Northern Ireland

UU teams up with academics from England on early years numeracy project

Ulster University is partnering with the Universities of Oxford and Sheffield on a large-scale, early numeracy project.
Ulster University is partnering with the Universities of Oxford and Sheffield on a large-scale, early numeracy project.
By Suzanne McGonagle

ULSTER University has teamed up with academics from England on a large-scale early years numeracy project.

The 'Orchestrating Numeracy and the Executive' (The ONE) programme aims to support early numeracy, building on previous research which has found that it improves children’s later educational attainment.  

The programme was recently evaluated by the Nuffield Foundation, which found children who took part in the project made more progress in numeracy skills and some executive function skills than children who did not take part. The study also indicated progress was larger for children experiencing economic disadvantage.

The programme will be delivered by the researchers from UU and the universities of Oxford and Sheffield. 

Victoria Simms, Professor of Developmental Psychology at UU said the project aims to "improve children’s outcomes".

"We are excited to begin this large-scale trial addressing the needs of early educators and supporting their personal development, that in turn should increase children’s numeracy skills," she said.

Professor Gaia Scerif from the University of Oxford said the programme "builds on evidence and theory, but crucially stems from collaborating with early years educators".

"In particular, we aim to give children experiencing economic disadvantage more evidence-based opportunities to develop their early numeracy skills," she said.

Dr Emma Blakey from University of Sheffield said: "Our recent studies have highlighted the crucial role executive functions play in early maths.

"This programme has brought together a team of international academics and early years practitioners to develop a programme of activities that are not only fun for children, but follow a sound evidence base in supporting core cognitive skills and early numeracy.

"We are excited to roll this out on a larger scale and hope the programme will support early learning, particularly for the most disadvantaged children.”