School Standards Minister said:
“This country’s continuing strong performance in maths, including
the significant improvement in attainment among Year 5 pupils, is
testament to the hard work of teachers and a reflection of the
reforms we have put in place to raise standards and ensure our
young people are receiving a truly world class education.
“We know there is more to do, including continuing to improve the
quality of science teaching and increasing the number of young
people studying science subjects, in order to address STEM skills
shortages. We are funding a range of projects, such as the
Stimulating Physics Network to support schools in improving
progression to physics A level, and Project Enthuse which
provides bursaries for specialist training for teachers, to make
sure standards rise and young people leave school with the
knowledge and skills to succeed.”
Further information
- As well as introducing a new more ambitious National
Curriculum in 2014, we have created a national network of 40
school-led Maths Hubs to help local schools improve the quality
of their mathematics teaching based on best practice.
- We have also introduced the £100 million Teaching for Mastery
programme, which is bringing mastery teaching to 11,000 schools
across England by 2023. This teaching style focuses on depth of
understanding and is based on best practice from East-Asian
jurisdictions that continue to perform highly in international
mathematics tests, including TIMSS.
- High quality Continuing Professional Development for science
teachers in primary and secondary schools and further education
institutions is available through the national network of Science
Learning Partnerships. The network also provides support to
schools to increase provision of GCSE triple science. We also
fund Project Enthuse which provides bursaries for teachers to
attend CPD at the National STEM Learning Centre in York.
- We fund the Stimulating Physics Network to provide support to
schools to improve progression to physics A level, particularly
by girls. We also fund Isaac Physics, an online learning
platform, to improve physics GCSE and A level students'
attainment and problem solving skills.
