Thoughts for June

It’s hard to believe that it's nearly three months since school closures were announced. When we reflect on how amazingly the maths education community have adapted to remote learning it feels like we’ve been working in this new way forever.  Listening to primary and secondary teachers  in the NCETM podcasts, “Learning in Lockdown” on the different ways their schools have provided remote learning, and their emerging thoughts on school re-opening is inspiring. Now, as we turn our thoughts to accommodating a partial return to school we will focus on how to blend our remote and in school professional development for teachers. Our Work Groups will continue to be delivered online this month with additional opportunities being offered for teachers to come together in online communities to grapple with some key questions arising. “ What should we be teaching this half term to ensure our students are in a good place for September?” is increasing the focus on curriculum planning professional development  among our local leaders of maths education. We also hosted a webinar from the Sparx research team who are offering “ Secondary Ready” to support Year 6 and Year 7 teachers with transition. “ How do we keep the focus on pedagogy and teaching for mastery, when catching up quickly is seen as the priority?” is driving our mastery specialists to work carefully with their Work Group schools to tailor next year’s programmes. It’s also that time of year where we are recruiting for posts to join our London Thames Maths Hub team. If you are passionate about mathematics and have the aspiration to lead and manage change that will impact positively in your own school and in other local schools, we have exciting professional development opportunities for you. Join our leadership and management team as Assistant Maths Hub Lead for Primary or Secondary. Or if you want to facilitate a Work Group across a group of schools or have a great idea for a Work Group, we want to hear from you and invite you to join our wider local leaders of maths education team. These posts are in addition to the other funded professional development opportunities for teachers and schools in 2020/21. But hurry deadline for applications are very soon.