What The Fibonacci was Rishi Sunak thinking when he recently announced that all young people will be expected to study maths until they are 18?

The fallout on #EduTwitter has been lively, to say the least. School leaders, teachers and other professional organisations, like The Dyscalculia Network, have given their views. Celebs such as Lucy Beaumont, Sophie Ellis-Bextor and Simon Pegg have also joined the conversation – with varying levels of ire. 

And Have I Got News For You says that Rishi Sunak has been urged to backtrack on compulsory maths plans after experts warn it will cause widespread division. Haha!

The point of this blog is not to focus on the Prime Minister’s proposal. It’s Fibonacci-ing ridiculous—end of. 

Instead, it’s going to focus on what school leaders can learn from:

• The (assumed) thinking and biases behind the proposed policy
• The way it was communicated
• The complete lack of diversity 

Overcome your personal biases

Rishi Sunak obviously loves maths and believes this subject to be more important than any other. 

From a personal perspective, I wasn’t a maths fan. I had a lot of help from the two people who sat behind me during lessons, and Jason Binks did most of my homework with/for me on the bus on the way home. 

Despite not studying maths since I was 16, I’ve managed to: hold down a job in a bank, oversee a £7m rebuild as a headteacher and ensure my school remained financially viable. And, although I’m renowned for not always getting my online quantities correct, I recently ordered a new duvet and pillowcases – which were the correct size. Get me!

As leaders, we all have our conscious and unconscious biases, which can have a massive impact on how we run our schools and the messages that we give our teams and the children. 

In terms of subjects:

• Do you offer a broad, balanced and accessible curriculum for all pupils? For those kids who find English or maths hard, do they get to enjoy the other subjects they might excel at? Or do they get more spelling and sums, during art, history and music, as part of interventions?
• Which areas do you invest in the most, and why? Is it all about the core subjects linked to the school development plan? Or are foundation subject leaders able to make a case for a pot of cash if they spot training or resources that will be beneficial?
• Which subjects do you appear to value the most, e.g. what do you talk about in assemblies, what do you write about in your newsletters, and what are your CPD sessions focused on?
• Are you solely focussing on academic subjects, or are you giving your children other talents and skills employers are already looking for? Such as:
• • Great communication
  • Emotional intelligence and empathy
  • Adaptability to change
  • Resilience and grit

If you feel you need to do more about this, our children and young people’s sessions are only a click away.             

Communicate any changes well

Sunak’s announcement about compulsory maths came out of the blue and was sparse in detail. There doesn’t appear to be a reason or rationale for this expectation, and indeed, there is no plan for implementing it yet. 

As school leaders, there are times when something new is coming up, and we’re excited about/already deeply invested in it. But it’s always better to err on the side of caution before sharing with your team.

If we want to take others along with us, we have to communicate any changes well and listen to Simon Sinek's advice, starting with the why:

• Why do we need this initiative now? 
• What is our data telling us? Where are the gaps/ areas to improve?
• Is there sound science, data, and research behind this solution? It can be tempting to sign our schools up for every shiny new initiative that comes along. However, Rishi’s ‘It just seems like a really good idea to me!’ approach isn’t the way.

If and when your team buys into new ways of working, they’ll quickly start thinking about what this looks like in the classroom – the how and the what. So, it also helps to pre-empt any follow-up questions and inspire confidence through a practical and actionable plan. 

You don’t want to stumble about from the outset or say, ‘We’ll work it out as we go along.’

‘How do you think the lack of maths teachers might impact your policy, Prime Minister?’ Ummm…

Encourage diversity

Although it helps young people to have a good, functional grasp of maths skills that will help them in life, many will want to pursue other directions and subjects – and that’s okay. In fact, it’s better than okay; it’s brilliant.

We know that, within the political domain, there’s a lack of diversity in education, in particular, and in schools. Most teachers go from secondary to uni and then back into school. So how well equipped are they to support students who think differently and want to enter careers?

Whilst the emphasis in schools is for the teachers to teach and the kids to learn:

• How are you creating partnerships so young people can explain and pursue their interests well supported by their teachers?
• How are you celebrating difference?
• How are you encouraging creative thinking in terms of what the future holds? Or do they still want to be either footballers or YouTubers?
• How are you ensuring your team has the necessary skills, knowledge and understanding to ensure that every child can fulfil their unique dream? Which may or may not be mathematical!