If you are reading this section, you have probably received a letter from us - via your child's school - about their participation in our research study. Below you will find information about the study and what the Year 1 pupil survey involves. We understand that you may have questions or concerns about your child's participation, so we have included some key information documents as well as frequently asked questions. If you cannot find the answer you are looking for, please do get in contact with us using the contact details provided in the letter.
What is the Observatory for Mathematical Education?
The Observatory is a research centre based at the Univeristy of Nottingham with a focus on mathematics education in England. We received funding in November 2023 to establish the Observatory and to deliver our main piece of work, the cohort studies. Our aim is to immprove mathematics education for children in the future.
What is the primary cohort study?
Starting in 2024, the primary cohort study will follow one cohort of pupils from Reception to Year 6 in a representative sample of state-funded schools in England. Each year, pupils and their teachers will be surveyed to find out about their mathematics learning and teaching. We will use this information to build a picture of maths education in England and use this information to inform future policy and practice.
What are you asking my child to do?
We are asking all children in your child's Year 1 class to complete a short paper survey about their mathematics learning. A Teaching Assistant, or other appropriate adult, will sit with your child and ask them some questions about their maths learning. The adult will record your child's answers. Once all children have completed the survey, the answers will be sent back to us and pseudonymised, so your child's responses cannot be identified. Your child's answers will not be shown to anyone at the school. The survey does not assess your child's mathematical ability or ask them any maths problems. Your child can stop at any time and choose not to answer some or all questions if they do not want to. The adult helping them complete the survey will be given full instructions and will not tell the child which answer to choose but may rephrase questions if they do not think they have understood them. The survey should take 10-15 minutes to complete, but will depend on the child. During the pilot phase, we found lots of children enjoyed completing the survey.
I don't want my child to participate. What do I do?
You should have received a letter from your child's school which includes information on how to withdraw your child. This will have been sent using your school's usual method. If you have not received this letter, please get in touch with your child's school. If you do not understand the withdrawal process, please get in contact with the Observatory using the contact details in the letter.
If my child participates this year, do they have to take part next year?
We will write to you every year of the study to give you the option to withdraw your child. You can withdraw your child at any time and they will not be asked to participate in future years.
What will you do with the results from the surveys?
The results of the surveys will be pseudonymised and then analysed for trends. The psuedonymisation process invovles removing any information that could personally identify an individual's responses, for example, their name. We replace this with a unique code, so that if a participant withdraws at a later date, we can remove thier data from our dataset.
I withdrew my child last year, do I need to withdraw them again this year?
No, if you withdrew your child last year your child's school will be notified and will be asked not to give your child a survey to complete.
My child participated last year but I want to withdraw them this year, can I do this?
Yes. You can withdraw your child at any time.