The established schools strand of the evaluation of Mastering Number at Reception and KS1 (Reception focus) aims to understand the experiences of earlier adopters of the programme, including their implementation of the programme and how the programme is being sustained within their setting. Findings from this strand of the evaluation about existing delivery at scale, alongside findings from the RCT involving schools new to delivering Mastering Number, will help to inform recommendations about the continued nationwide rollout of Mastering Number.
Schools within the 15 participating Maths Hubs that have previously received Mastering Number training will be invited to complete the survey.
This strand of the evaluation involves a survey of Reception and Key Stage 1 class teachers and senior leaders in established schools within 15 Maths Hubs (specifically, those involved in the randomised controlled trial (RCT) strand of the evaluation), and visits/interviews with staff in six sampled established schools.
Local Maths Hubs will distribute the ‘Established Schools’ survey on behalf of NFER. We will request a response from at least one Reception/Key Stage 1 class teacher or senior leader per established school. The survey will take around 15 minutes to complete and will explore class teachers’ and senior leaders’ experiences of implementing Mastering Number in their school.
The survey will ask teachers to indicate if they and colleagues in their school would be willing to participate in one of six visit/interviews to share more detail on their experiences of implementing and sustaining Mastering Number within their school. In participating schools, NFER will interview up to three school staff per school. Interviews may be conducted in-person or online via Microsoft Teams. The visit/interviews will explore in further detail: the extent of Mastering Number use; how Mastering Number has been cascaded and embedded; and perceptions of this cascading model and its effectiveness.
By taking part in this survey you will contribute to the evidence base that will explore whether schools continue to engage with this programme, and the perceived outcomes in the longer term.
As a thank you for completing the survey, teachers who complete the survey will receive a £10 voucher (maximum of two teacher per school).
Schools that participate in the visits/interviews will receive £100.
The online survey of Reception and Key Stage 1 class teachers and senior leaders in established schools will be administered in February/March 2026. The survey will ask teachers and senior leaders to indicate if they, and colleagues in their school, would be willing to participate in a visit/interviews. NFER will sample up to six schools from willing survey respondents for this additional activity in April/May 2026.
Schools will be contacted directly by their Maths Hub to invite them to complete the survey. NFER will contact schools that express an interest in taking part in a case study visit or interviews directly using the email address provided in the survey.
If you would like any additional information or have any further questions, please contact the
research team at [email protected].
