To help prove the concept and guide the Maths For Life programme from the beginning, a focus group was established that included parents, teachers, teaching assistants and members of charities and support groups, as well as a selection of children with Down syndrome. Their input has been valued immensely and actioned at all stages.

Jos Smith - the Chair of Down’s Syndrome Oxford, a charity supporting families of individuals with Down syndrome - was a key member of the initial Maths For Life proof of concept. Her involvement led to the charity funding a one-year pilot programme for a number of their member families.

Starting in February 2021, we collaborated with the charity group to run a year-long pilot to assess the impact of a parent-led Maths For Life programme on students ranging from age 4 to 18, attending both mainstream and specialist settings.

It was a ground-breaking pilot. As part of this pilot, a set of assessments were developed to monitor baseline attainment at the beginning and record progress against this at 6 months and at 12 months. This allowed an evidence based review of the effectiveness of the Maths For Life programme and its impact on attainment. Participants were also given access to all the Maths For Life resources as well as 1:1 support from Karen. Progress and attainment was evaluated at 6 months and 12 months…

…Out of the 23 students who completed the programme, 100% demonstrated an improvement in overall mathematical attainment and increased independence.

The pilot rolled into an ongoing programme supported by the charity, with many of the original students in their 4th year by 2024. Support has been extended to more students and schools.

With the set of assessments now created, it was decided to widen the pool of students being assessed and recorded to build up a more comprehensive picture of attainment for students with additional learning needs; and allow some comparison between those that follow the Maths For Life programme and a set of controls who don’t. This was named Project Baseline.  There were initially three baseline assessments - Foundations, Level 1, and Level 2. They consisted of between 50 and 70 questions and measured the level of understanding of a mathematical concept, and  the extent to which a student could use that concept independently. The Maths For Life ‘Hierarchy of Independence’ provided a standardised scale of how much ‘help’ students were given by the supervising educator.

In 2022, a pilot study on the effectiveness of the Maths For Life programme for children with Down syndrome was completed with University College Dublin, University of Surrey and University College London.  Professor Jo Van Herwegen, Professor of Developmental Psychology and Education and Dr Katie Gilligan-Lee, Assistant Professor, School of Psychology joined forces with Karen to explore the potential of the Maths For Life programme…

…The conclusion:

“This pilot study provided the first evidence on the efficacy of the Maths For Life programme for improving mathematics skills in children with DS. The findings from parent administration of the programme suggest that this mathematics programme improves mathematical ability and independence, evidence that lays foundations for further testing this programme in schools. Improving children’s accurate and independent application of mathematics is vital for everyday living and independence. This pilot study provides initial evidence that the Maths For Life programme may offer one avenue for increasing mathematical independence in those with Down syndrome.”

Read the full research report

Read the lay summary of the report

The success of the Down’s Syndrome Oxford pilot came to the attention of the Oxfordshire County Council SEND team. In early 2023, they agreed to fund a county-wide school-based pilot.

Oxfordshire County Council sponsored the pilot to help answer the question; “Will the Maths For Life programme work for all students with SEND?”

The council recruited schools and identified the cohort of students with SEND that would take part in the pilot. Maths For Life ‘self-service’ assessments, administered by the schools, were completed at the beginning and end of the pilot. The results were submitted for analysis. This data, together with school and educator opinion, have formed the basis for the results presented in the full report.

Request a copy of the full report here.