The challenges and potential for maths education in the UK

The Maths Horizons Project, rapid review of maths curriculum and assessment, published its interim report in February 2025, in response to the Department for Education's curriculum and assessment reviews. In it, they outlined their five main findings, shedding light on the current state of mathematics education in England, and its future direction.

As a prime contractor for the Department for Education on the NCETM program - supporting maths education around England - one of our key maths experts at Etio, Dr. Jen Shearman, Director for Evaluation and Impact for NCETM, underlined not just the report's most crucial findings, but also the insights that could be most valuable to the project and Maths Hubs Network.

Within the report, Maths Horizons Project outline five main findings:

1. Students and parents find maths valuable and enjoyable.
2. Over half of all teachers might underestimate their students’ potential in GCSE maths.
3. Teachers report the curriculum aims for maths education are not consistently achieved.
4. Competencies most valued by employers are those students are most confident in.
5. Frontier tech companies likely to lead future demand for maths competencies

With these at the forefront of the report, Dr. Shearman then raised the following interesting insights relevant to Etio, NCETM and Maths Hubs Network that could be crucial in developing the next stages of maths delivery and improvement:

• Teachers understand how to teach maths so pupils enjoy it. Teachers report that 61-80% (primary) and 41% (secondary) of their pupils enjoy maths.
• Enjoyment of maths drops relatively steadily over time, especially during the transitions from Key Stages 1 to 2, and Key Stage 4 to post-16.
• Secondary teachers have lower expectations of students' potential in maths than the students themselves.
• This mismatch in expectations worsens in more deprived schools. 13% of teachers in the least affluent schools believe more than 30% of students will not achieve grade 4 by age 19. Only 4% of teachers in the most affluent schools have this belief.
• Teachers report insufficient time to master curriculum content or to build fluency. Accountability drivers at key stages 2 and 4, incentivise maths teachers to focus on test and exam practice.
• Secondary schools are sceptical about the data they receive from primary schools. This leads to repetition in Key Stage 3.

Addressing these issues and building upon positive trends in students' enjoyment could significantly enhance the effectiveness of maths delivery and inspire a future where more students not only succeed in maths, but also consider their enjoyment of it in future career prospects. These improvements are not only crucial for educational equity but also for preparing a workforce capable of meeting future challenges.

To discover more about Etio's work on the NCETM program, or to get in touch about our mission to improve maths education globally, view our below insights piece.