MEI Annual Review & Accounts 2013-2014mei.org.uk/files/pdf/MEI-Annual-Review-2014.pdf · Annual Review & Accounts. 2013-2014 ˜˚˛˝˙ˆˆˇ˙˘˝ ˚ ˛˚ ˝ ˝˙ ˇˆ AnualAnu In

Annual Review & Accounts2013-2014

MEI ANNUAL REVIEW & ACCOUNTS 2013-2014

In this, MEI’s first annual review, we consider the highlights of the last academic year and look forward to what the next year may bring.

Government recognition of the importance to the economy of a population able to use maths effectively in the workplace has inspired unprecedented levels of change in mathematics education:

» a new, more demanding National Curriculum has just been introduced

» new, more demanding, Mathematics GCSEs are being introduced, for first teaching from September 2015

» new AS/A levels in Mathematics and Further Mathematics are expected to follow in 2016

» new Core Maths qualifications have been developed for those students who achieve a grade C or better in GCSE Mathematics, but who do not want to study AS/A level Mathematics

» for those who do not achieve a grade C or above at age 16, and who continue in full-time study, new 16-19 Study Programmes mean they must keep studying towards passing GCSE Mathematics.

These changes represent huge challenges to maths education, particularly in curriculum development and in the professional development of teachers. I believe this review shows the huge contribution MEI is making, and will continue to make in the future, to help meet them.

Charlie Stripp Chief Executive, MEI

Executive Statement

1


Mathematics in Education and Industry is an independent national charity committed to improving maths education and to supporting maths learning in the workplace.

We support the teaching, learning and assessment of maths. We work to achieve this directly, through partnerships, and by influencing and advising on policy development. We aim to develop understanding, confidence and enjoyment in using maths, to encourage the participation and engagement of learners, and to support and inspire teachers.

Our people MEI has a highly committed team of people all working hard to achieve our aims. We have 10 trustees, who are also directors of the charity. Their diverse career paths have included school and university teaching, business management, engineering and consultancy, and they bring a wealth of experience to MEI. They are committed to ensuring that MEI’s corporate governance is both robust and true to our values.Our academic staff, who are experts in maths education, are based all over England. We also have a great support team based at our offices in Trowbridge, Wiltshire, managing the financial and administrative aspects of our work. In addition we have an Advisory Panel of external experts who provide us with informal strategic advice.

Our membersIndividual teachers can choose to become members of MEI and contribute to our work, and we offer free membership and support to Mathematics Teacher training Scholars.

Schools and colleges can also register with us for free as Educational Associates. We encourage our members and associates to participate in our work, particularly with our curriculum development programmes, and to engage in curricular consultations.

Our WorkOur work includes developing specifications and schemes of assessment, providing professional development opportunities for teachers, and publishing teaching and learning resources including our highly regarded ‘Integral’ online resources.We also provide direct support to students through the highly successful Further Mathematics Support Programme (FMSP), which is funded by the Department for Education (DfE). This programme was developed by MEI and has been managed by us since its inception in 2005.We focus on the education of 11-19 year-olds, supporting all learners following academic and vocational pathways. We are also involved in adult and higher education.Most of our work is based in England and Wales, but we also support maths education in other parts of the world, generally in an advisory capacity.

Who we work with We have a rich network of relationships with beneficiaries, partners and other stakeholders. We often collaborate with other organisations to extend the reach and impact of our work.MEI is a partner in the consortium that manages the DfE-funded National Centre for Excellence in the Teaching of Mathematics (NCETM). Charlie Stripp, MEI’s Chief Executive, is also Director of the NCETM, seconded from MEI on a half-time basis.

Who we are

Top: Carol Knights leads our work on KS4 extension and enrichment

Middle: Simon Clay leads our Teaching Advanced Mathematics courses

Bottom: Bernard Murphy leads our Teacher Support Programme

2


Left: Experiencing how maths is used in the workplace

Top: Debbie Barker leads our Teaching GCSE Maths course

Bottom: In 2013 Stella Dudzic, Programme Leader for Curriculum at MEI, was appointed by the Royal Statistical Society as the Guy Lecturer to tour schools to increase the visibility of statistics

MEI’s discussion and position papers on government initiatives and policies are always a model of logical analysis and common sense.

3


The maths education environment

The educational environment in England continues to change rapidly and this has had a major impact on our work over the last year.

The government has made maths education a high priority, driving forward a number of fast-paced educational reforms, including major curriculum and qualification changes and the implementation of plans to encourage all young people to continue to study maths between the ages of 16 and 19.Towards the end of the year the government launched its ‘Your Life’ Campaign, which aims to encourage more young people and especially girls to study more maths and physics. MEI and the FMSP have signed up to this campaign and contributed pledges to support it.We hope that these changes, combined with the efforts of MEI and other campaigns and organisations, will have a positive impact not only on participation in maths education at all ages, but also on attitudes to maths.

Working towards GCSE MathsAt the beginning of last year the government introduced 16-19 Study Programmes, a core principle of which is that any student who has not achieved grade A* to C in GCSE Mathematics and English by the age of 16 must continue to work towards achieving it. Coinciding with the introduction of 16-19 Study Programmes, young people are required to stay in education or training until the summer after they reach age 17. From 2015 this rises to the summer after they reach age 18. Together, these changes have resulted in a huge increase in the number of learners working towards resitting GCSE Mathematics. There is also a significant shortfall in the number of maths specialist teachers in the post-16 Education and Training

sector, and many teachers in this sector lack confidence in maths themselves. Over the last couple of years, MEI has been engaged in supporting this sector. We had already devised professional development courses targeted at Functional Skills Mathematics and resit GCSE Mathematics and last year, funded by the DfE, we developed two free guides to support the integration of the maths study and work experience elements of 16-19 Study Programmes.

Core MathsMEI has long championed the principle that young people should continue to participate in maths education after achieving grade C or better in GCSE Mathematics. We were therefore delighted that the government decided to introduce new level 3 Core Maths qualifications. From 2016 these will count within the TechBacc1 performance measure, and from 2017 they will also count within the proposed level 3 maths measure2 in 16-19 performance tables.Core Maths qualifications are designed for students who have achieved grade C or better in GCSE Mathematics, but who do not intend to take AS/A level Mathematics. They enable learners to strengthen and develop the mathematical knowledge and skills they have learnt at GCSE so that they can apply them to the problems that they will encounter in further study, life and employment. MEI was funded by the DfE to develop a curriculum suitable for Core Maths based on the ideas of Professor Sir Timothy Gowers. The curriculum is called ‘Critical Maths’ and is designed to develop high level mathematical reasoning skills in the context of real problems.

1 DfE (2013). The Technical Baccalaureate Performance Table Measure

2 DfE (2014). Core Maths Qualifications: Technical Guidance

4


The curriculum, sample assessments and resources were made available to all of the awarding bodies to support their development of Core Maths qualifications.Over the last year we have worked intensively, in partnership with the OCR awarding body, to design a new specification suitable for Core Maths designation. Time was tight as it needed to be in place for early-adopter schools and colleges, so they could begin teaching Core Maths from September 2014. In the end we developed not one but two different specifications: the Quantitative Problem Solving (MEI) Level 3 Certificate, which emphasises the development of statistical problem solving skills, and the Quantitative Reasoning (MEI) Level 3 Certificate, which incorporates approaches from our Critical Maths curriculum. Both qualifications build on the Level 3 Certificate in Quantitative Methods that we developed in partnership

with OCR, and which was accredited for first teaching from September 2014.We hope that these qualifications will also meet the DfE’s requirements for designated Core Maths qualifications.

MEI was funded by the DfE to develop a curriculum suitable for Core Maths based on the ideas of Professor Sir Timothy Gowers. The curriculum is called ‘Critical Maths’ and is designed to develop high level mathematical reasoning skills in the context of real problems.

Left to right: Stella Dudzic, Programme Leader (Curriculum), Charlie Stripp, MEI Chief Executive, Professor Sir Timothy Gowers, Terry Dawson, Curriculum Developer

A Critical Maths problem example

The worldwide average for airline luggage going astray is 6.96 bags per thousand passengers. For LoAir, less than 0.36 bags per thousand passengers go astray.

What impression does this give you? Does knowing that LoAir charge for checked luggage and that many of their passengers travel with hand luggage only change your mind? What would be a fair way to compare airline performance on getting luggage to the right place?

5


GCSE and AS/A level curriculum changeThe year was also a significant one for changes in the design of the GCSE and AS/A level curricula and qualifications. MEI always participates in national consultations related to maths, contributing solutions and strategies to improve maths education and speaking out against proposals we believe will be detrimental. Given the extent and likely duration of the proposed changes to GCSE and AS/A level qualifications, we were particularly active in developing our responses to both DfE and Ofqual consultations.We were also proactive in ensuring that teachers were informed of the proposed changes and the impact they might have.As we move into 2014-15 we are fully engaged in developing specifications for the new AS/A levels in Mathematics and Further Mathematics, which are planned to be ready for first teaching from September 2016.

Maths HubsIn July 2014 lead schools were selected for a new, DfE-funded initiative to form a network of 35 Maths Hubs across England. These will provide strategic leadership in maths teaching by coordinating support to improve the maths provision in schools and colleges in their regions; supporting the implementation of national programmes; exemplifying good practice; and testing innovations. The Maths Hubs programme is managed by the NCETM and is a further significant change to the maths education landscape in England. As a key partner in the NCETM consortium, MEI has been instrumental in the development

of the Maths Hubs programme. The FMSP is a national Strategic Partner in the programme and MEI is actively engaging with the Hubs at a local level.

Changing attitudes towards mathsThis summer’s A level examinations once again showed a rise in the number of students taking AS and A level Mathematics and Further Mathematics. These two subjects are more popular than ever before and Mathematics overtook English as the most popular A level subject in the UK, with 88,816 entries compared with 85,336 for English. The supply of suitably prepared students for mathematically-rich degree courses and careers has never been better, although there is still a need for many more young people to study maths to this level. There is also a need to address the gender imbalance among students taking the maths A levels; despite substantial increases in girls’ participation, in 2014 in England girls made up only 39% of A level Mathematics students and 28% of A level Further Mathematics students3.MEI has played a significant role in increasing participation in maths A levels and we will continue to work to raise participation in post-16 mathematics and to address the gender imbalance. There is still a long way to go, but it does seem that the tide is beginning to turn in public attitudes to maths in the UK. Young people are now much more aware of the importance of working hard in maths at school and college, and of the value of maths skills in enabling them to access exciting careers and degree courses. It’s becoming far less cool to say “I can’t do maths”.

The Royal Institution and the FMSP held the Celebrating Women in Mathematics event, which was attended by 300 students.

Girls made up only 39% of A level Mathematics students and 28% of A level Further Mathematics students.

3 Source JCQ

6


Top: Delegates enjoy MEI’s 2014 Annual Conference

Below: Last year the FMSP organised over 50 enrichment events for students

Highlights of the year

Teacher SupportMEI supports teachers in many ways, but one of the most valued is our delivery of high-quality, inspirational professional development. Last year we broadened our range to include a Head of Maths course and a New National Curriculum course. We also expanded the delivery of our year-long Teaching Advanced Mathematics (TAM) course to ten cohorts, working with eight different university partners. In addition we made a major contribution to a maths education initiative funded by the London Schools Excellence Fund (LSEF), running six projects across London to improve teaching and learning in GCSE and A level Mathematics.

MEI’s annual conferenceA regular highlight every year is MEI’s annual three-day conference. Our 2014 conference was no exception, with many considering it our best ever. Over 170 teachers took part and there was a real buzz throughout, with maths discussions going on day and night, whether in workshops or scribbled on a napkin over dinner.

Student SupportMost of MEI’s direct work with students takes place through the FMSP, which provides tuition to students of AS and A level Further Mathematics and enrichment and extension at KS4 and KS5.The FMSP works in many ways to encourage schools and colleges to develop their capacity to teach AS/A level Further Mathematics and to increase participation to levels at which it is viable for them to offer the tuition themselves. As a result, the demand for FMSP tuition of AS and A level Further Mathematics has been falling for several

years, which is an encouraging trend. This has continued, with the number of students reducing from 373 to 251.Last year the contract to manage the Further Mathematics Support Programme (FMSP) from April 2014 was put out to tender and MEI, working in partnership with the NCETM and the Institute of Education, was successful in securing it. The level of funding is greater than in previous contracts and this has enabled us to increase our support for teachers and enrichment opportunities for students.In addition to continuing to increase participation in AS/A level Further Mathematics, the contract has some exciting new targets, including; increasing the numbers of girls taking AS/A level Mathematics and Further Mathematics; providing trainee

7


teachers with support for teaching A level Mathematics; persuading more university courses to make encouraging statements to prospective students about studying AS/A level Mathematics and Further Mathematics; and increasing participation of students in state-funded schools and colleges taking the Sixth Term Examination Paper (STEP), Advanced Extension Award in Mathematics (AEA), and Mathematics Admissions Test (MAT) exams that several top universities now include as entry requirements.MEI provides tuition for STEP, AEA and MAT exams and last year the number of students receiving MEI support for these courses rose from 310 to 457. MEI works directly with the University of Cambridge, UCL and the University of Warwick to support their applicants to prepare for these exams. The FMSP also provides support for local problem-solving, STEP, AEA and MAT classes for students, and associated professional development for their teachers, often hosted by universities.

New resourcesThroughout last year we continued to expand our extensive bank of teaching and learning resources, many of which support specific curricula or professional development courses. We are able to offer some of these resources free of charge through sponsorship.The development of new technology and its use in education continues apace and MEI is always seeking new ways in which it can be used to improve teaching and learning in maths. Last year we started to develop new resources for tablets, including mathematical games, and we will continue this work into the future.For several years the FMSP had run online revision sessions for most AS and A level

Mathematics and Further Mathematics units. Last year these were replaced by a suite of revision videos, which have been viewed over 60,000 times.

Maths in the workplaceMEI continues to engage with employers in several ways. Not only do we aim to improve maths skills in the workplace, we also develop materials to bring examples of applications of maths from the workplace into maths teaching and learning.

Not only do we aim to improve maths skills in the workplace, we also develop materials to bring examples of applications of maths from the workplace into maths teaching and learning.

AS/A level Mathematics and Further Mathematics entries in England

0

25000

50000

2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

75000

100000

125000

150000

0

5000

10000

15000

20000

25000

30000

AS Level Further MathematicsA Level Further Mathematics

AS Level MathematicsA Level Mathematics

The interactive learning resources are very helpful as they allow you to study in a different way.

8


A particular success last year was working with the Royal Navy to train their instructors and tutors in delivering support for personnel at sea who are preparing to resit IGCSE Mathematics.In January we ran a pilot event to provide KS3 and KS4 teachers with examples of ways in which GCSE Mathematics is used in the workplace. The aim was to help them enrich their teaching and give them answers to the frequently asked question, “When does anybody ever use this stuff?”. The event was very well-received and we intend to run similar events in 2014-15.MEI is also keen to engage with employers in the future of maths education. Last year we canvassed many employers for their views on our new designs for Core Maths. We also involved employers, including several small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), in research into the future of post-16 vocational maths education.

Above: Ann Cherry, Engineering Analyst at Anthony Best Dynamics Ltd answers the question “When does anybody ever use this stuff?”

Left: MEI Conference 2014 delegates explore new uses of technology to support maths teaching and learning

MEI is doing a great job to raise the standard and aspiration of my teaching.

9


Financial review

RESOURCES EXPENDED

Costs of generating funds

Fundraising trading: cost of goods sold 83,353 – 83,353 97,552

Charitable activitiesCurriculum Development 308,804 11,167 319,971 320,546

Continuing Professional Development 132,913 216,198 349,111 251,477

Industry Links 79,256 - 79,256 104,284

Further Mathematics Support Programme – 3,779,454 3,779,454 3,489,982

Governance costs 47,100 – 47,100 51,853

Total resources expended 651,426 4,006,819 4,658,245 4,315,694

NET INCOME/(EXPENDITURE) FOR THE YEAR BEFORE TRANSFERS 57,524 50,035 107,559 (34,008)Gross transfers between funds 6,296 (6,296) – –

Net income/(expenditure) for the year 63,820 43,739 107,559 (34,008)

RECONCILIATION OF FUNDS

Total funds brought forward 828,041 312,107 1,140,148 1,174,156

TOTAL FUNDS CARRIED FORWARD 891,861 355,846 1,247,707 1,140,148

Unrestricted funds

Restricted funds

2014 Total funds

2013 Total funds

£ £ £ £INCOMING RESOURCES

Incoming resources from generated funds

Voluntary income 66,912 – 66,912 65,709

Activities for generating funds 294,278 – 294,278 298,900

Investment income 1,795 – 1,795 1,781

Incoming resources from charitable activitiesCurriculum Development 64,357 – 64,357 30,116

Continuing Professional Development 252,965 281,171 534,136 294,403

Industry Links 28,643 – 28,643 20,686

Further Mathematics Support Programme – 3,775,683 3,775,683 3,570,091

Total incoming resources 708,950 4,056,854 4,765,804 4,281,686

MEI Statement of Financial Activities for the Year Ended 31 March 2014 (Incorporating an Income and Expenditure Account)


Extract from audited accounts

10


MEI’s income in 2013-14 rose significantly, from £4,281,686 to £4,765,804, as a result of increased government funding for the FMSP and our success in gaining new work.

Over the same period our expenditure increased from £4,315,694 to £4,658,245, reflecting our greater workload; however our continued ability to deliver enhanced productivity has meant we have avoided a stepped increase in our cost base. The net effect was therefore a surplus of £107,559, compared with a deficit of £34,008 in the previous year.

TAM developed my pedagogical skills beyond what I thought possible.

11


2013-14 was an incredibly busy year for us, with major changes arising from government policies and a significant expansion in all areas of our work.

Improving maths education will continue to be a national priority because of the economic

benefits it brings, both to individuals and to the nation as a whole. Through our work in curriculum development and professional development of teachers, MEI will continue to play a leading role in expanding access to high-quality maths education.

Looking ahead

There are various ways in which you can keep in touch with us and support our work.

If you are interested in contributing to our work to improve maths education, please consider becoming an individual member of MEI. Benefits include voting rights, regular communications related to maths education, and discounts on our annual conference and several of our professional development courses. Education providers can register with us free of charge as Educational Associates and also receive regular communications, including topical teaching and learning resources.If you are an employer, you might like to consider supporting our work by becoming a Corporate Associate. There is also a wide range of opportunities to support our work more directly, from showing us how you use maths in your workplace to sponsoring our activities. We can also help you to develop your employees’ maths skills.You can also follow us on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.To find out more, please visit our website.

Get involved with us

12

facebook.com/MEIMaths

@MEIMaths

linkedin.com/company/mathematics-in-education-and-industry

MEIMonckton House, Epsom Centre White Horse Business Park Trowbridge, Wiltshire BA14 0XGT 01225 776 776 F 01225 775 755E [email protected] W mei.org.uk

Company registration number: 3265490 Charity number: 1058911

Documents

MEI Annual Review & Accounts 2013-2014mei.org.uk/files/pdf/MEI-Annual-Review-2014.pdf · Annual Review & Accounts. 2013-2014 ˜˚˛˝˙ˆˆˇ˙˘˝ ˚ ˛˚ ˝ ˝˙ ˇˆ AnualAnu In