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Maths Horizons @mathshorizons.bsky.social · 01/06/2025

Thank you again to our brilliant Chair, Professor Lord Tarassenko CBE, to our co-leads Dr Helen Drury and David Monis Weston, and to all of our fantastic Executive Group. Their experience and insight has been truly invaluable. And this is not the end! More from Maths Horizons will be coming...

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Maths Horizons @mathshorizons.bsky.social · 01/06/2025

We shared our 7 recommendations in the House of Lords in May, and we are delighted to be able to share the full report today.

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Maths Horizons @mathshorizons.bsky.social · 01/06/2025

Since September 2024, we have heard from hundreds of experts through interviews and consultation feedback, as well as roundtable discussions and school visits, as well as conducting large-scale polling through Public First.

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Maths Horizons @mathshorizons.bsky.social · 01/06/2025

Today, Maths Horizons publishes our full report about the future of maths curriculum and assessment in England, and features in the Sunday Times here: www.thetimes.com/uk/education...

thetimes.com

Students can pass maths GCSE without ‘some basic numeracy’

Independent experts are calling for curriculum change as too many pass the exam without essential skills

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Maths Horizons @mathshorizons.bsky.social · 13/05/2025

They are supported by an Executive Group of advisors, including teachers, leaders and experts from primary, secondary and further education, as well as academia and industry. We are immensely grateful to all involved for their contributions to the project. (🧵7/7)

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Maths Horizons @mathshorizons.bsky.social · 13/05/2025

Maths Horizons is co-led by Dr Helen Drury and David Monis-Weston from Purposeful Ventures, and chaired by Professor Lord Lionel Tarassenko from Reuben College, Oxford University. (🧵6/7)

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Maths Horizons @mathshorizons.bsky.social · 13/05/2025

Today’s report, titled ‘How England should reform maths education for the age of AI’, offers a blueprint to reform maths curriculum and assessment, which would support the aspiration for England to become one the top-performing countries in the world for maths. (🧵4/7)

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Maths Horizons @mathshorizons.bsky.social · 13/05/2025

Maths Horizons is an independent review of maths curriculum and assessment in England . It seeks to provide evidence and analysis, to support the Government’s own Curriculum and Assessment Review, and the wider debate about the future of education and the economy. (🧵3/7)

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Maths Horizons @mathshorizons.bsky.social · 13/05/2025

Maths Horizons’ vision is to raise standards in maths at every level, from ensuring that students leave education with secure fundamental knowledge, to an ambitious increase in advanced mathematical study. We have visualised these levels here... (🧵2/7)

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Maths Horizons @mathshorizons.bsky.social · 13/05/2025

Today, Maths Horizons is delighted to be publishing our report about the future of maths curriculum and assessment in England. Our launch event at the House of Lords later today will present the following seven recommendations: (🧵1/7)

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Maths Horizons @mathshorizons.bsky.social · 05/02/2025

We are delighted to have published our Interim Report for the Maths Horizons Project today: www.mathshorizons.uk/interim-report This report reflects on some of what we have learned so far through an extensive range of contributors. We would love to hear your thoughts on the findings!

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Maths Horizons @mathshorizons.bsky.social · 28/01/2025

It had been suggested to us that teachers straight out of qualifying might prefer the structure and support of a relatively rigid curriculum, then start to favour a more malleable framework as they grow in experience. But our findings didn’t support this.

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Maths Horizons @mathshorizons.bsky.social · 28/01/2025

We also asked about the level of detail in the frameworks and resources. When it comes to receiving this information on what to teach, “guided flexibility” was the preferred approach by nearly half of primary and secondary teachers (49% and 48% respectively).

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Maths Horizons @mathshorizons.bsky.social · 28/01/2025

Most teachers across were opposed to a granular level of central control being exercised over topics they teach. Among both phases of education, there was a pretty even split over whether it was best to specify topics to be taught on a termly, annual or key stage-level basis.

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Maths Horizons @mathshorizons.bsky.social · 28/01/2025

We wanted to understand whether the maths curriculum meet the needs of higher education institutions and employers, and what the roles of these institutions are in the education process.

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Maths Horizons @mathshorizons.bsky.social · 28/01/2025

Our final investigation, on ensuring the 5-18 maths curriculum and assessment structure is giving all students access to work and/or further study, is well and truly under way. Here's a🧵on some of the data that we have got back.

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Maths Horizons @mathshorizons.bsky.social · 20/01/2025

Once again, there was a difference in the least affluent schools, where only 29% of teachers wanted to expand the availability of Further Maths, and where more teachers were unsure what they would do if they were in charge.

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Maths Horizons @mathshorizons.bsky.social · 20/01/2025

Two fifths (41%) of secondary teachers would expand its availability to make it possible for students in every school to be able to study it, while just 2% wanted to remove the course completely.

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Maths Horizons @mathshorizons.bsky.social · 20/01/2025

The availability of the Further Maths A-Level emerged as a really controversial area in our early findings, with some comments suggesting that it should be scrapped if not all schools could offer it, while others suggested that we should do more to offer it universally...

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Maths Horizons @mathshorizons.bsky.social · 20/01/2025

In the most affluent quartile of schools, only 22% of teachers thought that less than a tenth of their students had potential to pursue a maths-related degree. But in the least affluent quartile schools this rose to 47%.

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Maths Horizons @mathshorizons.bsky.social · 20/01/2025

We found that school’s deprivation level (based on proportion of students eligible for free school meals) was a predictor of the proportion of students believed to have the potential to pursue a mathematical degree.

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Maths Horizons @mathshorizons.bsky.social · 20/01/2025

We asked secondary teachers what percentage of students in their school show potential to pursue university courses in maths or related fields.

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Maths Horizons @mathshorizons.bsky.social · 20/01/2025

Our fourth investigation has focused on maths excellence during A-Levels. Teachers in less affluent schools are almost twice as likely to believe that <10% of their students have the potential to study maths at university, compared to teachers in more affluent settings.

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Maths Horizons @mathshorizons.bsky.social · 10/12/2024

We want to consider whether maths education is giving all students access to employment, whether it meets the needs of different higher education institutions and different types of employer, and what role employers play, or should play, in the education process.

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Maths Horizons @mathshorizons.bsky.social · 10/12/2024

Our fifth and final investigation has launched. In this investigation, we want to explore how well our 5-18 maths curriculum and assessment is preparing students for the world of work.

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Maths Horizons @mathshorizons.bsky.social · 06/12/2024

We would love to hear your views on why this is the case. To contribute your views, please visit our website here: www.mathshorizons.uk/post/teacher... (7/7)

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Maths Horizons @mathshorizons.bsky.social · 06/12/2024

Taking ‘are able to reason mathematically’ again, 42% of teachers in the most affluent schools thought most students demonstrate this at the beginning of KS3, compared with 27% in the most deprived schools. (6/7)

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Maths Horizons @mathshorizons.bsky.social · 06/12/2024

However, there are also interesting differences in perceptions between teachers whose schools are more or less deprived.

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Maths Horizons @mathshorizons.bsky.social · 06/12/2024

Taking ‘are able to reason mathematically’, 45% of secondary maths teachers thought most students demonstrate this at the beginning of KS3, compared with 31% of primary teachers at the end of KS2. (4/7)

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Maths Horizons @mathshorizons.bsky.social · 06/12/2024

As we have explored in a previous thread, there are differences in perceptions between the primary and secondary teachers we surveyed. (3/7)

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Maths Horizons @mathshorizons.bsky.social · 06/12/2024

Working with @teachertapp.bsky.social, we explored how many teachers felt most (80%) of their students performed against 10 key competencies in the National Curriculum (2/7)

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Maths Horizons @mathshorizons.bsky.social · 06/12/2024

Teachers in the most affluent schools report higher levels of maths attainment and more positive attitudes towards maths than teachers in the most deprived schools. (1/7)

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Maths Horizons @mathshorizons.bsky.social · 05/12/2024

To read more about this, or to express your own views on this topic, please visit www.mathshorizons.uk/post/percept... to get involved in Investigation 2 of the Maths Horizons Project. (7/7)

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Maths Horizons @mathshorizons.bsky.social · 05/12/2024

Finally, when looking at students’ enjoyment of maths, primary teachers were more positive than secondary maths teachers, with 48% of primary teachers saying that they thought over 60% of their students find maths enjoyable, compared with 27% of secondary teachers. (6/7)

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Maths Horizons @mathshorizons.bsky.social · 05/12/2024

For example, 52% of secondary maths teachers felt most of their students starting KS3 could ‘recognise when fractions can be simplified’, compared with 33% of primary teachers when thinking about their students finishing KS2. These teachers were commenting on the same group of students. (5/7)

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Maths Horizons @mathshorizons.bsky.social · 05/12/2024

In 6 out of 10 competencies, significantly more secondary maths teachers thought that 80% of their pupils met these competencies at the beginning of KS3, compared with primary teachers at the end of KS2. (4/7)

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Maths Horizons @mathshorizons.bsky.social · 05/12/2024

This is interesting when taken alongside the results of a question looking at teachers’ perceptions on how many of the 10 key competencies from the national curriculum over 80% of their students were able to meet by the end of KS2 or start of KS3. (3/7)

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Maths Horizons @mathshorizons.bsky.social · 05/12/2024

86% of the primary teachers surveyed agreed with the statement ‘the primary maths curriculum has too much content’, compared with 57% of secondary maths teachers, revealing significantly different perceptions on the amount of primary content between the two groups. (2/7)

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Maths Horizons @mathshorizons.bsky.social · 05/12/2024

29% more primary teachers agree there is too much content in the primary maths curriculum than secondary teachers. In our second phase of research with @teachertapp.bsky.social, we looked at teachers’ perceptions of the amount, comprehension and enjoyment of maths content from ages 5 to 14. (1/7)

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Maths Horizons @mathshorizons.bsky.social · 28/11/2024

To find out why we think this is, or to suggest your own theories, please visit www.mathshorizons.uk/post/teacher... and get involved in Investigation 1 of the Maths Horizons Project. (7/7)

mathshorizons.uk

Teacher Tapp results from Investigation 1: A national implementation gap in maths?

Is the maths national curriculum in England achieving its purpose and aims? Research by Maths Horizons suggests not.

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Maths Horizons @mathshorizons.bsky.social · 28/11/2024

There’s a social justice aspect to this finding, too. Across all statements of intent, teachers of less affluent children and young people were less positive than teachers in more advantaged contexts (measured here by the number of pupils receiving free school meals). (6/7)

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Maths Horizons @mathshorizons.bsky.social · 28/11/2024

Across all age groups, there is consistently low appreciation for the beauty and power of maths. Approximately 5% of teachers at all levels believe that 80% of the children in their maths lessons achieve this to a reasonable standard for their age. (5/7)

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Maths Horizons @mathshorizons.bsky.social · 28/11/2024

When we turn to attitudes towards maths, teachers are observing much higher rates of maths enjoyment and curiosity in children at the start of their journey through school than those coming to the end of primary school, and lower again in children of secondary school age. (4/7)

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Maths Horizons @mathshorizons.bsky.social · 28/11/2024

Our research, with @teachertapp.bsky.social, has found that a majority of teachers do not think that more than 80% of their pupils can mathematically reason to the level they should be able to. We do, promisingly, see upward movement in this measure of mathematical reasoning as children age. (4/7)

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