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

  • 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 will:

  • be expected to complete pupil selection together with baseline and endpoint testing required by the NFER to assess programme impact
  • also receive an incentive payment of £500 once all required data has been provided to the NFER.

When will the Teaching Assistant training take place?

The delivery of face to face 1stClass@Number 1 will take place in two separate cohorts:

November – March of 2023/24 over 1 full and 4 half days. Recruitment for this cohort is now closed.

January – May 2024 over 1 full and 4 half days – Recruitment for this cohort is now closed..

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.