You are using an outdated browser. Please upgrade your browser to improve your experience and security.

30 April 2020
By Sam Lain-Rose

Introducing our New Specialist Lead for Maths - Andrew Woods

We are pleased to introduce Andrew Woods who has joined the School Improvement, Secondary, Special and PRU / Skills & Employability service as the specialist lead for maths.  

Andrew has worked in a variety of school contexts. Starting his career in Walsall (West Midlands) he taught maths and as part of the teaching and learning team worked as a coach coaching staff in a special measures school which made rapid improvement in a challenging context. Walsall was in 10% most deprived regions in England and Andrew learnt very quickly that great teaching starts with great student-teacher relationships.    

Andrew quickly moved into department leadership when he moved to Bristol and made significant changes to the KS3 maths curriculum and assessment ensuring it reflected the changes in the national curriculum at KS2 and the changes in assessment. The Maths department were recognised for their success and were shortlisted for Maths Department of the Year in the TES awards. While doing this Andrew completed a Masters in Leadership in Education from the University of Bristol. This was with a particular focus on assessment and specifically formative assessment.  

Andrew embraced more challenge and moved to be Head of Maths in another area in Bristol where Education deprivation was in the lowest 5% of the country. There, he led through reform at KS4 and implemented many effective changes which resulted in praise in the 2019 Ofsted for helping the school achieve a Good rating.    

More recently, he has been a Lead Practitioner supporting Teaching and Learning in a Grammar School in Canterbury and teaching the Further Maths A-level as well as developing stretch and challenge resources for high attainers. 

Andrew believes that without trying new things we don't improve. It is through trying and experimenting with teaching and learning and pushing our comfort zones that we develop the habitats that make us effective teachers.    

Andrew is looking forward to supporting Maths teams in Kent with innovative resources, events, ideas and experience. Please email [email protected] for further information