The Department of Education has announced that primary schools in England will copy the Asian style of teaching maths. Around half the total number of schools in England, some 8,000 schools will receive a share of a £41m boost which will help in receiving support to adopt the approach used in various Asian cities including Shanghai, Singapore and Hong Kong. Tests show that 15 year olds in these cities who are unable to perform basic calculations, were over 10 percentage points lower than in England.
Following a teacher exchange program a number of English schools already use the Asian maths approach. The funding will ensure this approach is used more widely, with some 700 teachers to be trained to support schools in maths mastery.
Schools minister Nick Gibb, who visited Shanghai in March to see maths teaching in practice said “We are seeing a renaissance in maths teaching in this country, with good ideas from around the world helping to enliven our classrooms.”
