Worries

A Twitter conversation almost recruitment this calendar week got me worrying. I went to bed that nighttime feeling the weight of the footing on my shoulders.

Being a maths instructor is wonderful, as well as if yous e'er doubtfulness that as well as then read Ed Southall's ship service 10 reasons why it's a bully fourth dimension to move a maths teacher. But it is the best of times as well as the worst of times. Let me tell yous some of the things that are on my mind...

1. Recruitment
Undoubtedly the biggest challenge nosotros confront is a dire shortage of maths teachers. I don't trust any data inward instruction thence let's accept a quick aspect at the anecdotal evidence. Have yous seen the huge disclose of maths instructor vacancies beingness advertised on TES this week? That disclose is laid to increase dramatically over the coming weeks equally schools desperately sweat to win the race to recruit trainee teachers.

My schoolhouse is planning to significantly increase the disclose of maths lessons for our students at both Key Stage three as well as iv from September. This, coupled alongside the e'er increasing uptake of maths at Key Stage 5, agency that my schoolhouse volition move looking to recruit at to the lowest degree two novel maths teachers over the coming year. Other schools are inward the same position. This continued increasing demand against a backdrop of diminishing provide is a really serious concern.

The contest for maths teachers is fierce. There aren't plenty of us to become round. Across the country, a whole generation of students volition endure dreadfully. I wrote almost this inward Schools Week finally Dec as well as the province of affairs has only worsened since then. Teachers are beingness driven out of the profession past times utterly unsustainable workloads as well as nosotros are exactly unable to supervene upon them.

What volition plow over off if nosotros can't fill upwards our vacancies? Initially nosotros volition encounter an increase inward course of written report sizes. As most classrooms don't create got the desk infinite for to a greater extent than than 34 students, this volition create got the greatest bear upon on depression attainers whose classes may good double inward size. Eventually nosotros volition outset to encounter an absence of teachers inward the classroom, alongside online delivery of content perhaps beingness the only option. This is hardly conducive to a practiced education. I strongly suspect that nosotros volition lose the 'global race' that the Government cares thence much about.

One finally stance regarding recruitment. School budgets are ridiculously tight - the fiscal province of affairs horrifies me. Every spare penny should move spent on our students, non on extortionate fees for project adverts. Schools are spending serious amounts of coin advertising for maths teachers for weeks on end. Precious instruction budget is sitting inward the pockets of the TES. How really frustrating.

2. Curriculum Changes
Changes to the maths curriculum are coming thick as well as fast as well as it's downwards to teachers to sweat to brand sense of huge amounts of information as well as mixed messages.

The novel GCSE is going to move really challenging for the vast bulk of students. Our electrical flow Year 10s are guinea pigs. At Year 10 Parents Evening this calendar week I had to acknowledge to parents that I wasn't alone certain almost gradings - my predictions are based on vague hunches rather than experience. Maths teachers are inward the dark. And we're competing against each other for the plow over grades.

I'm doing all I perhaps tin to brand certain I know the novel specification, but it's much harder than it should be. The workload is huge. The procedure of implementing this novel qualification has non run smoothly as well as nosotros tin only promise that the implementation of the novel Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 flat qualifications is a amend experience for both teachers as well as students.

Another matter that worries me is the novel Foundation GCSE. It contains topics that are inward no way appropriate or necessary for Foundation students. Even to a greater extent than worrying though is that fact that thence many more students volition straightaway sit down Foundation papers when previously they would create got been entered for the Higher Tier. I abhor the depression expectations associated alongside proverb 'it is impossible for yous to accomplish higher than a Grade 5'. And at the same fourth dimension many of the students who discovery maths hard are inward classes alongside badly behaved peers who concur them dorsum fifty-fifty further. It breaks my heart.

Finally, the thinking behind the novel Key Stage 2 resits is flawed inward many ways. Mel sums upwards her concerns brilliantly inward her ship service Year vii resits ... genius idea. This is some other poorly stance out policy that may destination upwards beingness detrimental to both students as well as teachers. Yet some other matter to worry about.

Solutions?
There's a uncomplicated long-term solution to many of these problems. Reduce contact time. If teachers spent less fourth dimension inward front end of students as well as then they would create got the chance to excogitation effectively, grade well, collaborate alongside colleagues, implement novel policies, heighten their discipline noesis as well as larn from best practice. The character of maths instruction would improve as well as at the same time, recruitment as well as retentiveness problems would diminish. The electrical flow workload is killing us. But how tin the Government prepare this? Reducing contact fourth dimension across the board would require vast amounts of coin as well as vast numbers of novel teachers. Either that or less children... It's an impossible situation. This is what keeps me upwards at night. This is why I worry.

I must destination this ship service on a positive note. I am a worrier, but I am likewise an optimist. I dear beingness a maths teacher. I'm doing something actually important. Fellow maths teachers, when faced alongside challenging times, produce non plow your dorsum on the profession - generations of children demand you! Maths needs you! I demand you! This is important, let's non give up. But let's back upwards each other when things acquire tough as well as produce everything nosotros perhaps can, inward our ain schools as well as our ain classrooms, to brand the really best of what we've got.