Our NPQ Leading Primary Mathematics programme will support teachers to develop their understanding of excellent mathematics teaching for mastery and the knowledge and concepts that support successful leadership of mathematics. This one-year programme helps participants develop informed and intentional approaches to instruction, curriculum, assessment, adaptive teaching, professional development and implementation for the teachers they lead.
The course is for teachers who have, or are aspiring to have, responsibility for leading maths teaching in the primary phase.
If you would like to pre-register for our Spring 2024 cohort, please clikck on the link
Curriculum Sequence
Our National Professional Qualification in Leading Primary Mathematics is a 12-month programme which has been broken down into six courses. The order in which participants experience each course has been designed in such a way that previous knowledge is built upon logically. Below is an explanation of the curriculum decisions we have made, why we have made them and how we believe that these decisions will support your leaders to keep getting better.
The first course participants encounter is ‘Culture and Learning’. This course comes first because the ideas on this course frame the rest of the programme content. Leading mathematics requires secure understanding of what is meant by ‘mastery’ coupled with expertise in planning for and driving an effective culture for learning. It explores developing a theory of change, building positive attitudes to maths and ensuring classroom culture is conducive to effective mathematics teaching.
It also builds participant understanding of how people (pupils and teachers) learn. Learning can helpfully be understood as a lasting change in pupils’ capabilities or understanding, and how learning happens can be understood with reference to how memory operates. These ideas underpin much of the rest of the programme.
Courses 2, 3 and 4 are ‘Assessment’, ‘Instruction’ and ‘Curriculum’. These three courses represent the fundamental knowledge domains those leading primary schools need to understand in relation to mathematics. Assessment, particularly formative assessment, is used to form decisions about how to teach. Instruction covers key ideas about how to teach to enable all pupils to learn, including the effective use of manipulatives, visuals and talk. The ‘Curriculum’ course contextualises these ideas further by rooting them in curriculum design and sequencing, before focusing on the importance of early mathematics. All three courses are underpinned by the important principles of learning covered in course 1.
Courses 5 and 6 are ‘Professional Development’ and ‘Implementation’. These focus on the expertise those leading mathematics will need to drive improvements in teaching. Teacher development is a crucial lever in improving teaching of mathematics and participants will engage in evidence as to how to effectively design and deliver professional development to support maths teaching in their context. Implementation is the wider process of driving improvement where those leading mathematics need to carefully consider what they do to drive improvement, how they do it and crucially, how they operate as part of the wider school system. This circles back, in part, to course 1 and the deliberate planning for improvement through a theory of change.