A teaching assistant-led programme designed to improve the maths skills of struggling Year 2 pupils has been shown to boost numeracy, according to an independent by the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF).
Developed by a team of researchers at Edge Hill University in Lancashire, the programme, called 1stClass@Number 1, targets Year 2 children who had previously struggled with the Year 1 curriculum.
It involves 10 weeks of TA-delivered intervention, structured around five topics.
Improving pupils’ numeracy
On average, those who benefited from the programme made two months’ worth of additional numeracy progress compared with those who did not receive the support.
According to the EEF, the boost to numeracy was “similar” for those children in receipt of free school meals, “suggesting the programme’s potential to support disadvantaged learners”.
Teaching assistants being cut
The evaluation comes as many schools have had to cut TAs in recent years due to budget pressures.
In a poll by the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) on behalf of the Sutton Trust charity, 74 per cent of primary school senior leaders reported having to cut TAs last year.
The EEF evaluation was led by the NFER and involved 226 schools across England, in which four pupils received the extra support while four continued with their typical lessons.
The EEF said that the findings have a “high security rating”, meaning it is “confident” in the results. 1stClass@Number 1 has been designated as an EEF “Promising Programme”, meaning it is on a list of schemes that have demonstrated potential to improve attainment.
Dr Ben Styles, head of classroom practice and workforce at the NFER, said: “The positive result of this intervention - its high security rating based on rigorous research findings - deserves recognition.”
He added that “schools which choose to deliver this programme as intended are, on average, likely to achieve similar results with their pupils [to those shown in the evaluation], though our analysis also revealed significant variation between schools”.
Commenting on the evaluation, Chris Paterson, co-chief executive of the EEF, said: “A good foundation in numeracy is so important for success later in school. This is why it is vital we help pupils become confident calculators early on.
“The results of this evaluation of 1stClass@Number 1 demonstrate the programme’s potential in helping to build these skills for young people.”
Year 5 science intervention ‘shows promise’
The EEF has also assessed a programme developed by Sheffield Hallam University called Frames For Learning.
The scheme aims to support pupils’ recall, knowledge and understanding of science concepts during activities like investigations. Teachers and TAs are supported to plan and deliver lessons that manage pupils’ cognitive load.
Led by the University of Warwick, the pilot evaluation of Frames For Learning involved 102 Year 5 pupils and 26 teachers and TAs across 17 primary schools, exploring its potential and feasibility for wider use.
While “overall promise and feasibility” was found, it was concluded that further development was required before a full trial.
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