National Centre for Excellence in the Teaching of Mathematics goes live

At the launch in Coventry’s TechnoCentre, the Secretary of State was joined by Professor Celia Hoyles, Chief Adviser for Mathematics for the Department of Education and Skills and Professor Adrian Smith, author of the influential inquiry into post-16 mathematics education.

Mr. Johnson said:
“Having sound mathematics skills is a fundamental part of every child’s education and we are committed to ensuring that today’s children and young people get every opportunity and support to learn and develop those skills. To do this, we need to make sure that mathematics teachers are also getting the support and professional development they need. That is why this centre is so important, providing a vital tool for the teaching community.”

Celia Hoyles said, “The National Centre for Excellence in the Teaching of Mathematics represents a major step forward for the mathematics community. I believe the NCETM has huge potential for bringing the mathematics community together and for making a tangible difference to furthering excellence in teaching and interest in studying mathematics.”

The NCETM will support the professional development of teachers of mathematics at every stage of their career and across every age-range from primary to adult education. The web portal will support the development of networked communities of teachers. Through the portal they will be encouraged to work together to share practice, discuss the impact of their work on learning, join discussion forums on current issues, contribute to educational web logs, explore the comprehensive external links directory and access continuing professional development opportunities. The portal will also act as a link between schools in England and other countries to enable teachers to share experience and develop practice.

The NCETM will also be a focal point to bring together individuals and organisations working to improve teaching and learning in mathematics. The NCETM directorate is establishing links with stakeholders in mathematics including industry, universities, local education authorities, mathematics associations, existing education networks and strategies.

Professor David Burghes, Director of NCETM, said, “We want to inspire joined-up thinking to improve maths teaching and learning in every school and college. We want to get everyone involved and provide support that is of genuine use to practitioners across every area of mathematics education.”

Reaching beyond the web, the NCETM will develop local and national activities. There will be nine regional teams across England working to link all those involved in mathematics education and encouraging teachers to become involved in collaborative professional development locally.

The NCETM is being coordinated by The Tribal Group, in partnership with the University of Plymouth, who won the three-year contract from the Department for Education and Skills in December 2005.

Barry Brooks, Director of Lifelong Learning at Tribal Education, said content, not functionality, is key to the success of the portal: “Teachers don't have a lot of time to research professional development opportunities. They need one port of call for finding new ideas for their lessons and ways of collaborating with colleagues.”

The NCETM Web Portal, which has been tested on a group of teachers, will be easy to navigate and will be continually extended, with the content for each new section guided by teacher feedback. The next phase will see the addition of a directory of regional and national professional development opportunities linked to a framework for continuing professional development (CPD), supported by online CPD portfolios.

For more information about the National Centre for Excellence in the Teaching of Mathematics (NCETM), go to www.ncetm.org.uk.