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Secure firm foundations in the development of good number sense for all children
This programme will develop solid number sense, including fluency and flexibility with number facts, which will have a lasting impact on future learning for all children. The programme will also involve high quality professional development for teachers – a range of synchronous and asynchronous online professional development, including three live sessions, as well as locally led sessions, across the academic year.
A school’s participation involves teachers from each of Reception, Year 1 and Year 2, the maths subject lead, and the headteacher. In larger, multi-form schools, it is expected that lead teachers support colleagues in Reception and KS1 to adopt the same approach in their classes, to ensure consistency across the school.
Since 2014, the NCETM and Maths Hubs have been working together to develop approaches to teaching for mastery within primary maths. Thousands of schools have benefited. The Mastering Number Programme has been running since 2021 and is wholly consistent with teaching for mastery.
For schools in the Mastering Number Programme, children in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2 will have a daily teacher-led session of 10 to 15 minutes, designed to ensure that pupils develop fluency with, and understanding of, number that is crucial to future success in maths and academic progress more generally.
To help busy teachers and school leaders make the most of the Ofsted maths report, the NCETM are producing a series of helpful guides on "How to put the Ofsted Maths Report into Practice". The first of these guides focuses on the Mastering Number programme:
The core professional development programme will be delivered by an experienced team from the NCETM, led by the NCETM’s Director of Primary Mathematics, Debbie Morgan. It will involve the lead teachers, maths subject lead and headteacher engaging in a range of synchronous and asynchronous online professional development, including three live sessions, across the academic year. Headteachers and maths leads will also be invited to attend two sessions – one at the beginning of the year and one in the summer term – to support them to implement and embed the programme to ensure maximum impact.
In Reception, teachers will be expected to use the Mastering Number materials for their main maths lessons for all number work, and ensure that children are offered additional experiences to embed their learning in the wider provision. (Ideas for this are included in the materials.) In Key Stage 1, teachers will be expected to deliver a daily session of 10 to 15 minutes in addition to their daily maths lesson, which may be a little shorter as a result. Resources, including lesson plans and visual materials, will be provided.
The Work Group will consist of up to 50 schools and be led by a professional experienced in early maths and in leading professional development in their Maths Hub area. During the year, teachers in the Work Group will work together to share experiences and reflect on the impact of the programme on their pupils and on themselves as teachers. The Work Group Lead will facilitate and steer regular discussion among participants in a dedicated online community. This ongoing cross-fertilisation of experiences, ideas and successes will create a vibrant and sustained professional learning experience for all those taking part. It will also significantly benefit pupils in the participating schools.
Participating in the Work Group will provide the following benefits to participant schools:
Schools chosen to participate in the Work Group commit to the following expectations:
This Work Group is open to all state-funded primary schools in England that have not yet engaged with the Mastering Number Programme. If oversubscribed, priority will be given to schools who have not yet engaged in a Teaching for Mastery Work Group
N.B Where a school intends to join a Mastery Readiness, Development or Embedding Work Group in 2024/25, they should consider carefully their capacity to also engage in Mastering Number.
Mastering Number is fully funded by the Maths Hubs Programme, so is free to participating schools. Resources will be provided for each school, in order for them to teach daily sessions of the Mastering Number Programme.
We held an online pop-up event for schools interested in joining the Mastering Number at Reception and KS1 Work Group. During the session our Mastering Number Work Group Leads shared the aims, benefits and impact of participating in the Mastering Number programme. You can catch up on a recording of the session below:
Please click here to access the PDF of the slides from this session
More information about the Mastering Number Programme can also be found on the NCETM Website.
Applications have now closed for 2024/25, please use the form below to express an interest for 2025/26.