Trial to test the impact of Concept Cat, a whole class teaching methodology for early verbal concepts
| ISRCTN | ISRCTN51286286 |
|---|---|
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1186/ISRCTN51286286 |
| Secondary identifying numbers | 022807.015 |
- Submission date
- 20/10/2023
- Registration date
- 14/11/2023
- Last edited
- 28/07/2025
- Recruitment status
- No longer recruiting
- Overall study status
- Completed
- Condition category
- Other
Plain English summary of protocol
Background and study aims
Existing research has shown a connection between early language support and how well children can use language (EEF, 2023). Also, there's proof that links learning words about ideas with being good at maths. For example, LeFevre and her team in 2010 saw that kids who heard more words about maths at home and in preschool were better at maths than kids who didn't. Another study by Verdine and her group in 2014 found the same thing with words about space and being good at understanding space.
There haven't been many good studies on these programs in the UK. This evaluation is funded by the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) and forms part of the UK Department for Education's (DfE's) Strong Practice Hubs (SPH) policy, which was designed to promote evidence-informed practice in early years instruction. Therefore, the evaluation seeks to build evidence on effective early years practice to support SPHs.
Concept Cat is a way to teach a whole class to learn important words that help with science and maths in the first part of school. The program takes about 30 weeks, and they teach one new word each week. The teachers who use Concept Cat get special training and help to make sure they do it right.
The study will find out if doing the Concept Cat program makes a big difference for kids who are three to four years old. Some places will use Concept Cat, and others will do what they usually do. This will help us see if Concept Cat really helps kids learn more about words and numbers when they're young.
Who can participate?
Settings were recruited from three SPHs in England located in Birmingham, Trafford, and Everton. To be eligible for recruitment, settings are required to have a minimum of 15 children aged three to four years old enrolled to attend for at least 15 hours a week in the academic year 2023/2024.
What does the study involve?
To gauge how much Concept Cat impacts children's language and maths skills, we'll look at the changes in kids who participate in Concept Cat and those who stick to their usual lessons. We'll assess children's understanding of words and basic ideas with a test called the Basic Concepts sub-test from the Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals Preschool-2 UK (CELF Preschool-2 UK). We'll do this test before and after they do Concept Cat.
We'll also check how well they understand early vocabulary and numbers using the Concepts and Following Directions sub-test from the CELF Preschool-2 UK and the Early Numeracy Assessment from the Early Years Toolbox. But we'll only do these tests after they've gone through the Concept Cat program.
What are the possible benefits and risks of participating?
Where is the study run from?
Education Endowment Foundation (UK)
When is the study starting and how long is it expected to run for?
January 2023 to November 2024
Who is funding the study?
Education Endowment Foundation (UK)
Who is the main contact?
Elena Rosa Brown, erbrown@randeurope.org
Miguel Subosa, msubosa@randeurope.org
Contact information
Public, Scientific, Principal Investigator
Eastbrook, Shaftesbury Rd
Cambridge
CB2 8DR
United Kingdom
| Phone | +44 1223 353 329 |
|---|---|
| erbrown@randeurope.org |
Public, Scientific, Principal Investigator
Eastbrook, Shaftesbury Rd
Cambridge
CB2 8DR
United Kingdom
 ORCID ID |
0009-0007-0565-2592 |
|---|---|
| Phone | +44 1223 942 183 |
| msubosa@randeurope.org |
Study information
| Study design | Two-arm waitlisted cluster randomized controlled trial design |
|---|---|
| Primary study design | Interventional |
| Secondary study design | Cluster randomised trial |
| Study setting(s) | Childcare/pre-school |
| Study type | Efficacy |
| Participant information sheet | 44456 Concept Cat parents' info sheet v3 23Aug23.pdf |
| Scientific title | Concept Cat: A two-armed cluster randomised controlled trial |
| Study objectives | There is a significant difference in the early conceptual language development - as measured by the Basic Concepts subtest of the Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals Preschool-2 UK (CELF Preschool-2 UK) - of children in early years settings receiving Concept Cat, in comparison to children in control settings receiving usual instruction. There is a significant difference in the early numeracy development - as measured by the Early Numeracy Assessment from the Early Years Toolbox - of children in early years settings receiving Concept Cat, in comparison to children in control settings receiving usual instruction. |
| Ethics approval(s) |
1. Approved 14/03/2023, RAND Human Subjects Protection Committee (1776 Main Street, Santa Monica, California, 90407-2138, United States of America; +1 (866) 697-5620; hspcinfo@rand.org), ref: 2023-N0010 2. Approved 07/03/2023, University of York Department of Education Ethics Committee (Heslington, York, YO10 5DD, United Kingdom; +44 1904 320000; education-research-admin@york.ac.uk), ref: 23/11 |
| Health condition(s) or problem(s) studied | Early conceptual vocabulary and early numeracy development in children ages 3-4 |
| Intervention | Random allocation at the level of early years settings (pupils aged 3-4). Control settings will deliver instruction as usual whilst treatment settings will deliver instruction using the Concept Cat methodology. The Concept Cat approach teaches children concepts such as ‘first’, ‘wide’ and ‘empty’. This is taught in a structured and engaging manner with explicit teaching of vocabulary followed by implicit teaching in play-based learning. The teaching process includes staff acting out a scripted story with a toy cat. Small changes are made to the environment so that children have chances to experience the new word an increased number of times. For instance, if the target word for the week was ‘empty’ then sand and water trays would be out that week and staff would use the word ‘empty’ during children’s play. Families are engaged with simple home activities which will be available in a number of community languages. This sequence is designed to be accessible to a wide range of children; including those with limited language. One word is taught per week; allowing opportunity for deep understanding to develop. Rather than general vocabulary, Concept Cat specifically teaches early verbal concepts (such as ‘before, early and through’) core to the curriculum of maths and science, with the ultimate aim of improving maths and science attainment at Key Stage 1. Treatment settings will receive: - key resources to run the programme; - a free initial three-hour training session for a lead practitioner and one hour training for all staff (delivered remotely) by Thinking Talking; - funding to cover staff attendance at the training; and - visits from specially trained ‘Concept Cat Coaches’ to provide modelling and in-school support sessions. This will be delivered half termly with an additional session in the first half term. The sessions will provide support for staff to apply the learning in their setting, modelling teaching, quality checking, problem solving issues and sharing best practice. - half termly one-hour on-line peer support sessions for the lead practitioners. This is facilitated by Concept Cat Coaches, supporting practitioners to share experiences of delivery in different settings and problem solve. |
| Intervention type | Behavioural |
| Primary outcome measure | Early conceptual language development will be measured by comparing children's scores on the Basic Concepts subtest of the Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals Preschool-2 UK (CELF Preschool-2 UK) instrument before and after the delivery of the intervention. |
| Secondary outcome measures | 1. Early conceptual vocabulary development will be measured using children's scores on the Concepts and Following Directions subtest of the the CELF Preschool-2 UK, administered after the intervention is completed. 2. Early numeracy will be measured using the Early Years Toolbox's Early Numeracy Assessment, administered after the intervention is completed. |
| Overall study start date | 05/01/2023 |
| Completion date | 29/11/2024 |
Eligibility
| Participant type(s) | Learner/student |
|---|---|
| Age group | Child |
| Lower age limit | 3 Years |
| Upper age limit | 4 Years |
| Sex | Both |
| Target number of participants | 1,350 |
| Total final enrolment | 1049 |
| Key inclusion criteria | To ensure that we are evaluating the programme’s impact on pupils for whom Concept Cat is believed to be most suitable, the following inclusion will be applied in pupil selection: 1. Pupils who are in Foundation 1 and aged three to four during the academic year 2023/2024. 2. Pupils who are registered to attend the setting for a minimum of 15 hours per week. |
| Key exclusion criteria | Pupils will not be eligible to participate in the evaluation if, at baseline: 1. They are not between three- to four-years old; 2. They are judged by setting staff as unable to sit and follow a short adult-selected task. This is because these needs would prevent them from accessing the assessments; 3. They attend the setting less than 15 hours per week; 4.T hey are unable or unwilling to take part in baseline testing (i.e., because of speech and language difficulties or special educational needs). |
| Date of first enrolment | 27/03/2023 |
| Date of final enrolment | 31/07/2023 |
Locations
Countries of recruitment
- England
- United Kingdom
Study participating centre
United Kingdom
Sponsor information
Charity
5 Th Floor, Millbank Tower
21-24 Millbank
London
SW1P 4QP
England
United Kingdom
| Phone | +44 20 45 363 999 |
|---|---|
| info@eefoundation.org.uk | |
| Website | https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/ |
"ROR" |
https://ror.org/03bhd6288 |
Funders
Funder type
Charity
Private sector organisation / Trusts, charities, foundations (both public and private)
- Alternative name(s)
- EducEndowFoundn, Education Endowment Foundation | London, EEF
- Location
- United Kingdom
Results and Publications
| Intention to publish date | 01/10/2025 |
|---|---|
| Individual participant data (IPD) Intention to share | Yes |
| IPD sharing plan summary | Stored in non-publicly available repository |
| Publication and dissemination plan | Publication as an EEF evaluation report, which will be made available online. |
| IPD sharing plan | The datasets generated during and/or analysed during the current study will be stored in a non-publicly available repository (i.e., ONS Secure Research Service). |
Study outputs
| Output type | Details | Date created | Date added | Peer reviewed? | Patient-facing? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Protocol file | version 1.0 | 07/09/2023 | 20/10/2023 | No | No |
| Participant information sheet | Parents info sheet version 3 |
23/08/2023 | 14/11/2023 | No | Yes |
| Participant information sheet | Setting info sheet version 3 |
23/08/2023 | 14/11/2023 | No | Yes |
| Statistical Analysis Plan | version 1.0 | 28/07/2025 | No | No |
Additional files
Editorial Notes
28/07/2025: The statistical analysis plan was uploaded as an additional file.
14/11/2023: Trial's existence confirmed by University of York.
