Counting Collections. Evaluation Report
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| Title: | Counting Collections. Evaluation Report |
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| Language: | English |
| Authors: | Martin Culliney, Karen Daniels, Joanne Robson, Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) (United Kingdom), Sheffield Hallam University (United Kingdom), Sheffield Institute of Education (SIoE) |
| Source: | Education Endowment Foundation. 2025. |
| Availability: | Education Endowment Foundation. 9th Floor Millbank Tower, Millbank, London, SW1P 4QP, UK. Tel: +44-207-802-1676; e-mail: info@eefoundation.org.uk; Web site: https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/ |
| Peer Reviewed: | Y |
| Page Count: | 60 |
| Publication Date: | 2025 |
| Sponsoring Agency: | Department for Education (DfE) (United Kingdom) |
| Document Type: | Reports - Research |
| Education Level: | Early Childhood Education Preschool Education |
| Descriptors: | Foreign Countries, Preschool Education, Preschool Teachers, Numeracy, Computation, Mathematics Instruction, Teaching Methods, Manipulative Materials, Intervention, Instructional Improvement, Program Evaluation, Socioeconomic Influences |
| Geographic Terms: | United Kingdom (England) |
| Abstract: | Counting Collections is a hands-on approach to developing early number sense (understanding of number and quantity) in reception aged children (4-5 years old) which supports counting, subitising, comparing numbers, and composition of numbers. It involves pupils using containers of objects (manipulatives) to find out how many are in the collection. A structured routine for counting is taught in four parts: choose, strategise, count, record. This routine represents one of the core components of the programme. The intervention also involves adding a Counting Collections area, known as a Counting Library, to the classroom which pupils can continue to access during continuous provision. One teacher from each school attends Continuing Professional Development (CPD) training provided by the developer. The first training session is delivered in person with the four remaining sessions taking place online. Teachers deliver the 30-minute intervention to the whole class, once a week for 20 weeks across one school year. The Counting Collections programme is developed by a team led by Dr. Catherine Gripton, Associate Professor in the School of Education at the University of Nottingham. The evaluation was a two-armed randomised controlled efficacy trial, with randomisation taking place at school level. A total of 180 schools were recruited to the study with one reception class participating form each school. The implementation and process evaluation involved interviews with school staff, observations of lessons and teacher training sessions, and a post-intervention teacher survey. The trial took place between February 2023 and July 2024. Pupils in Counting Collections schools made, on average, one additional month's progress than those in the control group. |
| Abstractor: | ERIC |
| Entry Date: | 2026 |
| Accession Number: | ED680977 |
| Database: | ERIC |
| Abstract: | Counting Collections is a hands-on approach to developing early number sense (understanding of number and quantity) in reception aged children (4-5 years old) which supports counting, subitising, comparing numbers, and composition of numbers. It involves pupils using containers of objects (manipulatives) to find out how many are in the collection. A structured routine for counting is taught in four parts: choose, strategise, count, record. This routine represents one of the core components of the programme. The intervention also involves adding a Counting Collections area, known as a Counting Library, to the classroom which pupils can continue to access during continuous provision. One teacher from each school attends Continuing Professional Development (CPD) training provided by the developer. The first training session is delivered in person with the four remaining sessions taking place online. Teachers deliver the 30-minute intervention to the whole class, once a week for 20 weeks across one school year. The Counting Collections programme is developed by a team led by Dr. Catherine Gripton, Associate Professor in the School of Education at the University of Nottingham. The evaluation was a two-armed randomised controlled efficacy trial, with randomisation taking place at school level. A total of 180 schools were recruited to the study with one reception class participating form each school. The implementation and process evaluation involved interviews with school staff, observations of lessons and teacher training sessions, and a post-intervention teacher survey. The trial took place between February 2023 and July 2024. Pupils in Counting Collections schools made, on average, one additional month's progress than those in the control group. |
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