Counting Collections for pre-school is a five month programme for settings with 2 to 4 year olds.

Counting Collections is a ‘hands-on’, practical approach to developing young children’s enjoyment and understanding of number. It aims to provide all children with essential early number learning in counting and subitising, addressing differences in their home or wider number experiences so all children have a firm foundation for future mathematics learning. Using boxes of interesting objects, children and adults:

• choose a box of objects to count
• agree how they will count it
• count the objects together
• record how many objects there are

One practitioner from the setting receives five professional development sessions in a group with other local teachers (two half-days in person and three 90-minute sessions online). These use learning trajectories and other resources to support them to lead weekly sessions and support play in a way that is appropriate for children in the two to four year old age range.  

Between September 2023 and January 2024, the Counting Collections programme is being offered for free to selected pre-school PVI settings in Birmingham. Recruitment has now closed.

This is a trial funded by the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF).