I have been lucky enough to work closely with many maths departments across the UK and overseas – both within individual schools and across Multi Academy Trusts.
I offer two types of support, both of which could be one-offs, but work far better if taken as multiple days, with two or three consecutive days initially, followed by repeat visits over the year.
Maths departmental support
Here I work with all the teachers in a department. Through lesson drop-ins, I identify a key area for development, provide bespoke CPD on it, and then the department works together to build it into their practice.
A typical visit would work as follows:
- An email exchange with the head of department and/or senior leadership team before the visit to discuss areas of development that have been identified and any important contextual information. This can take place, in-person, on the morning of the first visit if more convenient.
- During the morning of the visit, I like to see as many teachers teach as many lessons as possible. The more time in lessons, the better I can build up an accurate picture of the support the department needs. I often drop in for no more than a few minutes, before moving on to the next lesson, but then return to a classroom to see how the lesson is progressing. It is always beneficial to be accompanied on these lesson visits by the head of department or a member of the leadership team.
- During my lesson visits, I take notes and photos on my phone (including photos of the board and students’ work) as I form hypotheses as to what areas the department could benefit from some support. I never take photos of the students themselves.
- Food! School lunch is ideal – my only dietary fussiness is no fish or mayonnaise!
- A meeting with the head of department (and TLR holders is appropriate) to reflect on the morning and also discuss anything else they may need support with, such as curriculum planning
- 1 hour planning time on my own with wifi access
- An afternoon session with all the department where I highlight the good things I have seen in the morning, and then deliver a bespoke training session based on one of the areas of development I have identified. See the FAQs below for my tech requirements
- If I am lucky enough to return to the school, we can repeat the structure: the morning can be spent looking at how colleagues have implemented the ideas from Day 1, and then in the afternoon we can work on another area of development.
- Mult-day visits work best if Day 1 and Day 2 are consecutive, so we can kick-start change immediately. Day 3 can then be a few weeks later.
Example day:
- Before school: meet with HOD and SLT briefly to discuss the day
- Period 1: drop into lessons with HOD / SLT / member of maths leadership
- Period 2: drop into lessons with HOD / SLT / member of maths leadership
- Period 3: drop into lessons with HOD / SLT / member of maths leadership
- Reflection meeting with HOD and SLT (can also be used to discuss curriculum or other issues)
- Independent planning time (1 hour)
- CPD with the department (60 to 90 minutes)
