Unlocking potential: insights into improving teaching and leadership in mathematics education: government response

This thematic report is written in response to a request for advice from the Welsh Government in their remit letter to Estyn for 2024 to 2025.

The report provides a national overview of the strengths and areas for improvement in the teaching of mathematics within the 7 to 16 age range. It identifies good practice in the teaching of mathematics based on the impact it has on pupils’ progress in mathematics and numeracy. It focuses particularly on effective practice in primary, secondary and all-age schools with regards to teaching, curriculum, leadership, and assessment.

Although there are aspects of effective teaching and leadership of mathematics, overall, the report found that the quality of teaching of mathematics was too variable and pupils’ standards in mathematics were too low.

The report outlines the approaches professionals are taking where they see effective practice, including:

• setting high expectations
• using a range of teaching and assessment methods
• questioning learners effectively
• addressing misconceptions

Where practice was less effective, this was essentially the result of ineffective teaching and learning.

In particular, this included:

• the variability in the quality of teaching of mathematics, partly linked to a reduction in subject-specific support across Wales
• too little focus on the importance of teachers' subject knowledge and subject pedagogy often leading to a limited understanding of the best ways to support learning

The report emphasises the importance of effective teaching methods, high-quality questioning, a supportive learning environment, professional learning, and parental involvement in enhancing mathematics education. These elements collectively contribute to improving pupil engagement, understanding, and outcomes in mathematics.

The report also emphasised strong features of successful mathematics curricula, including:

• building on prior learning
• allocating appropriate time
• application of knowledge in authentic contexts
• a balance of explicit teaching and exploration, collaboration and independence

Recommendation 1

Provide schools with more detail of expectations for pupil progress in mathematics and numeracy to support teachers with their curriculum planning.

Recommendation 2

Ensure that local authorities and school improvement partnerships provide effective support to improve the quality of teaching and leadership in mathematics.

Recommendation 3

Consider how they can promote a positive attitude to learning mathematics for pupils, parents and carers.

Recommendation 4

Provide clarity for schools about how proficiencies should support the curriculum design process.

Recommendation 5

Consider approaches to promoting mathematics teaching as a career.

Welsh Government response

We accept these recommendations. We have invested an extra £10million for literacy and numeracy to scale up nationally consistent, once for Wales support programmes and interventions to support literacy and numeracy, expand local authority capacity and provide better national information on learner’s attainment and progress. This includes an additional £2.5million to increase local authority capacity to support schools with these skills and to build on national approaches.

We have developed a coherent, consistent package of support in partnership with practitioners, Estyn, local authorities and regions and maths and numeracy experts which include:

• A national professional learning resource and support package developed with Swansea University, providing all schools with more detailed expectations. Estyn have been involved in its development and have been supportive of the resource.
• A review of our Literacy and Numeracy Framework and development of guidance to assist all teachers to incorporate numeracy into their lessons. This approach aims to make expectations clearer and language more accessible for those practitioners who are not maths specialists.

On 3rd June we announced over £6.5million worth of new maths and numeracy projects providing more consistent support and expertise for maths teaching across Wales. This will give schools the resources and support they need and directly address the issues raised.

Support includes:

• Primed for success: all parts of Wales will have access to expertise to provide joined up maths education across both primary and secondary school, reducing gaps in knowledge during the transition phase.
  It will empower educators through peer mentoring, case study development, and diagnostic tool refinement, ensuring consistency in assessing learner progression. It will include a specific focus on the mathematical proficiencies.
• Support for primary schools to increase parental engagement with their child’s maths learning, to increase pupils’ confidence with numbers and promote positive attitudes about maths to parents, carers and learners.
• Support for secondary school maths, through a blend of:
  • nationally accessible professional learning
  • online tuition
  • parental engagement in secondary schools
  • enhanced support at pre-16 to strengthen the transition from GCSE to A level. In addition to these, we will be awarding a further grant of around £2million to provide consistent support for maths in primary schools, including specific focus on the mathematical proficiencies.

We have committed £6,500 to Estyn to produce case study videos based on their findings from the thematic review of maths. These videos will exemplify key approaches to effective teaching of maths, such as effective questioning, dialogic approaches, and direct teaching.

In relation to recommendation 5:

• We continue to offer an incentive of £15,000 to entrants to Initial Teacher Education (ITE) programmes to study to teach Mathematics.
• We continue to work with ITE Partnerships to promote the teaching of Maths to their undergraduate cohorts.
• We also run targeted marketing campaigns aimed at attracting entrants to ITE to study to teach Maths. Additionally, we work with the Education Workforce Council who undertake promotion of careers activities and provide advocacy services to potential entrants.
• We also offer part-time and salaried PGCEs through the Open University. These allow potential students to achieve Qualified Teacher Status on a part-time basis if they are unable to attend a full-time course or via the salaried route if they are already employed in a school.

Recommendation 6

Improve the quality of support for the development of high-quality teaching and leadership of mathematics.

Recommendation 7

Increase the level of subject specific support for schools.

Recommendation 8

Target practical support to help teachers and leaders of mathematics understand effective curriculum design and delivery including the effective use of the five mathematical proficiencies.

Recommendation 9

Ensure that professional learning opportunities are planned and evaluated effectively to ensure high quality impact.

Welsh Government response

We will continue to work closely with the Local Authorities and school improvement partnerships to identify ways to support the implementation of these recommendations.

Local Authorities lead on local school improvement arrangements which provides clear ownership and accountability.

 We have developed Nationally available professional learning programme for maths led by Swansea University, supporting improved understanding of progression in maths. This support has been co-constructed with Local Authorities and will be rolled out in the new academic year.
In partnership with the Local Authorities, we have drafted guidance to accompany the revised Literacy & Numeracy Framework to assist all teachers to incorporate numeracy into their lessons.

The Welsh Government Education Improvement Team has an important role in both understanding feedback emerging from the system and driving improvement through collaboration, specifically around the Cabinet Secretary for Educations priorities which includes maths.

Recommendation 10

Ensure that all staff and pupils develop and exemplify a positive attitude towards mathematics and understand its value.

Recommendation 11

Ensure that teachers are given adequate time to improve their subject knowledge and pedagogy.

Recommendation 12

Ensure that assessment practices and processes support the effective teaching of mathematics.

Recommendation 13

Ensure that professional learning is tailored to the specific needs of mathematics education.

Recommendation 14

Ensure that assessment policies are flexible enough to be effective in different subjects, particularly in mathematics and numeracy.

Welsh Government response

Local Authorities lead on local school improvement arrangements. Our national intensive support and grant arrangements will support professionals to realise the recommendations.

Mathematics will be a key priority for the new Professional Learning and Leadership body, and it will have a key role in ensuring delivery of the national support programmes for literacy and numeracy when responsibility transfers to them in the next academic year. We are working closely with the Local Authorities to make certain they engage with these programmes and the Professional Learning body to ensure schools receive the support they need.

Mathematics subject leaders

Recommendation 15

Maintain a clear focus on addressing the strengths and areas for improvement in the teaching of mathematics.

Recommendation 16

Improve the quality of teaching of mathematics and ensure that the proficiencies are understood and used appropriately.

Recommendation 17

Ensure a secure knowledge of all staff of minimum expectations of pupils’ understanding and progress in mathematics.

Recommendation 18

Ensure that curriculum provision builds effectively upon prior learning and between primary and secondary school.

Teachers of mathematics

Recommendation 19

Each for pupils’ understanding rather than focusing solely on performance.

Recommendation 20

Develop their own confidence in subject knowledge and subject pedagogy to get the best out of the pupils.

Recommendation 21

Develop a range of strategies to support the checking for understanding and responsive teaching.

Welsh Government response

Local Authorities lead on local school improvement arrangements. Our national intensive support and grant arrangements will support professionals to realise the recommendations.

Mathematics will be a key priority for the new Professional Learning and Leadership body. The Professional Learning and Leadership body will have a key role in ensuring delivery of the national support programmes for literacy and numeracy when responsibility transfers to them in the next academic year. We are working closely with the Local Authorities to make certain they engage with these programmes and the Professional Learning body to ensure schools receive the support they need.

The full report can be accessed on Estyn’s website, and was published on 5 June 2025.