Long term support for a Sixth Form College

Case study 4

Ashton Sixth Form College is a highly successful Sixth Form College that rated Outstanding in their last inspection in 2020. The well-established maths department has a mix of maths teachers who offer Mathematics, Further Mathematics, and Core Maths. This area benefits from additional AMSP support through their Local Area Coordinator.

The college has a Partnership Plan with the AMSP in which the Local Area Coordinator and Head of Department meet to identify the department’s aims and how the AMSP can support them.

Support requested by the department was provided by modelling and reflection on two student sessions – one an introduction to statistics, and the other on practical mechanics revision. We also use the AMSP website to discover the PD courses on offer and the Local AMSP Area Coordinator keeps us up to date and passes on specific events which are of interest. She is also available to answer queries and suggest ideas; she (the AC) is very knowledgeable.
L Ashton
Head of Department

Many of the teachers recruited to the department only have experience in GCSE, the courses offered through things like the Subject Knowledge Live suite of Professional Development and the longer courses provide a pathway for these teachers to develop to teach all the courses offered effectively.

The courses the AMSP offer develop the teachers to teach the full curriculum. For those who have not taught A level Mathematics before we put them on the TAM (Teaching Advanced Mathematics) course. The teachers gained the understanding and additional skills necessary to teach A Level Mathematics, through TAM. They used time during the college day for the online sessions, and the department provided cover for the face-to-face parts of the course
L Ashton
Head of Department

The College has been very committed to Core Maths and has worked to promote and grow its provision through a lot of marketing and talking to students and parents on road shows and open days. The maths department has also built links with other departments to help encourage students to study it.

AMSP resources around Core Maths have been useful in promoting the course and I use them as part of the principal’s talk we give to parents on enrolment. We were also involved in the Core Maths Pedagogy Work Group (co-run with the local Maths Hub) which really helped us when we introduced the course.
L Ashton
Head of Department