TSM Spotlight – Matthew Arnold School, Staines-upon-Thames, Middlesex

Targeted Support in Mathematics (TSM) gives schools the chance to work towards the full Teaching for Mastery Programme by addressing specific barriers to implementation in order to meet pupil needs in each school. 

Intensive support involves a bespoke provision for leaders and teachers. Working with a dedicated Intensive Support Partner to create strategic plans and long-term goals, schools can address their own unique challenges and create a maths teaching culture which ensures that teaching for mastery will be built on a solid foundation. 

In our TSM Spotlight series, we hear from schools that have taken part in Intensive support as part of the TSM programme, and learn how they are already seeing improvements in maths teaching and learning.

Why Intensive support?

The Matthew Arnold School in Staines-upon-Thames in Middlesex is part of the Bourne Education Trust, a large MAT which consists of around 30 schools in London and the South East. Matthew Arnold has around 950 students on roll, and approximately 20% of students are eligible for free school meals – a figure which is higher than average for the local area.

In September 2023, Natasha Van Duyn joined as second in department, closely followed in January 2024 by new director of maths, Hajar Aslam. Both had a strong desire to turn the department around, and to deliver a curriculum which supported students to become confident mathematicians. The maths department was already involved with the local hub, North-East Hants and Surrey (NEHS) Maths Hub, but Hajar and Natasha knew they needed more support to ‘steady the ship’.

What needed to change?

Hajar identified that the department needed to start by developing a curriculum for KS3 and KS4 which was fit for purpose. With the prospect of an Ofsted inspection on the horizon, they initially wanted to make small changes which would not cause upheaval, then to implement a robust five-year vision. Hajar explained it simply: ‘our vision was to make it sustainable and to build the team’.

Graeme Watts, assistant head and line manager for maths, also knew that Hajar and his team had to ask some hard questions about what needed to be done differently. ‘We knew results weren’t good enough, and we knew things needed to change’, he said.

What did Intensive support involve?

The Matthew Arnold School had worked with NEHS Maths Hub in 2018/19 and 2019/20 as part of Research and Innovation Work Groups, but it was Intensive support, throughout 2023/24, which supported the school to address the barriers that had prevented the maths department from taking part in a Teaching for Mastery Work Group. The school subsequently joined a Teaching for Mastery (Developing) Work Group in September 2024 and have been part of Teaching for Mastery Work Groups ever since.

When Becky Shepherd, NEHS Maths Hub Lead, began the intensive support with the department, Hajar’s predecessor was finishing his tenure; it was when Hajar took up the post that Becky really felt things start to shift. ‘We wanted to make maths the flagship department of the school’, Graeme said, ‘and we trusted Hajar, Natasha and Becky to do this’.

The first six months of the support involved ‘steadying’ the department, and then the intensive work began. Becky stressed that it was about ‘working alongside’, not ‘telling’, and building on the department’s strengths and identified priorities.

Departmental professional development was crucial in moving towards an embedded mastery curriculum, and Natasha attended Work Group sessions, then shared what she had learned with colleagues and supported them to put it into practice. The question was always asked: 'How do we capture the training and make sure that what happens benefits the teachers back in the department?' Hajar and Becky worked on ensuring that whoever attended any training after the Intensive support could bring back key findings and suggestions of how to implement them at Matthew Arnold.

As well as Hajar’s leadership and Natasha’s input, Becky and Simon Petri (Senior Leadership Link at NEHS Maths Hub) visited the school regularly, working with Hajar and Graeme. This created an opportunity for the school’s vision to be embedded further, and gave teachers time to reflect on and try new approaches in their classrooms in a supportive environment of professional growth. Planning was also interrogated, and the department looked closely at modelling, delivery and AfL for all lessons. 

What changed?

As a result of working with the Maths Hub, Matthew Arnold School is already seeing improvements in the teaching and learning of maths, and in student outcomes. The percentage of students achieving a grade 4 or above in GCSE Maths has gone up 20 points from 60% in 2024 to 80% in 2026.

‘How assessment happens and how books look has changed’, Hajar says. ‘Students are now more confident in using their books for revision and revisiting what they have learned’. There is less reliance on intervention and drop-down days to fill gaps in students’ learning, because Year 11 start the year ready to build on an existing solid foundation of mathematical knowledge.

Planning is of a much higher quality, and shows clear evidence of the professional development that is happening in Work Groups being brought back into school. ‘Every child is now getting a good deal, whoever is in front of them’, Graeme says.

The team know that it has taken work to make changes, but the long-term gains are obvious. ‘There have been lots of hard days, but the students are the ones who are benefitting’, Hajar says, adding that, ‘Now, the curriculum is working harder than the staff!’

What’s next?

Intensive support is about making any improvements in maths teaching, learning and leadership sustainable, and Becky is keen to explain that Hajar, Natasha and the team now have ‘some really impactful systems and structures in place that ensure the steps forward are sustainable’. She adds that, ‘Two years on and the team are now involved in a collaborative planning Work Group, which supports ongoing department development.’

If you think your school may be eligible for Intensive support to help you build the foundation for improvement in maths teaching and learning, contact your local Maths Hub.