Education Endowment Foundation:Counting Collections

Early number sense is a strong predictor of later mathematics achievement, yet children from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds often start school with lower levels of development in this area.

The EEF’s Early Years toolkit shows that early numeracy approaches can have a high impact, for low cost, on pupil outcomes.

The EEF has trialled Counting Collections at efficacy level, meaning it was tested in a smaller number of schools under the best possible conditions. The efficacy trial found that pupils in Counting Collections schools made, on average, the equivalent of one additional month’s progress in number attainment compared to control schools. This finding has a three-padlock security rating, which means we are moderately confident that the impact was due to the programme rather than other factors.

For pupils eligible for free school meals, the maths outcome suggested potentially less impact. However, taken together, there is no evidence to suggest pupils are differently impacted by the programme.

Teachers who delivered the programme reported greater confidence in teaching early number concepts, as well as noticing improvements in pupils’ mathematical thinking, collaboration, and engagement.

On this basis, the EEF has designated Counting Collections a ​‘Promising Programme’.

Teachers deliver the intervention to the whole class through 30-minute sessions, once a week for 20 weeks.

A typical Counting Collections session follows a teacher-led sequence that guides pupils to work in pairs to plan, count, and record their approach to counting a set of manipulativesobjects that educators and children can move and interact with to represent mathematical ideas (including fingers, everyday objects, such as buttons or pine cones, and mathematical resources such as Numicon, Cuisenaire rods). (‘collections’ of everyday objects such as coins, small toys, and pinecones).

These collections form a ​‘Counting Library’ in the classroom, which pupils can continue to access during continuous provision. There are tools to aid counting (such as pots, number tracks, and ten frames). The manipulativesobjects that educators and children can move and interact with to represent mathematical ideas (including fingers, everyday objects, such as buttons or pine cones, and mathematical resources such as Numicon, Cuisenaire rods). and tools are provided by the delivery team so that all settings have the same resources available for the activities.

The programme teaches a structured routine for counting taught in four parts: choose, strategise, count. and record. Reception teachers receive Continuing Professional Development (CPD) from the developer. The first training session is delivered in-person (full day session), while the four remaining sessions take place online (half-day sessions).

In the efficacy trial, the programme was well received by schools and easy to fit into weekly maths teaching. Teachers reported that it boosted pupil confidence in number, improved mathematical talk and thinking, and encouraged collaboration. Most schools followed the four-part routine (choose, strategise, count, record) and found it worked well. However, most teachers felt that having a teaching assistant (TA) was important, especially for pupils who struggled with basic counting.

Challenges included supporting lower-attaining pupils and managing differentiation in whole-class sessions. Some teachers noted that pupils benefited most when given appropriately challenging collections and when adults offered targeted support during the ​“strategise” and ​“record” stages. TAs, when available, played an important role in helping pupils follow the routine. Teachers also found that adapting the session structure, modelling strategies, and using focused adult – child interactions were effective ways to address misconceptions and ensure progress, especially in mixed-ability classes.