Secondary Mastery Specialists

Want to become a specialist in teaching for mastery and support your own and other schools to develop teaching for mastery approaches? Join the Secondary Mastery Specialist Programme. During the programme you will receive fully funded professional development from experts, have time to develop your own expertise, and then to support others.

Any teacher (excluding ECTs) who is teaching maths in a state-funded secondary school in England and who wishes to develop both their own classroom practice and their skills in leading professional development with others can apply to become a Secondary Mastery Specialist.

Click on the diagram below to see the ‘Secondary Schools pathway’.

•  Year One: you participate in several professional development events and focus on developing your own classroom teaching.
•  Year Two: your focus is on developing teaching for mastery approaches within your own department and honing your skills in leading professional development.
•  Year Three and beyond: you support key teachers in other local schools to develop a teaching for mastery approach within their own departments.

What is involved?

The Secondary Mastery Specialist Programme enables secondary maths teachers to become experts in teaching for mastery, so they in turn can develop maths departments that are well-led, high-performing, and provide high-quality professional development through collaborative working.

Over a minimum of three years, participants first work on their own understanding and practice, then with their own department, then with other departments as a Local Leader of Maths Education for their Maths Hub.

All the time, you keep in touch with other specialists across the country in online groups. You can share experiences and continue developmental conversations.

To support you in developing your role as a leader of professional development you will be enrolled in the NCETM’s PD Lead Programme during the second year of the Secondary Mastery Specialist Programme.

What is the cost?

 The Secondary Mastery Specialist Programme is fully funded by the Maths Hubs Programme so is free to participating schools.

How can you find out more?

Find out more about mastery in our case studies. And take a look at the Mastery Specialist Programme in more detail in this diagram.

This video was produced in 2018/19. It describes the programme in more detail and lets you hear from teachers in some of the schools involved.

The application window for the 2024/25 Secondary Mastery Specialists is now closed. Please add you details to our waiting list if you would like to be sent information once the 25/26 recruitment window opens.