In partnership with the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) and the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER), Edge Hill University has recruited schools to take part in an RCT of 1stClass@Number 1.  1stClass@Number 1 is a mathematics intervention developed to support children in Year 2 who are struggling with counting, number and early calculation. In previous research, the programme has been deemed promising by the EEF. This particular research project will focus on children who are in Year 2 from September 2023 and especially those in receipt of Free School Meals .

Over 50% of successful schools in the project have come from some of the 55 Education Investment Areas.

This EEF project is part of a wider DfE funded programme called the Accelerator Fund. The Accelerator Fund aims to increase access to evidence-informed programmes.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much will taking part cost my school?

This research project was heavily subsidised by the EEF. All schools in the project took part in the 1stClass@Number 1 intervention and received the full Teaching Assistant 1stClass@Number 1 training and resources package. This was provided at a reduced cost of £200 (usual cost is £1,100). The payment included:

  • full training for the TA/Link Teacher from the school
  • an extensive ready made resource pack to support the lessons back in school together with the Sandwell Test to use in pupil selection and a separate baseline & endpoint test provided by the NFER
  • an essential visit to the school by the ECC Trainer to support delivery and management of 1stClass@Number 1.

All schools:

  • were expected to complete pupil selection together with baseline and endpoint testing required by the NFER to assess programme impact
  • also received an incentive payment of £500 once all required data had been provided to the NFER.
Two children play with cards in a classroom, supervised by their teacher.
A child in school using post-it notes.

When will the Teaching Assistant training take place?

The training for the effectiveness trial will be completed by May 2024.

When will the evaluation report be due?

The evaluation report will be published in Spring 2025.

High quality training enables a Teaching Assistant to deliver 1stClass@Number 1 to a group of up to 4 pupils in need of catch up over a period of 10 weeks.

Please contact the ECC team on 01695 657 133 if you have any questions we can help with.