Milton Park Primary School has been involved in the Maths Hub since 2018. The Maths Lead works for the Maths Hub as a Mastery Specialist and Work Group Lead. 

Find out about the school's journey with the Maths Hub and why the school leadership feel it is important to work with the Hub:

1. What instigated your school's initial involvement with the Maths Hub?

At Milton Park Primary School, we have been working with the Maths Hub for a number of years. As both the headteacher and I had previously worked at a school that had Maths Hub involvement, we were both keen to bring this to our school and had seen the positive impact the Maths Hub had on children, staff and attainment. As a school, we could see our maths curriculum was not working for our children, and they had fallen out of love with maths. Therefore, we instigated our work with the Maths Hub to revitalise our maths lessons and help children to enjoy this subject. Alongside this, we wanted to make teaching more consistent and raise attainment as our school is based in an area of deprivation and poverty. 

2. What impact have you seen in school as a result of your engagement with the Maths Hub?

We have seen a significant impact at Milton Park from our work with the Maths Hub. In all our pupil voice sessions, children now show they are passionate about maths, and we have a consistent, structured approach to our maths lessons. All staff have attended at least one Maths Hub programme (if not more!) as we are committed to well-trained staff with good subject knowledge. Our attainment has risen across the board - going from around 40% ARE at the end of KS2 in 2019 to 75% ARE in the most recent results. Teachers are confident to plan well-sequenced lessons and have a good understanding of the wider picture of maths in school, thanks to the Maths Hub Work Groups. We have taken part in fluency sessions, oracy sessions, problem-solving sessions and more. All have led to highly trained staff, which in turn improved our children's understanding of maths and prepared them for secondary school.

3. How can a primary school co-ordinate staff professional development through the Maths Hub effectively?

As a school, we are passionate about training our staff to be the best teachers they can be. As the Maths Hub programmes are free and will often provide some funding for cover, it has been very easy to release teachers and support staff to attend sessions relevant to them. The Maths Hub offers a wide range of programmes to a range of staff, and this makes it easy for all to access this fantastic resource. Even when release is not funded, due to the impact we have seen from our work with the Maths Hub, we value the subject knowledge and understanding that staff gain so highly, that we arrange this in-house to allow teachers and support staff to grow their own CPD.

4. How do you maximise impact of attendance to Maths Hub Work Groups?

All staff are given the opportunity to give feedback on what they have done in their Work Groups at staff meetings or support staff training. This allows the understanding and knowledge gained from the programmes the Maths Hub offers to be disseminated to all staff and show a whole school impact. When the Maths Lead has not attended, a meeting is arranged to discuss the programme with the maths lead and how this can support staff and ultimately make an impact on children.

5. What advice would you give a school leader who is on the fence about getting involved in their local Maths Hub?

The advice we would give is - absolutely take advantage of everything you can from the Maths Hub! With the offer of school visits to support your staff on the best way to move forward, nothing is too overwhelming, and all programmes and Work Groups are done in collaboration with the participants, the school and the SLT. Work Group Leads and programme leads are always available to support the school's development, including supporting measuring the impact of what is being done both inside and outside the school classrooms. It would be beneficial for schools to network with schools in their area (if possible) who have already engaged with the Maths Hub to see impact in real life and gain a better understanding of what programme might be right for their setting.

6. How has your role as an LLME complemented the work you have done and are doing in school?

Being an LLME has been a fantastic privilege for me and has helped me gain valuable CPD that I can use to support my own school and others. I have a secure and deep understanding of primary maths and this has helped me in the classroom and to support the staff in my school. I also thoroughly enjoy networking with other like-minded professionals from across the phases and across the region. It is so valuable to learn from others and share good practice that you can then implement and share in your own school. It also means I have a large contact list of people I can go to for advice and answers when I can't find the answers myself. I also love the opportunity it has given me to keep up to date on the latest research in primary mathematics and how this can support the understanding of how children learn in my own school and others. I love working for the Maths Hub and being part of the LLME!