How to develop maths leadership and teaching across a trust

Rebecca Hircock is a Year 1 teacher, maths lead, and Lead Practitioner of Maths for Hornchurch Academy Trust. We spoke to her about the trust’s work with London North East Maths Hub, and the benefits the trust has seen in the teaching, learning and leadership of maths.

Tell us a little about you, and your school and trust’s context

I work as a Year 1 teacher and maths lead at Upminster Infant School, and I’m a Lead Practitioner of Maths for the whole trust. I started my teaching career around six years ago in KS2, then moved to KS1. Our trust has six schools: three infant and three junior. The majority of our schools are based in Havering, meaning our local hub is London North East Maths Hub.

How and why did you first get involved with the hub?

A teacher joined the trust and told us about working with her local Maths Hub when she was at a previous school. We liked what we heard, and were motivated to find out more about our own hub and the support and professional development available.

As a trust, although we were already achieving high outcomes, we wanted to further strengthen teaching and learning in maths across all our schools while developing pupils’ fluency and confidence. We wanted to improve the quality of maths teaching, leadership, and overall outcomes by providing staff with sustainable professional development based on evidence-informed approaches.

A key focus of the work was supporting teachers to refine their teaching by providing guidance on curriculum implementation, and by exploring effective approaches such as teaching for mastery. We also wanted to focus on reasoning and problem-solving strategies. 

Hornchurch Academy Trust started working with us at LNE around three years ago as part of Mastery Readiness. Since then, they've soaked up everything we've had to offer, they have LLME (local leaders of mathematics education), and are just going from strength to strength.
Samira Islam, Maths Hub Lead, London North East Maths Hub

What has the trust’s work with the Maths Hub involved?

The team at London North East (LNE) have supported the trust by providing high-quality professional development. Our schools have been involved in dozens of NCETM and Maths Hub programmes and Work Groups this year alone. These have included Teaching for Mastery Work Groups, Mastering Number at KS2, and SKTM programmes to improve subject knowledge for ECTs, experienced teachers and TAs. 

Here at Upminster, we have focused particularly on our pupils with additional needs, joining SEND-specific Work Groups and taking part in a Regional Special Schools Community. Engaging with the Maths Hub has provided valuable opportunities for collaboration with other schools outside the trust too, enabling us to share best practice and learn from others on a similar journey.

The hub leads from LNE – Ginny Reddick and Samira Islam – have played a crucial role in supporting our schools. They have overseen the work, facilitating the sharing of learning, offering guidance, and providing constructive feedback to strengthen teaching and learning in maths. 

Involving trust leaders has been as important as developing teachers’ knowledge and pedagogy, and Ginny has met with the CEO, Chris Hobson, to discuss the development of maths across the trust. She has also led trust-wide INSET days, ensuring that key messages and approaches are communicated consistently. This work has helped to strengthen collaboration between our schools, and to support the ongoing improvement of maths teaching across the trust.

Working with the Maths Hub has been a game-changer for our schools. The training and support they offer is top quality – practical, research-informed, and always focused on what really works in the classroom. Our teachers have grown in confidence, and the impact on children's learning has been fantastic. This is particularly evident in the way children engage with their learning — they’re more curious, resilient, and eager to explore mathematical ideas.

Being part of the Maths Hub community has enabled all the schools in our trust to spend quality time together, learning from the Maths Hub Leads and each other. We’re not doing this alone. The Maths Hub Leads have taken the time to really get to know us and our schools, which means the support we receive is relevant and targeted — including brilliant bespoke INSET days tailored to our needs.
Chris Hobson, Trust CEO

Developing our leadership of maths has also been important, and teachers in the trust have trained to become NCETM-accredited Primary Mastery Specialists and PD Leads. Many of our teachers are now highly skilled and helping to build capacity and develop expertise across the trust by leading their own Work Groups. Working with Ginny and Samira has enhanced this development of maths leadership; through coaching and mentoring, they have helped to build both individual expertise and the school’s overall maths provision.

What differences have you observed in maths lessons since working with the hub?

Evidence of pupils demonstrating fluency has increased significantly across the trust since the start of our journey. Pupils are now much more curious about maths and enjoy exploring concepts in their own way. Teachers have developed greater confidence in delivering engaging lessons and are using a wider range of strategies to deepen understanding and support all pupils.

What are your future plans for working with the hub?

We want to have more Primary Mastery Specialists across the trust to further strengthen expertise and leadership in maths. We also want to establish more in-house Work Groups, enabling staff to collaborate more closely and continue developing high-quality teaching practices. 

As our capacity grows, the trust intends to share its developing practice more widely, supporting other schools and contributing to the wider professional community. Ginny will continue to work closely with our senior leaders to support strategic development, ensuring that maths remains a key priority and that improvements in teaching and learning are sustained across all our schools.

Through the Maths Hub, we’ve embraced the Five Big Ideas of Teaching for Mastery – fluency, representation, variation, coherence, and mathematical thinking. These have really helped us to plan and deliver lessons that build deep understanding, not just quick answers. As a result, our pupils are better able to reason, explain their thinking, and make connections in their learning – and teachers feel much more secure in how to support this.
The collaboration, the shared expertise, and the genuine sense of partnership have not only raised standards, but also boosted morale. It’s professional development that truly makes a difference – and honestly, we wouldn’t want to be without it.
Chris Hobson, Trust CEO