Maths hubs: application form guidance

Transcription

1 Maths hubs: application form guidance July 2015

2 Contents Maths Hubs 3 Purpose 4 National and local projects 4 Criteria 6 Eligibility 6 Application process 6 Application form 6 Presentation days 7 Implementation 7 Timetable 7 Contact details and further information 8 Maths Hubs Criteria 9 Eligibility Criteria 9 Other Criteria 10 Mathematics credibility and capacity 10 Leadership credibility, capacity and commitment 12 Partnership and networking credibility and capacity 13 2

3 Maths Hubs A national network of Maths Hubs - backed by 11 million of funding - was launched in June 2014, with the aim of achieving excellence in maths education from primary school to post-16. The Maths Hubs are led by outstanding schools or colleges and are acting as leaders, addressing issues within maths education and supporting other schools and teachers with implementing recent reforms. The Maths Hubs programme for the first time brings together all maths education professionals in a national network of hubs, each locally led in partnership with neighbouring schools, colleges, universities, CPD providers, maths experts and employers. The national dimension of the programme is made possible by the hubs collaborating as a national group, pooling experience, expertise and ideas as a network, and meeting once a term at the National Maths Hubs Forum. The National Centre for Excellence in the Teaching of Mathematics (NCETM) coordinates the programme at a national level and provides specialist advice and support to ensure best practice in the Maths Hubs is shared amongst the whole network. There are currently 34 Maths Hubs across England with funding available for a 35 th Maths Hub in the North West of England. There is a geographical gap in Cumbria and North Lancashire where previously we were unsuccessful in identifying a suitable school or college to lead a Maths Hub in this area. In addition, after establishing the Maths Hub in first year, the lead school for the London South-East Maths Hub has decided to step down from its role. Call to action We are therefore looking for schools or colleges to lead the 35 th Maths Hub in Cumbria/North Lancashire and the London South-East Maths Hub. The geographical areas that the two hubs will cover are: 35 th Maths Hub in the North West - Cumbria/North Lancashire London South-East Maths Hub - Bexley, Bromley, Royal Borough of Greenwich, Lewisham and Southwark The successful schools or colleges appointed to lead these two hubs will need to have demonstrated that they have established networks and reach into these areas. In addition, where there is already Maths Hub work underway in the area, the new lead school or college will be expected to work with the schools/colleges that are delivering this work. 3

4 We want inspirational and exceptional schools or colleges that have a strong vision for sustained and transformational improvement in maths education to apply to lead these two Maths Hubs. These schools or colleges, will have ambition and drive, and experience of improving the quality of maths education in their school and beyond. Purpose The aim of the national network of Maths Hubs is to ensure that all schools have access to excellent maths support. They are responsible for the coordinated implementation of national projects to stimulate improvement and innovation in maths education. The role of the NCETM is to ensure that all the support provided is informed by robust evidence about what works, both in terms of maths teaching and the professional development of teachers of maths. The network brings together the emerging national leaders of maths education and aims to make innovative school-led national subject improvement a reality. This specialist support complements the more general workforce development and school improvement led by teaching school alliances and academy chains, trusts and federations. National and local projects The work of Maths Hubs falls into two broad categories: National collaborative projects, where all hubs work in a common way to address a programme priority area Local projects, where hubs work independently on locally tailored projects to address the programme priorities Current national collaborative projects include: England-China: a project involving exchanges of teachers between schools in Maths Hub areas and schools in Shanghai to implement the mastery teaching approach in English schools and explore how these approaches can be embedded in schools more widely Textbooks and professional development: a project involving primary schools using high quality Singapore-based textbooks, backed up by professional development activities, as a means of supporting teachers to implement the mastery approach Post-16 participation: a project to increase the participation of post-16 students in advanced mathematics courses of various types, including A Level and Core Maths 4

5 As well as work on these three areas, Maths Hubs are pursuing locally defined projects, the mix of which will differ from hub to hub. Examples include: Raising the level of maths subject knowledge among primary teachers Improving the recruitment and ongoing training of high quality maths teacher Supporting the development of subject leaders through collaborative working Widening the access for all pupils to maths enrichment activities We are inviting schools and colleges that meet the eligibility criteria to submit applications to lead one of the Maths Hubs in the two geographical areas specified. We will welcome bids from schools and colleges which demonstrate a track record of strong networks or partnership working, and strong mathematical leadership. 5

6 Criteria The lead school or college of each hub will need to demonstrate strengths in the following criteria: General school teaching and pupil achievement Quality of maths education including track record of innovation Leadership credibility, capacity and commitment Partnership and networking credibility and capacity Applicants need to refer to the detailed eligibility criteria annex (page 5) for full details of how the criteria should be evidenced. Eligibility Any school or college that meets the criteria can apply to co-ordinate one of the two Maths Hubs. The lead school or college will be responsible for establishing the hub and identifying the alliances and partners that will contribute to its work. Application process Application form Applicants should submit a completed application form, which will ask for: Name of the lead school/college applying including URN Name and details of main contact person Name of nominated senior lead Name of nominated maths lead Evidence of support of maths improvement, support for maths workforce development and informed innovation in maths education Evidence of senior leadership expertise Evidence of school business expertise Evidence of maths leadership expertise A statement from the governing body demonstrating its vision, commitment and motivation for taking on a system leadership role in maths Evidence of general collaborative leadership with other school groups and alliances Evidence of specific mathematics partnership building 6

7 Presentation days A panel will assess the application forms and shortlist applicants to be invited to a presentation day. This is an opportunity for applicants to demonstrate their enthusiasm, vision and ability to lead innovative and radical change within maths education. Shortlisted applicants will be allocated a 30 minute slot. In that time the applicant will be asked to deliver a 15 minute presentation followed by 15 minutes of questions. Applicants will be asked to set out: How they will support the development of mastery approaches to teaching mathematics, learning particularly from practice in Shanghai and Singapore How they will provide strong leadership for improving maths education in the Maths Hub area How they intend to support teacher professional development Implementation Once successful applicants have been chosen, the lead school/college will establish their Maths Hub with their key partners. As stated above the lead school/college will be expected to work with schools and colleges that have already established Maths Hub project work in the area. The hubs will then develop full action plans which will be agreed by the NCETM and submitted to the DfE for approval. Each Maths Hub will receive direct funding for structural operational purposes and funding on a project basis for local and national projects. Timetable Application briefing meetings will take place in Kendal on 7 September 2015 (pm) and London 8 September 2015 (am). If you are interested in applying to be a Maths Hub lead school or college, we recommend that you attend one of these meetings. All applications must be received by 5pm, 25 September The applications will be assessed by a judging panel against the above criteria. Applicants will be notified as to whether they have been shortlisted by 2 October Shortlisted applicants will be invited to deliver a presentation on 8 or 9 October Applicants will be informed as to whether they have been successful by 16 October The two new lead schools or colleges will be operational by November The new Maths Hub leads will be expected to attend the National Maths Hubs Forum in York on 4/5 November

8 The Leadership/Management team for the Maths Hub will be expected to participate in an induction workshop with the NCETM in Manchester on 12 November Contact details and further information In order to attend one of the application briefing meetings, please by Thursday 3 September giving details of who will attend and the school/college they will represent. If you have any questions about the Maths Hubs programme and in particular the application process, you must submit questions to the NCETM by 15 September 2015 at mathshubs@ncetm.org.uk. Responses to all questions will be published on the NCETM website on 17 September For further information about the Maths Hubs programme, see the Maths Hubs website Completed applications must be ed by 5pm on 25 September 2015 to mathshubs@ncetm.org.uk. All information must be provided on the application form. Only the application forms will be accepted so do not send any other attachments. 8

9 Maths Hubs Criteria Below are the criteria that applications need to evidence. Teaching Schools will have already met some of the criteria when they applied for their Teaching School designation. Teaching Schools therefore, do not need to demonstrate some of the particular criteria in this process. Eligibility Criteria Applicants must meet the following criteria in order to apply: Criterion Evidence required Must be state funded No evidence required Must be an outstanding school Must have outstanding pupil achievement Ofsted rating outstanding Ofsted for overall effectiveness [Teaching Schools already evidenced] Ofsted rating outstanding for pupil achievement [Teaching Schools already evidenced] Quality of teaching must be outstanding Must have outstanding leadership and management Ofsted rating outstanding for quality of teaching [Teaching Schools already evidenced] Ofsted rated outstanding for the quality of leadership and management [Teaching Schools already evidenced] 9

10 Other Criteria Applicants will be assessed on the following criteria. Applications will need to provide evidence that they meet the criteria either in the application form or at the presentation day. Mathematics credibility and capacity Criterion Evidence required Consistently high levels of pupil performance and progress in mathematics We will draw on existing data 1 using the school/college URN. We will consider the following: Key Stage 2 data showing the percentage of students that achieved Level 4 in mathematics for the past three years ( ) covering data for all students and students on FSM or Key Stage 4 performance data showing the percentage of students that achieved A*-C in mathematics for the past three years ( ) covering data for all students and students on Free School Meals (FSM) and Key Stage 5 data showing the percentage of students that were entered for A level maths and further maths and grades achieved ( ) NOTE: - For schools that do not have school data covering the past three years, please provide additional information about the school s performance in mathematics to support the application. - For institutions with provision, please provide any other Key Stage 5 data which show student 1 You are not required to provide this data 10

11 Criterion Evidence required achievement and progress in mathematics The percentage of disadvantaged students Data that show the percentage of students that are making above the expected levels of progress in mathematics Strong support for mathematics improvement Provide two or three examples from the past two years of support for improving outcomes in mathematics within and beyond your own school/college. Include evidence of reach and impact. Explain the key strategies you would expect the hub to employ to support schools and colleges in ongoing improvement of mathematics teaching and outcomes. Strong support for mathematics workforce development Provide two or three examples from the past two years of support for mathematics teacher professional development within and beyond your own school/college. Include evidence of reach and impact. Provide information about the key strategies you would expect the hub to employ to support ongoing mathematics professional development. Show commitment to evidence informed innovation Provide two or three examples of how you have led evidence-informed innovation in maths teaching. Include details of evaluation outcomes. Provide information about the key strategies you would expect the hub to employ to support effective innovation. Provide evidence of how you propose to test and implement the teaching maths for mastery approach within the hub. Show how effective approaches will be embedded across all school phases. 11

12 Leadership credibility, capacity and commitment Criterion Evidence required Strong senior leadership expertise Provide evidence of the nominated senior leader s track record for building, facilitating and evaluating partnerships and networks. Demonstrate evidence of your leadership capabilities within a school-led system. Explain how you will provide strong leadership of the teaching maths for mastery approach to ensure it is successful. Show strong business management expertise Provide evidence of a strong track record of taking accountability for funding and contracting other schools/organisations to deliver projects, including value for money, appropriate use of public funding, and impact. Show strong mathematics leadership expertise Provide evidence that the nominated mathematics lead: a) is an expert practitioner with deep understanding of what leads to effective mathematics education; b) has significant successful experience as a subject leader for mathematics; and c) is experienced in leading work beyond their own school/college including being skilled at facilitating partnerships and leading collaborative activity. Show school leadership commitment Provide a short statement from the governing body demonstrating both its commitment and motivation for taking on a system leadership role in mathematics and summarising its vision for the role. 12

13 Partnership and networking credibility and capacity Criterion Evidence required Experience of leadership and collaboration within broader school groups and alliances Provide evidence of system leadership, wider influencing and collaborative work beyond your immediate area, alliance or chain. Outline how you have influenced change and the approaches and methods you used to lead others effectively. You should provide evidence of how you propose to develop and communicate a vision for mathematics education and engage the large number of schools and colleges in your area. If applicable, please list any schools or colleges that will act as strategic partners and will support you in the leadership of the hub. Provide a full list of school groups and alliances that support your application and want to work with you as a hub lead school excluding the schools or colleges listed as strategic partners as above. Indicate the geographical area that you propose your hub will support. Experience of building partnerships to support mathematics education. Provide evidence using two or three examples of effective collaboration with partners with specialist mathematics expertise. Provide details of who you worked with and how you have worked with them. Provide information about the key ways you would expect the hub to draw upon partners with specialist mathematics expertise, such as universities or national subject organisations. Explain how you will build an effective network of partner schools to support the implementation of the teaching maths for mastery approach. Explain how you would expect to draw upon the expertise of the Shanghai teacher exchange programme. 13

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