Concept Cat is a programme designed to help children develop early conceptual vocabulary – words like ‘first’, ‘wide’ and, ‘empty’. These words are important for understanding concepts in the maths and science curriculums.
The programme aims to support better outcomes by Key Stage 1. Concept Cat is for 3- to 5‑year-old children; the version trialled here was delivered with 3- to 4‑year-olds only.
The programme runs across a school year and includes four main parts:
- A whole-class introduction to new words
- Play-based learning where the new words are used in context
- Simple parent-child activities to reinforce learning at home
A whole-class review to revisit and consolidate learning
Children with below-average language skills – called ‘focus children’ – receive extra support.
Concept Cat uses a mix of structured, explicit teaching of vocabulary and implicit teaching through play-based learning.
The programme was developed by the founders of Thinking Talking, Stephen Parsons and Anna Branagan.
The EEF commissioned an efficacy trial (2025) which found that children in Concept Cat settings made, on average, two months’ additional progress in understanding conceptual vocabulary, compared to children in control settings.
This result has a three-padlock security rating, meaning we are moderately confident that the impact was due to the programme rather than other factors.
Children who were eligible for the Early Years Pupil Premium (EYPP) made three months’ additional progress, although these findings are less secure due to the smaller sample size for this group.
Children in Concept Cat settings demonstrated, on average, two months’ additional progress in their early numeracy development, compared to children in other settings. They also showed one month’s additional progress on understanding complex sentences compared to children in control settings, suggesting the intervention also supports wider conceptual understanding.
The Concept Cat programme includes additional support for ‘focus children’ with below-average language skills. However, the evaluation found that settings were not consistently delivering this additional element. Concept Cat does appear to have facilitated parents’ involvement in the setting and understanding of their children’s learning and development.
All surveyed early years practitioners indicated that they would continue to use Concept Cat following the trial, demonstrating the programme’s strong appeal. Practitioners also reported that children clearly enjoyed the programme, which encouraged its continued use at home.
These positive results have led the EEF to designate Concept Cat as a ‘Promising Programme’.
- The Concept Cat efficacy trial involved 1,040 3- to 4‑year-old children across 89 participating early years settings.
- Settings were made up of school-based and PVI settings across Trafford, Everton, and the West Midlands.
- 18.7% of children were eligible for Early Years Pupil Premium.
Teachers deliver the programme to the whole class across a school year (30 weeks), introducing a new word at the start of each week . The explicit teaching aspect occurs twice a week for approximately ten minutes.
In the classroom, staff introduce each word by acting out a scripted story with a toy cat. They also make small changes to the classroom environment so that children have chances to encounter the new word more often. For example, if the word of the week was ‘empty’, staff might provide sand and water trays and use the word ‘empty’ while children are playing.
To support the delivery of Concept Cat for the trial, settings received online training, printed programme resources, and a visit from a Concept Cat Coach approximately once every half term. Practitioners reported that the resources and coaches were valuable for supporting implementation.
The Concept Cat approach is fully outlined in a published book (2025), which includes access to downloadable resources.
For the programme as trialled in the latest evaluation, the average cost of delivering Concept Cat was £1,206.80 per setting or £30.94 per pupil per year over three years. This assumes that all children aged three to four in a setting would participate in the intervention each year. The cost estimates include direct training costs, staff cover costs for training, physical resources, and Concept Cat coach visits.
This is an estimate of holistic setting costs to implement the programme at the time of the evaluation. Settings will need to check the current cost of the programme through the Thinking Talking webpage: Concept Cat – Thinking Talking
Concept Cat, as delivered in the efficacy trial, requires five components: the Concept Cat book, online training, Word Aware Concept Assessment, printed resources, and coaching. The first four of these are available nationally from the delivery team Thinking Talking and are included in the core programme cost. The programme cost varies depending on the number of children taking part.
In-person coaching visits for practitioners are available for an additional cost. The version of the programme delivered in the trial and shown to have impact included an in-person visit from a Concept Cat coach approximately every half term, so it is recommended that settings take up the full model where possible.
Currently, coaching is available in the west Midlands, Greater Manchester and Liverpool and North West regions. Training for professionals to become a Concept Cat Coach is also available.
To find out how to access programme, visit Thinking Talking’s Concept Cat webpage: Concept Cat – Thinking Talking