Information for parents
Bee Spatial is a research project led by the ºÚÁÏÉç, in collaboration with White Rose Education and Loughborough University that looks at how children’s spatial thinking supports their learning in mathematics.
If your child’s school is taking part, Bee Spatial activities will take place during normal maths lessons and will be delivered by your child’s classroom teacher. The activities focus on helping children think about space, shape, quantity and relationships between objects as part of their usual maths learning.
Frequently asked questions
Does my child have to take part?
The Bee Spatial activities form part of normal classroom teaching and fall within the range of usual curriculum activities. For this reason, approval for the programme to run has been granted by the school headteacher.
Participation in the research evaluation is voluntary. This means that while all children will take part in the classroom activities, parents and carers can choose whether their child’s assessment data are shared with the research team. You will be given clear information and an opportunity to opt out of data sharing if you wish.
What will my child do?
Children in participating classes will:
- Take part in ‘spatialised’ maths lessons (intervention group) or their usual maths lessons (control group)
- Complete classroom-based maths and spatial tasks before and after the programme
The activities are designed to be engaging and age appropriate. They are not tests in the usual sense, and no feedback is given to children about performance.
Will I receive my child's results?
This is a research study. The assessments are used to understand how the programme works overall and will not be used to judge individual children’s ability or progress.
All data shared with the research team are anonymised, and it will not be possible to provide individual results to parents or schools. Schools and families will receive a summary of the overall findings at the end of the project.
Who is organising and funding the research?
Bee Spatial is organised by the ºÚÁÏÉç and funded through the Higher Education Innovation Fund. The study has received ethical approval through the ºÚÁÏÉç.