Catch Up Numeracy has been used in 700 schools across 36 local authorities in England and Wales (September 2009).

• Learners in Years 2 – 6 who received Catch Up Numeracy for an average period of 4.7 months achieved average Number/Maths Age gains of 10.2 months (a mean ratio gain of 2.2).
  (Standardised data as reported by 11 local authorities across the UK, comprising 154 learners in 77 schools in 2007 and 2008. Reported in ‘What Works for Children with Mathematical Difficulties? The effectiveness of intervention schemes.’ Dowker, A. 2009. DCSF ref. 00086-2009BKT-EN)
  

After only 3 months of Catch Up Numeracy, learners:

• became more self-confident and motivated in class
• felt more in control of their learning
• felt more confident to work independently
• displayed a much improved attitude towards numeracy

Catch Up recommends that progress is monitored by means of a standardised Number/Maths test.

Bradley (Y5) started Catch Up Numeracy with a gap of 9 months between his Chronological Age and Number Age. This led to a negative attitude which was quite noticeable in class – a case of ‘can’t do, won’t do!’ As a result he was underachieving in both class based activities and test conditions.

After only 3 months of Catch Up Numeracy, Bradley made 6 months progress in his Number Age. His attitude also shifted – now he says that he likes number problems: “All of this is fun!”

Catch Up Numeracy has:

• improved the numeracy of the pupils involved in the intervention
• helped the pupils involved to have a direct sense of the progress that they were making as they moved up through the levels
• made mathematics more interesting, more enjoyable and more ‘do-able’

“The assessments did show us where the pupils were struggling and what we might do with them and for them.”

“What I like best is that it deals with specific and small objectives – you can see what the child has missed out on and work on it with him/her.”

“We can now go directly to the area of difficulty and then tackle it at the appropriate level.”

Evaluations of Catch Up Numeracy, Alan Evans, Cardiff School of Social Sciences, Cardiff University,
August 2007 and April 2008.