Written Evidence Submitted by Mathematics Education Innovation (MEI)
(DIV0038)
MEI is a charity committed to improving lives through advances in mathematics education. We aim to raise the quality of mathematics education and improve social equity through access to high quality mathematics education. We believe that mathematics education is highly relevant for everyone – in the workplace, in everyday life, and for active citizenship.
The Advanced Mathematics Support Programme (AMSP) is a government-funded initiative. It is led and delivered by MEI. The AMSP aims to increase the number of students studying level 3 mathematics post-16 by raising participation in Core Maths, AS/A level Mathematics and AS/A level Further Mathematics and improving the teaching of these level 3 mathematics qualifications.
The programme provides national support for teachers and students in state-funded schools and colleges in England. Additional support is offered in areas of low social mobility aiming to enable all young people, whatever their gender, background, or location, to choose their best post-16 mathematics pathway and have access to high quality teaching.
Our submission provides evidence of the AMSP’s high quality provision to support learners in state-funded schools and colleges in England, whatever their background, to progress to study level 3 mathematics and move on to further study and careers in STEM and related subjects.
In this submission MEI will provide evidence addressing the following question from the Call for Evidence:
What has been done to address underrepresentation of particular groups in STEM roles?
MEI’s work in this area has predominantly been through the government funded AMSP and its predecessors, the Further Mathematics Support Programme (FMSP) and the Further Maths Network (FMN). Government funding in this area has been crucial, providing a consistent level of support nationally for high quality, wide-ranging student engagement and support, as well as a highly rated national programme of professional development to support teachers of secondary and post-16 mathematics.
Supporting schools and colleges
The AMSP works to support schools and colleges to offer high-quality teaching for AS/A level Mathematics, Further Mathematics and Core Maths qualifications. We offer a comprehensive programme of professional development so that teachers can upskill their mathematical subject and pedagogical knowledge, with a view to ensuring that all students, whatever their geographical location, have access to high quality mathematics teaching at GCSE and level 3. The professional development offer also includes support for teachers of other quantitative subjects at level 3 to develop their skills to teach level 3 Core Maths.
The AMSP provides additional support for state-funded schools and colleges in parts of England that have been identified as AMSP Priority Areas. These schools and colleges can access tailored support from their local AMSP Area Coordinator to assist with developing and implementing a plan to improve their level 3 mathematics provision and participation. Eligible schools and colleges can also receive subsidies towards travel costs, course fees and cover costs to help them to access professional development and student enrichment activities provided by the AMSP.
Inspiration to study mathematics post-16
To drive increased participation in Core Maths, AS/A level Mathematics and AS/A level Further Mathematics, the AMSP provides a national programme of enrichment activities for students aged 11-16. These activities are often held in school or at a local university or employer premises. Activities held at university and employer venues give many young people their first experience of these environments. More recently, our provision of online enrichment events has expanded, driven in part by school closures due to COVID-19. We want students attending these events to identify with the sentiment that ‘studying maths post-16 is for people like me’.
Our 11-16 enrichment events are inclusive for all students. They promote STEM careers and show where studying mathematics post-16 can take you. For example, in our ‘Which Career?’ panel events we use a diverse set of role models, and some enrichment events have a ‘speed dating’ style carousel where students have the opportunity to talk to a number of employees about how mathematics is valuable within their chosen career; these have been especially well received at the girls-focused enrichment events.
We provide literature and resources for teachers, students and their parents/carers, ensuring that we usediverse images and messages throughout, for example our Opening Doors leaflet and growing collection of World of Work videos.
Supporting progression to STEM degrees
The AMSP works to increase the number of students choosing to study for STEM degrees. To contribute to these aims, we promote the study of mathematics at level 3 to students in Key Stages 3 and 4 and support post-16 students to develop their mathematical problem-solving skills.
One notable area of our work is a national programme of support for preparation for university admissions tests. This ensures that all A level Mathematics students, whatever their circumstances, can access high-quality tuition to help prepare for the Sixth Term Examination paper (STEP), Mathematics Admission Test (MAT) or Test of Mathematics for University Admissions (TMUA). These examinations often form part of the entry requirements for mathematics and closely related degrees in leading universities. Students unable to access specialist support to prepare for these tests are at a considerable disadvantage when applying for such courses. Many state-funded schools and colleges have little or no experience of preparing students for such tests, and/or may not have teacher capacity to provide specialist support. Most of these courses are free of charge, and for those courses with a small charge this is waived for students from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Another notable element of AMSP support is the Further Mathematics tuition programme. Some schools and colleges are unable to offer AS/A level Further Mathematics, perhaps due to small cohort sizes or lack of qualified teaching staff. The AMSP’s tuition support ensures that all students in England in state funded schools and colleges, no matter what their background, can access Further Mathematics tuition. In 2021 there were approximately 15,000 A level Further Mathematics entries in England, up from just under 6,000 in 2005. Whilst not directly attributable, it is arguable that this increase is due in no small part to the work of the AMSP and its predecessor programmes over the intervening period, not only through providing tuition, but also by providing regional and national support for schools and colleges to enable them to offer AS/A level Further Mathematics.
During the school and college closures due to COVID-19 there was extensive media coverage about the disproportionate effect of the lockdown on students from disadvantaged backgrounds. The AMSP made available free online support packages for students making the transition from GCSE to A level Mathematics, or from A level Mathematics to a degree in STEM subjects. The aim of these online self-study courses was to help students to fill any gaps in their knowledge due to missed learning, and to help level the playing field for students as they progressed to the next stage of their education.
Increasing girls’ participation
In 2014/15, as part of the FMSP contract, research into girls’ participation in level 3 mathematics was commissioned. The research was carried out by the Institute of Education. It identified barriers to girls continuing with mathematics and other STEM subjects and suggested how they could be overcome. The AMSP has implemented and promoted these strategies and continues to update them using the latest research and data. This work is available to teachers through our Encouraging Girls’ Participation webpage. Also on the page are links to a number of highly regarded resources and organisations that promote the role of women in STEM.
Our regional teams work closely with schools and colleges in their area to provide information and support, including through teacher network meetings focused on how to increase girls’ participation.
This academic year we have introduced an online magazine for 6th form students, SUMS (Steps to University for Mathematical Students), to encourage and support applications to university mathematics courses.
We know that girls are less likely to apply to universities to study mathematics, less likely to receive offers, and less likely to be successful in university admissions tests, therefore we have tilted SUMS subtly towards girls.
SUMS has a focus on raising aspirations and, in addition to the online magazine, there will be a series of large enrichment events across England, targeted mainly at girls, to inspire students to consider studying mathematics at university.
The importance of Core Maths
Core Maths was first examined in 2016, so it is a relatively new qualification, but it already has over 12,000 entries per year. Core Maths offers the opportunity for all students who do not plan to take AS/A level Mathematics, and who have attained grade 4 or above at GCSE, to study mathematics post-16. Before Core Maths was introduced, there was no suitable post-16 mathematics qualification for these students. Each year, over a quarter of a million students with a grade 4 or above in GCSE mathematics stop studying mathematics at age 16. We hope that, over the coming years, Core Maths entries will grow significantly, so that it becomes the norm for all students to study maths to age 18, as happens in other developed countries. This is an important national aspiration, as explained in Professor Sir Adrian Smith’s 2017 review of post-16 mathematics education.
Core Maths supports progression to a wide range of STEM, social science, business and other degree courses, where studying mathematics between 16-18 will be a distinct advantage. It also provides students with the quantitative skills necessary for informed citizenship.
The AMSP is working hard to continue the upward trajectory in the number of students opting for Core Maths, offering support to schools to offer the course, professional development for teachers, and guidance for students about how Core Maths will support their future study and career choices, regardless of their future aspirations.
We also liaise with universities, sharing information about Core Maths and encouraging universities to make the value of mathematical skills and understanding clear in their course entry requirements, for example through a reduced offer for a student offering Core Maths. We share information about such universities on our website so that teachers, students and their parents can see some of the university messaging.
STEM Community
We regularly work with, and promote the work of, other organisations across the STEM community, including: IOP, STEM Learning, IET, Engineering UK, Maths4Girls and STEMettes, all of whom are seeking to increase the diversity of the STEM workforce. We are also supporters of the Tomorrow’s Engineers Code, to help increase the diversity and number of young people entering engineering careers.
Summary
This information can only give a flavour of some of the main elements of the work in this area of MEI and the AMSP. The key point of focus for this summary evidence document is that, whilst the support provided by the AMSP is freely available to all state-funded schools and colleges in England, we tilt our work to provide additional support to specific groups of students or areas of the country where there are stronger barriers to increasing participation. We also have a focus on increasing girls’ participation and provide detailed support and guidance in this area.
Continued government funding is critical to maintaining and expanding this valuable work, both in mathematics and across other STEM disciplines.
(January 2022)