Assessing the feasibility of the Count Me In numeracy programme trial
Photo by Lisa F. Young/Adobe Stock
What is the issue?
While low numeracy skills are common among prisoners, there is little evidence on what adult numeracy interventions work well in prisons. In addition, peer learning approaches have shown promise in schools and some adult education settings, but their impact within prison environments remains unclear.
The Count Me In (CMI) programme, developed by the Shannon Trust, is an initiative aimed at enhancing numeracy among learners in prisons. Its core objectives are to help individuals build a solid understanding of numeracy concepts, develop critical thinking around numbers, and foster curiosity about how numbers relate to everyday life. CMI is designed to be learner-led and adapted to individual needs, circumstances, and skill levels, offering a personalised learning experience. To support those with negative prior educational experiences, the programme encourages learners to progress at their own pace, with the aim of promoting confidence and a positive attitude toward learning.
Since January 2024, the Shannon Trust has been delivering CMI in 60 prisons. Although CMI is a relatively new intervention, it draws on the structure and principles of the Trust’s existing literacy programme, ‘Turning Pages.’ Both programmes share key features: learners are supported by peer mentors, sessions are intended to be short and frequent, and learners work at their own pace.
How did we help?
The Department for Education (DfE) has been developing a programme of Adult Numeracy Trials to generate new, high-quality evidence on what works in adult numeracy to address evidence gaps, funded through the adult numeracy programme, ‘Multiply.’
In 2024, RAND Europe conducted an initial, light-touch Randomised Control Trial feasibility assessment of CMI. This initial review drew on programme documentation and discussions with Shannon Trust representatives. While the findings suggested that a pilot RCT might be feasible, they also highlighted the need for additional information to inform a definitive decision on the feasibility of trialling this intervention in prisons.
Thus, the DfE commissioned RAND Europe to undertake an ‘observe, test and learn’ project. This involved in-prison fieldwork across three sites, including observations and informal conversations with learners, peer mentors, and staff. The aim was to deepen understanding of how CMI operates in practice and to gather further evidence to inform a final decision on trial feasibility, including information on how far CMI was delivered as intended, data availability and how randomisation could work. This work also offered valuable insights and transferrable lessons on setting up RCTs within the prison system more widely, which were shared with the Ministry of Justice.
