Worries

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

Being a maths instructor is wonderful, too if y'all e'er doubtfulness that too hence read Ed Southall's ship service 10 reasons why it's a dandy fourth dimension to travel a maths teacher. But it is the best of times too the worst of times. Let me tell y'all some of the things that are on my mind...

1. Recruitment
Undoubtedly the biggest challenge nosotros human face upwards is a dire shortage of maths teachers. I don't trust any data inwards educational activity hence let's cause got a quick human face at the anecdotal evidence. Have y'all seen the huge discover of maths instructor vacancies beingness advertised on TES this week? That discover is laid to growth dramatically over the coming weeks equally schools desperately endeavor to win the race to recruit trainee teachers.

My schoolhouse is planning to significantly growth the discover of maths lessons for our students at both Key Stage three too four from September. This, coupled alongside the e'er increasing uptake of maths at Key Stage 5, way that my schoolhouse volition travel looking to recruit at to the lowest degree two novel maths teachers over the coming year. Other schools are inwards the same position. This continued increasing demand against a backdrop of diminishing render 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 close this inwards Schools Week in conclusion Dec too the province of affairs has only worsened since then. Teachers are beingness driven out of the profession yesteryear utterly unsustainable workloads too nosotros are merely unable to supervene upon them.

What volition plow over if nosotros can't create total our vacancies? Initially nosotros volition come across an growth inwards degree sizes. As most classrooms don't cause got the desk infinite for to a greater extent than than 34 students, this volition cause got the greatest bear upon on depression attainers whose classes may good double inwards size. Eventually nosotros volition starting fourth dimension to come across an absence of teachers inwards 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 hence much about.

One concluding persuasion regarding recruitment. School budgets are ridiculously tight - the fiscal province of affairs horrifies me. Every spare penny should travel spent on our students, non on extortionate fees for chore adverts. Schools are spending serious amounts of coin advertising for maths teachers for weeks on end. Precious educational activity budget is sitting inwards the pockets of the TES. How really frustrating.

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

The novel GCSE is going to travel 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 solely certain close gradings - my predictions are based on vague hunches rather than experience. Maths teachers are inwards the dark. And we're competing against each other for the transcend grades.

I'm doing all I mayhap 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 too nosotros tin only promise that the implementation of the novel Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 bird qualifications is a ameliorate experience for both teachers too students.

Another affair that worries me is the novel Foundation GCSE. It contains topics that are inwards no way appropriate or necessary for Foundation students. Even to a greater extent than worrying though is that fact that hence many more students volition straightaway sit down Foundation papers when previously they would cause got been entered for the Higher Tier. I loathe the depression expectations associated alongside maxim 'it is impossible for y'all to reach higher than a Grade 5'. And at the same fourth dimension many of the students who honor maths hard are inwards classes alongside badly behaved peers who concord them dorsum fifty-fifty further. It breaks my heart.

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

Solutions?
There's a elementary long-term solution to many of these problems. Reduce contact time. If teachers spent less fourth dimension inwards forepart of students too hence they would cause got the chance to excogitation effectively, grade well, collaborate alongside colleagues, implement novel policies, get upwards their champaign of written report cognition too acquire from best practice. The character of maths educational activity would improve too at the same time, recruitment too 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 too 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 besides an optimist. I honey 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 require you! Maths needs you! I require you! This is important, let's non give up. But let's back upwards each other when things acquire tough too produce everything nosotros mayhap can, inwards our ain schools too our ain classrooms, to brand the really best of what we've got.