Written question asked by Dari Taylor (Labour) on Monday, 28 June 2004, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 1 July 2004. It was answered by Charles Clarke (Labour) on Thursday, 1 July 2004 on behalf of the Department for Education and Skills.

Dept for Education and Skills

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what steps his Department is taking to help improve the teaching of mathematics following the publication of the Adrian Smith Report.

Answer: Ms Dari Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what steps his Department is taking to help improve the teaching of mathematics following the publication of the Adrian Smith Report. [181596] Mr. Charles Clarke: I set out the government's initial response to Professor Adrian Smith's report in a written ministerial statement on 28 June. In that statement, I announced measures to: Recruit and retain more highly skilled Maths teachers; Set up a National Centre of Excellence in the Teaching of Mathematics; Develop local school networks with access to mathematics expertise; Develop strong links across all sectors and strengthen National Strategies at Key Stage 2 and 3. These proposals will provide an effective answer to the challenges ahead and represent a fair balance between the needs of mathematics as a subject, what is reasonable in the context of other subjects and what is affordable.

Secondary information