I spend a lot of my time promoting the importance of maths teaching in early years and primary. I represent the voice of the early years and primary expert group as a member of the Royal Society’s Advisory Committee on Maths Education.

So it was a happy moment, last week, to hear shadow education secretary Bridget Phillipson make the case for maths being “better taught at 6, never mind 16”.

But my optimism was cautious. In large part, my nervousness stemmed from Phillipson’s assertion that national work on phonics would provide the “template for [Labour’s] plans for primary maths”.

“But maths is so different from phonics!”, shouted the maths education community - myself included.

On reflection, though, there really is a lot that maths can learn from phonics and English. I’ll start with a few ways that maths might want to “be more phonics”.

1. No one thinks phonics is English

At Ark Curriculum Plus, we increased the focus on number sense in the early years of school, with explicit instruction in mental maths and arithmetic and regular practice in “maths meetings”.

Our impact inspired and underpinned the Maths Hubs’ “Mastering Number” initiative, which is bringing a more structured and systematic approach to the teaching of number to classes across the country.

This work is important, but the risk is that people start to equate “number sense” or “arithmetic” with “mathematics”. Such a reductionist approach could deny children the rich opportunities for reasoning and problem solving offered by the discipline of maths.

Teachers of English have worked hard to nurture a broad and balanced English offer that goes well beyond phonics. Maths must do the same.

2. English doesn’t have a ‘chronic cultural problem’

Of course, there are still low expectations and unmet needs in English teaching. But there’s a large and growing consensus that pretty much everyone can learn to read and write. There’s also an appreciation of the importance of children reading for pleasure, and of the virtuous cycle that is created when children read more and want to read more.

It’s joyful to work with thousands of primary teachers. They’re an inspiration in their willingness to believe in every child and their huge potential.

Sadly, their own experiences of learning maths were often so poor, and their own relationship with maths so weak, that their belief in every child is only paper thin.

• Is this the ‘right’ way to teach early maths?
• How to develop number sense
• What exactly is maths mastery, anyway?

Deep down, they believe that being “good” at maths is the preserve of a lucky few; and that it’s inevitable the majority will find it pretty bewildering.

The widespread use of tricks such as “keep, flip, change” (“KFC”) - in which pupils are advised to divide fractions by keeping the first fraction the same, flipping the second fraction over and changing the division sign to multiplication, before solving the problem by multiplying the numerators and denominators - is the result of disbelief that real mathematical understanding can be attained by the vast majority of people.

3. English is seen as beautiful and useful

We do teach maths (well, numeracy, at least) for functional reasons. As Phillipson says: “I want the numeracy all our young people need - for life and for work, to earn and to spend, to understand and to challenge. I want that to be part of their learning right from the start.”

But, taught well, maths is so much more than merely useful.

Becoming better at reasoning; at thinking mathematically - and everyone can become better, given the opportunity - increases your intellect. It equips you with ways of thinking, creating, reasoning and imaging that go far beyond fractions and trigonometry.

Let’s learn from English and not reduce an entire discipline to merely “number phonics”.

Warnings from phonics

So, there are a few ways in which maths specialists can learn from phonics and English. It also offers us a couple of lessons in what not to do.

1. Systematic teacher training

The introduction of phonics has come about primarily through changes to accountability measures; Ofsted is seriously into the teaching of early reading.

Beyond that, it has been left up to individual schools. And, arguably, teacher training has not kept pace with the shift.

This means that, in too many schools, children are being taught by teachers with insufficient training in phonics. Teachers still regularly tell me that “phonics just doesn’t work for some children”, despite the huge evidence base that - taught well - it really does.

To avoid repeating this mistake, initial teacher training and provision for early career teachers at primary must include a really significant emphasis on maths.

If we want real change, we need to commit to the next generation of young people being taught maths in a profoundly different, truly evidence-informed way.

This can only happen if their teachers fully buy into a new way of conceptualising the subject.
They need to revisit their own assumptions about maths and maths learning. Many of them will need the opportunity to experience really effective maths teaching themselves as learners.

Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, is absolutely right that we must give primary teachers “time and capacity”. Let’s find a way to do this systematically, right from the start of teachers’ careers.

2. Clarity over the role of the DfE

Primary headteachers are faced with a bewildering list of 45 Department for Education-validated phonics programmes from which to choose. This means that children often meet at least one approach to phonics in their early years provision and then a completely different approach in Reception.

Meanwhile, teachers moving from one school to another often have to entirely retrain in how they teach phonics.

There’s an important role for school groups, charities and commercial providers to play in innovation and providing for a variety of school contexts.

But when investing in new and improved approaches to primary maths, it’s vital that there is clarity over what will be led, provided or mandated centrally, and where space will be left for choice and innovation.

Helen Drury is executive director of education at Ark Curriculum Plus