A Labour government would 鈥渦pskill鈥 non-maths specialists in primary schools in a bid to create the 鈥渕aths equivalent to phonics鈥, Bridget Phillipson will announce tomorrow. The shadow education secretary will announce that some of the 拢210 million already committed by the party to provide an entitlement to training and professional development for all teachers will be targeted at a scheme to develop maths skills among primary teachers. It marks a clear dividing line with the Conservatives, with Labour focused on the youngest schoolchildren, while prime minister Rishi Sunak wants to extend compulsory maths teaching to 18. In fact, has even said it would reform the PM鈥檚 maths to 18 working group, 鈥渟o it focuses on primary maths as a first priority and investigates the maths equivalent to phonics鈥. The party鈥檚 already-announced curriculum review would also be tasked with 鈥渂ringing maths to life and directing teachers to show children how numeracy is used in the world around them, such as through household budgeting, currency exchange rates when going on holiday, sports league tables and cookery recipes鈥. This would include bringing elements of financial literacy into teaching, Labour said. It is understood this relates to primary schools, as financial literacy is already included in the key stage 3 curriculum. Phonics a ‘template’ for maths plan The upskilling would be delivered through the party鈥檚 鈥渢eacher training entitlement鈥, which is funded with 拢210 million from money they expect to raise by charging private schools VAT. Labour will also seek to take some credit for the boost in recent years to literacy rates, pointing to the 鈥渁chievements of the work started by the last Labour government on phonics鈥. Phonics was given a higher profile in England in the 1998 national literacy strategy, but its use was ramped up nationally by the Conservatives under Michael Gove from 2010, and is now tested through the phonics screening check. The party said its work had 鈥渓aid the basis for a policy which has improved the reading ability of children throughout their time at school鈥 and would form a 鈥渢emplate for its plans for primary maths鈥. Phillipson will say: 鈥淚n every part of our system, in every year of children鈥檚 lives, in every corner of our country, we will be the party of high and rising standards. 鈥淢aths is the language of the universe, the underpinning of our collective understanding. It cannot be left till the last years of school. It鈥檚 why I鈥檓 proud to tell you today, that we鈥檒l tackle our chronic cultural problem with maths, by making sure it鈥檚 better taught at six, never mind sixteen.鈥 She will say she is 鈥渄etermined that Labour will bring maths to life for the next generation鈥. 鈥淚 want the numeracy all our young people need 鈥 for life and for work, to earn and to spend, to understand and to challenge. I want that to be part of their learning right from the start.鈥 Schools need more resources Whiteman and Barton The plans have been tentatively welcomed by the NAHT school leaders鈥 union. Its general secretary, Paul Whiteman, said it was 鈥渧ital that Labour builds upon the excellent maths teaching that is already taking place in our primary schools鈥. 鈥淭here is a high level of expertise within our schools, and teachers and leaders have worked incredibly hard to develop their maths curriculum in recent years.鈥 Geoff Barton, ASCL general secretary, added any interventions 鈥渟eek to support schools in building on the good work that is already being done, rather than looking to overhaul it and start again from scratch. 鈥淓nsuring that primary schools have the funding for the resources they need, and that primary teachers have the time and capacity to develop their maths expertise, is vital to improving attainment.鈥
James Little 11 October 2023 Thanks for this 鈥 it made me chuckle. For all the decades I鈥檝e been teaching there鈥檚 always been this promise to 鈥榰pskill鈥 (in ye olde speak 鈥榠mprove鈥) the teaching of maths and in the same time we鈥檝e seen ASTs come and go and the specialist maths teacher post graduate (MaST), both of which I鈥檝e been involved in. And the result so far鈥 boxes and boxes of Numicom, Dienes blocks, counters and bead strings cluttering up classrooms up and down the land and the majority of the time what are our young people doing? Wading through slide after slide in front of them, filling in boxes without any idea what is occurring conceptually. But to be fair I thoroughly support the emphasis on getting the teaching right during key stage 1 and lower key stage 2 rather then the usual last minute panic we see in January in year 6.