Liam Hughes of Curridge Primary School - what's it like being a Mastery Specialist
I am the Year 4/5 teacher at Curridge Primary School, West Berkshire and also the Maths lead (and PE, Science and Computing). I've been teaching for 10 years but have been involved with the maths hub for the last five after being introduced to mastery at my last school. When the opportunity to become a specialist myself came up, I jumped at the chance and was then able to receive some expert training both on maths and on subject leadership.
It was a completely different way of teaching maths than I was used to but one that I immediately could see had huge benefits and would help the children enormously, so I knew straight away that I wanted my school to go down that route. Since introducing mastery and becoming a specialist at my current school, we have moved away from differentiation and the mindset that maths is not for all, and now focus on mastery for all with a huge push on reasoning and vocabulary.
I don't think it was a coincidence that in 22/23 we received 100% of children passing our Maths SATs tests and in 23/24 got to 50% reaching Greater Depth.
Being a specialist has meant I can offer support to all colleagues in school, from EYFS to Year 6 and have the evidence and research behind me offering a clear rationale behind any changes that we are making. I am now seen as the expert in school for maths and I now have so much more confidence in myself within the role.