Centres for Excellence in Maths finalise themes of activity selection

Themes of activity selected by the 21 Centres for Excellence in Maths

The 21 Centres taking part in the government funded Centres for Excellence in Maths (CfEM) programme have all selected their themes of activity to focus on during the programme.

The CfEM programme is a national improvement programme aimed at delivering a step change in maths teaching up to Level 2 in post-16 settings, with a focus on 16-19 year olds.

It is funded by the Department for Education (DfE) which has chosen the Education and Training Foundation (ETF), the national workforce development body for the Further Education (FE) and Training sector, to manage and lead this programme on its behalf.

Across the programme length, the ETF will work with a range of expert delivery partners and the 21 Centres to design new and improved teaching approaches, develop quality teaching resources, build teachers’ skills and spread best practice across the country through maths networks.

This is to help increase the number of young people leaving compulsory education with the necessary maths skills up to GCSE and Functional Skills level, to improve their employability, and engagement with further learning.

The CfEM programme has been designed to focus primarily on four themes of activity:

1. An adapted mastery approach to mathematics, suitable for the post-16 sector
2. Approaches to contextualisation which relate maths to real-world situations
3. Motivating and engaging learners
4. The use of data and technology within mathematics education in the sector.

Each of the 21 Centres will focus on at least one of the themes. They will form their own networks within their region to disseminate findings and resources to support these new and improved ways of teaching maths.

The theme each Centre will focus on is:

       1. Contextualisation

• Cambridge Regional College
• East Kent College
• Gateshead College
• Grimsby College
• Harlow College
• Lakes College
• Nelson and Colne College
• Newcastle and Stafford Colleges Group
• Tameside College
• Warwickshire College Group
• Wilberforce Sixth Form College

       2. Mastery

• East Kent College
• Christ the King Sixth Form College
• Fareham College
• Greater Brighton Metropolitan College
• Leyton Sixth Form College
• Nelson and Colne
• Newham College
• Stamford College
• Wilberforce Sixth Form College
• Leicester College

      3. Data and Technology

• Cambridge Regional College
• City College Plymouth
• Harlow College
• Lakes College
• Leeds City College
• Newcastle and Stafford Colleges Group
• Stamford College
• Tameside College
• Weston College
• Leicester College

       4. Motivation and Engagement

• Christ the King Sixth Form College
• City College Plymouth
• Fareham College
• Gateshead College
• Greater Brighton Metropolitan College
• Grimsby College
• Leeds City College
• Leyton Sixth Form College
• Newham College
• Warwickshire College Group
• Weston College

Sam Antill, Head of the Centres for Excellence in Maths programme at the Education and Training Foundation, said:

“Developing and testing teaching approaches across the four key themes, supported by research, is vital in our aim to help increase the number of young people leaving compulsory education with the necessary basic maths skills up to Level 2. Everyone at the ETF is excited to be working with the 21 Centres of Excellence in Maths and our chosen delivery partners to achieve this objective.”

We’re excited to announce we’re one of the 21 Centres for Excellence in Maths. Our centres theme is Mastery & Data and Technology. We’re truly excited to be part of two themes and to help support new & improved ways of teaching maths.@FENews Find out more: https://t.co/8ywGa8fZBW pic.twitter.com/nJabkTKlmJ

— Leicester College (@LeicesterColl) September 3, 2019