The Wonderful World of Mathematics - Celebrating World Maths Day

We’ve stepped into the worlds of The Education People’s primary maths adviser, and we are excited to introduce to you Jason Horne. 

But first, why is maths so important?

Maths is used every day in all sorts of situations; from complex equations used for sending rockets into space to basic addition and subtraction to work out how much change you are due from your shopping.

Maths provides a language and framework for describing and understanding the quantitative aspects of the world around us. It is used in various disciplines such as science, engineering, finance, computer science and more.

Mathematics involves both theoretical and applied aspects.

• Theoretical mathematics deals with the development and study of abstract structures and relationships, often with an emphasis on proving theorems and discovering new mathematical truths.
• Applied mathematics, on the other hand, involves using mathematical techniques and principles to solve real-world problems and address practical challenges.

The incredible thing about maths is that no matter where in the world you are, everyone can do maths!

Meet Jason Horne, Specialist Subject Adviser for primary maths.

Before joining The Education People, Jason worked as a teacher for 11 years. We asked Jason some questions about maths, his previous roles and how he ended up as a specialist subject adviser.

I would not say that as a child I loved maths. I would not say that I was particularly good at maths. I don’t think that I began to love maths until I taught maths. I realised that I loved the puzzle of getting pupils to understand something that we take for granted. I have taught predominately in early years and key stage one and adore building the foundational knowledge of maths that these pupils will use forever.

Before teaching maths I had been a leader of computing and PE in my previous schools. I felt that I could use the skills I used from previous leadership within maths, so I jumped at the opportunity. I noticed when working with pupils and adults in schools that lots of people have maths anxiety. We often hear people discuss how they do not like maths or cannot do maths (something you would not hear people say openly about reading and writing). I made it my focus to support teaching of mathematics in a conceptual way so that pupils understand the deep relationships and connections in maths rather than just learning a procedural way to solve maths.

I was most inspired when I attended as a maths lead a course about Bar Modelling ran by Laurie Jacques. It was in this session where I explored the solving ratio through bar modelling. I had been taught the procedure previously but had not truly understood what ratio meant and how we could picture this in different ways. This I highlight as the beginning of my Teaching for Mastery journey.

My favourite thing to do in maths is to find another way of solving a problem. I often fall down the rabbit hole of looking at previous examinations and exploring is there any other way of solving the questions without using the standard procedural method. I then have to evaluate if my new method was more effective than the standard method. Some might say this is a waste of time, but I think it helps us think outside the box, ensures that we make connections in maths and opens our minds to the ways that pupils might solve something without pushing one method on them.

Whilst teaching maths, I heard about the Teaching for Mastery specialist role that was being created and applied and trained to be a Cohort 1 Mastery Specialist. I love this role and I am still working as a specialist with the Kent and Medway Maths Hub.

In 2020 the role of Maths Adviser for The Education People was advertised and I knew immediately I wanted to support schools and maths leaders throughout the county and beyond.

We are very proud of the work Jason does in Kent and beyond to support the teaching and learning of maths for all. On this day, dedicated to the subject, we thank Jason for all his hard work and commitment to making maths a fun and engaging experience for all.

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