date evidence including:
The Education Endowment Foundation’s (EEF) Effective Professional Development guidance notes, “professional development is most effective when it is sustained over time and when it includes expert input, peer support, and opportunities for practice,” reinforcing the importance of designing PD that builds knowledge, models effective techniques, and embeds rehearsal and feedback over time.
The NPQs embody this approach. In the Leading Primary Maths NPQ, leaders revisit key ideas over time, learn from specialists and practise applying approaches such as teaching for mastery, curriculum coherence and effective use of representations. This reflects not only the EEF’s Effective Professional Development Guidance Report, but also its A School’s Guide to Implementation, which emphasises creating the right conditions, planning for sustained change, and supporting staff to embed new practices gradually and consistently.
Together, these principles ensure maths leadership is not about attending a course but about developing the deep, lasting expertise needed to improve outcomes for all pupils. This, alongside other high-quality research based around specialist areas, including problem solving, the importance of reasoning including spatial reasoning, arithmetical proficiency, classroom practice, adaptive teaching, assessment, and, in my view, most importantly, how pupils learn, gives leaders all the tools to support maths in school.
Schools are under immense pressure right now, and leaders feel the weight of improving outcomes more than ever. That’s why maths PD must do more than inform. It must ignite. Teachers need training that is engaging, relevant and inspiring, so they can pass that same energy on to their pupils. When teachers enjoy teaching maths, children enjoy learning it and the outcomes follow.
Facilitating effective maths PD has many elements. Having evidence-based research at the heart of this provides the foundations, and a hook on which teachers can base their practice and develop the capacity to lead change beyond their own classroom. My experience as a facilitator for the NPQ LPM has reflected this and is evident in the participants’ reflections and enthusiasm.
So, support for maths leads has evolved hugely over the last 20 years and the hope is that we’ll start to see this reflect in the life chances of our young people. My passion now is to inspire other maths leads as I once was, to empower the next generation of maths leads to create the kind of classrooms where every child believes they can succeed.
Education Endowment Foundation. (2020). Improving mathematics in Early Years and Key Stage 1, pp. 20 – 25. Available at: EEF_Maths_EY_KS1_Guidance_Report.pdf
