Maths and science are taught so badly in many British primary schools
that pupils are ill-equipped to tackle these subjects when they go on to
secondary school, says the Office for Standards in Education.
In a report published this week, Ofsted, an independent education watchdog,
says teachers are suffering from low morale, compounded by antiquated laboratories,
overloaded curricula and a lack of opportunities to top up their skills.
The report is based on a survey of maths and science teaching at all levels,
from the first year in primary school to A level.
The impetus for the survey came from Stewart Sutherland, Chief Inspector
of Schools in England, who wanted to know why fewer pupils are choosing
to study science and maths at A level. The findings are based mainly on
anecdotal evidence drawn from interviews with teachers and education specialists.
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鈥楾hings start to go wrong for some pupils as early as age 6,鈥� says Ofsted.
Reports from school inspectors over the past year suggest that in primary
schools the quality of teaching is poorer in maths than in any other subject.
Forty one per cent of schools are 鈥榣ess than satisfactory in this respect鈥�,
and children鈥檚 understanding of maths is 鈥榩articularly weak in half of all
蝉肠丑辞辞濒蝉鈥�.
Ofsted is concerned that a large proportion of 8-to-11-year-olds have
a shaky foundation in maths, leaving them in a weak position when they go
on to secondary school. Many pupils in this age bracket lack skills in mental
arithmetic, which hampers the development of skills in more abstract areas
such as algebra.
The survey showed that teachers who have no formal training in mathematics
rely heavily on 鈥榦ff-the-shelf鈥� worksheets and exercise books. Many children
spend all their maths lessons working through page after page of mathematical
exercises.
鈥楶upils can come away with the view that mathematics is not about anything,鈥�
says Ofsted. Children might typically go home and tell their parents: 鈥楾oday,
we found out about Queen Elizabeth I, measured how much our leaves had grown
and did pages 8 and 9 in maths.鈥�
The survey found that few primary school teachers have more than a GCSE
pass in mathematics. Despite this, government cuts have forced local authorities
to cut back on schemes to help teachers top up their skills.
Alan Smithers, professor of education at the University of Manchester,
says that with a clearer national curriculum, from now on newly trained
teachers are likely to be better at maths and science. 鈥楤ut in the meantime,
it鈥檚 vitally important that grants for retraining should continue to be
directed at upgrading our existing supply of teachers.鈥�
In secondary schools, teachers have had to adjust to a drastically altered
curriculum. All secondary pupils now have to study some science, and the
traditional single science courses in biology, physics and chemistry have
largely given way to a more general science course. Teachers trained in
one discipline now find they have to teach all three. 鈥楾eachers of science
and mathematics above all others have had to carry the implications of the
National Curriculum and its revisions,鈥� says Ofsted.
鈥楾heir laboratories are in a declining state of repair and ageing equipment
is fast reaching an unserviceable condition,鈥� says Ofsted. It is not surprising,
it says, that some science teachers find it difficult to teach with much
enthusiasm.
Those teachers interviewed 鈥榩ainted a picture of a downtrodden workforce,
getting by day-to-day with Heath Robinson equipment, making and mending
and borrowing equipment and apparatus in tatty laboratories and classrooms鈥�.
Ofsted urges the government to take steps to improve the quality of
maths teaching in primary schools through top-up and relearning courses.
The government should also set priorities for improving school laboratories,
it says.
