John Westwell

I am loving the fact that Lucy Bronze is not just a great role model as a sportswoman but now also an advocate for the importance of mathematics!

I can confirm that the cast and crew in Maths Hubs and the NCETM are definitely worth celebrating. It is such a joy to work with so many people committed to playing their part in supporting maths education across our whole system.

Thank you @keziah70.bsky.social for your important emphasis on collaboration. "It doesn’t just take a village to raise a child; it takes the whole country to educate them at the moment - and this is possible through collaboration." Let's have a system in which deep collaboration is the norm for all.

Always welcome false dichotomies being challenged and this blog post got me thinking. There you go....that's told you.

Yes, that's right. Maths Hubs exist to work with and support all schools and colleges in England.

'Unfortunately the truth is, that not everyone has good reason to be happy at Christmas time, no matter how much you cover your corridors in tinsel.'

A short Christmas story to remind us what it's really all about.

READ:
everythingisgoingtobealright.webflow.io/santa-please...

With all of these indications of improvement, it's encouraging to see the overall data. But more than that, it represents a lot of maths teacher and leader effort over a sustained period trying to incrementally improve things for their students. And for that I am always encouraged.

Further evidence of England's improvement in maths today with the release of the TIMSS 2023 test which allows for comparisons across countries.

Particularly good news at year 9 (13 year olds) where we've seen a decent jump despite the pandemic (unlike other countries).

Something positive is happening in maths education in England. @ncetm.bsky.social Director of Secondary, Carol Knights, talked to secondary school leaders yesterday, about how to ensure the conditions in schools might support teaching for mastery.

Really looking forward to reading this. It seems as though this is an important moment where we as a profession could reimagine accountability so that it both gives confidence to those we serve, and treats leaders and teachers with respect and kindness.

Really interesting work from @jackworth.bsky.social and the NFER team on graduate numbers by subject and what subjects they might go on to teach. Highly relevant to the challenges we face in mathematics teacher supply.

Photo of Steve Elliott, John Westwell, and Maggie Farrar at the Compassionate Leadership event

Great to be at the Compassionate Leadership event today, so well facilitated by Maggie Farrar and Steve Elliott and to join @alisonpeacock.bsky.social and @carolinelucas.bsky.social and many educational leaders committed to shaping a compassionate culture. I am hopeful for our schools.

Sustaining school leadership is vital so the research here that supports our understanding in this area is well worth supporting.

Marie Joubert and I are delighted to share our report for the JMC building on the Royal Society‘s Mathematical Futures thinking.

A vision for meaningful data education across the four nations of the UK.

It’s a vision, it’s ambitious! Link and 🧵👇🏽

Thanks @jonsevers.bsky.social for this. Big thanks @jonnyuttley.bsky.social for insight into the important aspect of the speech. Political leadership that says a competitive rather than collaborative model ends now is a great start, but needs careful system design. Teachers and leaders are ready.

🗼Blast Off!🗼Maths Week England has launched today and here is the link to the first video from Alex Bellos mathsweekengland.co.uk?page_id=7470. There will be a daily puzzle via our socials or you can view the puzzles and solutions on the website www.mathsweekengland.co.uk #MWE24 #MathsToday

Great North Maths Hub LLME Community listens to John Westwell at the Linskill Centre in North Tyneside

Very good to join @greatnorthmathshub.bsky.social #LLME community as they thought deeply about the #systemleadership role of local leaders of maths education. This community is making a real difference as they work alongside hundreds of schools from Sunderland to Berwick

Aligning curriculum and assessment reform with teaching for mastery in secondary maths Charlie Stripp and Carol Knights suggest ways in which the curriculum and assessment of secondary mathematics might be improved

🌎In a world that is increasingly driven by maths and data, could the secondary maths curriculum be improved?
Part one of NCETM's Charlie Stripp and Carol Knights' blog post is out now, full of thought-provoking ideas. Don't miss it!
#Maths #EduSky #UKMathsChat

The opportunity to become a Local Leader of Maths Education - a system leader for the Maths Hubs Programme - can help to retain teachers of maths in the profession.

Read the @ncetm.bsky.social report about the Maths Hubs Programme here: www.ncetm.org.uk/media/zmnnhg...

@johnwestwell.bsky.social

Spotlight on LLMEs – Early Years SKTM Hear from a Cohort Lead on the Early Years Specialist Knowledge for Teaching Mathematics Programme

Could you be an LLME?
🌟'My role is so much more than delivering training...it’s about developing knowledge and skills in maths teaching'💪
Kate started as a participant and now leads Early Years CPD with her local Maths Hub. Read the full story...
#UKMathsChat #EduSky #PrimaryMaths

Dame Alison Peacock: ‘Create a place where joy can happen’ Our How I Lead series asks education leaders to reflect on their careers, experience and leadership philosophy. This month, we talk to Dame Alison Peacock, CEO of the Chartered College of Teaching

Absolutely. Thank you @alisonpeacock.bsky.social. Wouldn't it be great if a new metric in schools was joy. Perhaps, we could all pay more attention to the levels of joy of the students, teachers, and leaders that we find in our schools.

www.tes.com/magazine/lea...

LLME Community in conference centre gardens on a sunny day

Great to join the Abacus NW Maths Hub #LLME as they reflected on 10 years of Maths Hubs. They're 1 of 40 professional communities of local leaders of maths education in England. Committed to supporting pupils and teachers in schools in their area, they exemplify humble #systemleadership at its best.

Thanks Richard. We used to talk about the importance of lessons having pace. If mathematics learning is more like a marathon than a sprint, perhaps the Japanese (who have a strong tradition in the marathon) have something to teach us about pace in mathematics lessons as well.

Agree @tobygreany.bsky.social Great article. @lizrobinson.bsky.social and Nicola Noble are surely right that we need to re-imagine #systemleadership. Strong parallels to @leoracruddas.bsky.social CST work on civic leadership. So we need to consider how the system enables the leadership they describe

Worth a read especially the reflections on curriculum reform. E have been working with 1000s of primary schools within the current curriculum and so can see some reform that could really help.

Please do reshare this consultation call. This is an important first step in a series of evidence gathering to help plan the future of maths education and examination in England.

This community has matured over the last few years and is becoming an important demonstration of cross-trust collaboration. @steverollett.bsky.social @leoracruddas.bsky.social

Really interesting article at the end of the Schools Week series. Look forward to the book. Lots of wisdom about how to do the long hard work of change and to appreciate and value the distinct roles of different actors within the system.

Welcome to Blue Sky Helen. I am really interested to see the thinking the review will bring. Hoping for an English maths curriculum that is built on the assumption that maths is for all.

Great way to end the week, thinking deeply with system leaders Andy Ash and Richard Middlebrook about how we can critically evaluate the long-term impact of Maths Hubs as they develop sustained relationships with schools and trusts. #MathsHubs #systemleadership