Primary Teaching for Mastery

Who can take part?

This programme is for primary schools in England that engaged with a Teaching for Mastery Work Group in 2025/26 or have previously participated in a Development, Embedding or Sustaining Work Group.

Each participating school will nominate teachers to engage in the Work Group, and school leaders will support them to lead developments across the school.

What is involved?

This programme is for primary schools that have previously taken part in a Teaching for Mastery Work Group and want to continue to deepen and embed their approach.

Each school will continue working with a small group of local schools, supported by a Mastery Specialist. Across the year, participants will collaborate to explore effective leadership, observe live teaching for mastery, implement aspects such as lesson design, and refine systems to maximise pupil impact.

Participants will work closely with their senior leaders to focus on key areas of curriculum development and professional learning. There will also be opportunities to explore implementation strategies, with a particular focus on aspects such as oracy and mixed-age.

What you need to know

This Work Group is intended for all schools who have participated in a Teaching for Mastery Work Group for at least two years.

Work Groups will have an average of 12 schools as members, and will involve leaders and teachers working together over time. Participants will collaborate with others and engage in core activities such as observing live lessons.

This Work Group is ongoing and schools participate year-on-year.

What are the intended outcomes?

Pupil outcomes

Pupils will: 

  • have high expectations of themselves as mathematicians; they will continue to show a positive attitude towards the subject 
  • demonstrate mathematical behaviours during lessons associated with a teaching for mastery approach
  • experience coherent, well-designed lessons.

Which leads to: 

  • fewer pupils failing to meet age-related expectations (ARE), and an increased depth of understanding in the focused areas addressed by the Work Group. 

Practice development

Participants will: 

  • plan, teach and reflect collaboratively, within school and across other settings, drawing on their deeper subject knowledge in order to provide a coherent mastery curriculum
  • demonstrate their understanding of the teaching for mastery Five Big Ideas in their normal practice. 

Professional learning

Participants will: 

  • enhance their maths subject knowledge with an emphasis on progression, especially within the key areas of maths addressed by the Work Group
  • (if subject leaders) learn more about how to implement teaching for mastery further in their setting including developing an effective collaborative planning culture for their teachers, which supports ongoing specialist subject knowledge development 
  • understand and value ongoing professional development in order to uphold the cycle of improvement.

What is the cost?

The Primary Teaching for Mastery Work Group is fully funded by the Maths Hubs Programme so is free to participating schools.

How can I get involved?

If you have previously been involved in Teaching for Mastery (Introductory, Developing, Embedding or Sustaining) please complete the form below to join the Teaching for Mastery Work Group in 26/27.

Primary Teaching for Mastery 26/27