One In Seven Maths Classes Now Taught By Non-Specialists
Teacher writing on whiteboard for lesson
4 min read
Up to 15 per cent of maths lessons in 2023-24 were taught by teachers who were not subject specialists, new research shared with PoliticsHome shows.
Experts have raised concerns that shortages could hinder the government’s economic growth and opportunity agenda.
An expert who advised the previous Conservative government on former prime minister Rishi Sunak's plan for maths to 18 has warned that "a wide-ranging response is urgently needed".
Sunak, who unveiled his plans for a new English Baccalaureate in 2023 while in No 10, wanted to reform the curriculum so that all children study some form of maths up to the age of 18.
Experts warned at the time that it would be difficult to achieve due to shortages of specialist maths teachers after years of under recruitment.
Now, research by the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) has found that up to 15 per cent of maths lessons in 2023-24 were taught by teachers who were not subject specialists.
The figure is the highest recorded in recent years, although it is worth noting that the research shared with PoliticsHome used a different methodology to similar studies.
The NFER used the school workforce census, as well as initial teacher training target calculations.
Previous research has suggested that the use of non-specialists can have a detrimental impact on pupils' education and learning.
Recruitment of maths teacher trainees was missed by more than 25 per cent last year, with the recruitment cycle largely taking place under the previous government.
Tim Oates, group director of assessment research & development at Cambridge University Press & Assessment said: “This is a very long-standing structural problem."
Oates, who advised the previous government on Sunak's maths to 18 plan said: "A wide-ranging response is urgently needed – but immediate reinforcement of existing strategy will go a long way.”
He added that "low quality or uneven distribution in the provision of maths qualifications" will be an obstacle to economic growth until it is addressed.
NFER School Workforce Lead, Jack Worth, said schools in disadvantaged areas were more likely than other schools to deploy non-specialist maths teachers.
"The number of non-specialists teaching is likely to keep growing and lead to lowering quality of maths education unless the government urgently prioritises making the teaching profession more attractive to potential maths teachers," he told PoliticsHome.
"Pupil attainment in maths is strongly linked to future earnings and life chances, so attracting high-quality maths teachers is one of the enablers of both the government’s economic growth and opportunity agendas.”
Jill Duffy, Chief Executive of OCR said that many teachers are struggling with workload, "exacerbated by overloaded curriculums" and "we need to start listening to these concerns and acting on them if we are to give young people the maths education then need and deserve".
Pepe Di’Iasio, General Secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said: “It will be impossible to achieve the government’s ambition of high and rising standards – an ambition which we all share – without having enough specialist teachers."
Di'Iasio warned that schools that serve the most disadvantaged communities are often the worst affected by shortages, making it "extremely difficult to improve the outcomes of these pupils and close attainment gaps".
A recent research report by The University of York said that an increase in the number of maths teachers could be driven by producing a greater number of maths graduates, increasing the rate of entry to teacher training from Russell Group universities and increasing entry to post-1992 institutions.
However, it acknowledged that the challenge "is somewhat circular, because achieving these things would be considerably easier were there currently no shortage of secondary maths teachers to prepare future higher education students".
A Department for Education spokesperson said: “Recruiting and keeping high-quality teachers in our classrooms is the single biggest driver of high standards in schools. That’s why work has already begun, as part of our Plan for Change, to recruit an additional 6,500 expert teachers, including making £233m available next year to encourage more talented people into the classroom to teach subjects including maths, physics, chemistry and computing.
“We are committed to resetting the relationship with the education workforce and working alongside them to re-establish teaching as an attractive, expert profession.”
PoliticsHome Newsletters
PoliticsHome provides the most comprehensive coverage of UK politics anywhere on the web, offering high quality original reporting and analysis: Subscribe
