£6 million to improve maths teaching in the North

School Standards Minister Nick Gibb has announced £6 million investment to improve maths teaching in the North of England, to mark the first National Numeracy Day.

£1.75 million of funding will be used to create two new ‘Hubs’ in Central Lancashire and Cheshire to help spread best teaching practice and improve local pupils’ knowledge, understanding and enjoyment of mathematics.

The remaining funding will support the expansion of a south Asian ‘mastery’ approach to teaching maths in the region. Some of the leading performers in maths in the world, including Shanghai, Singapore and Hong Kong use this teaching style.

Minister for School Standards Nick Gibb said: “Poor numeracy still costs the UK a staggering £20 billion every year and we want more pupils to feel confident using numbers as it can open up a wide range of options for future study, training and work.

“Thanks to a £74 million investment there are already over 2,500 schools across the country involved in the Teaching for Mastery approach, and today’s announcement will help ensure more children in the north have access to a world-class maths education.”

The ‘Maths Hubs’ in Central Lancashire and Cheshire will initially be led by three schools in each region and will help to ensure more teachers in the area have the knowledge and skills to provide high quality maths teaching.

School recruitment for involvement is now open and the programme aims to start running this Autumn.