A Longitudinal Evaluation of the Foundation Phase: Ten years of curriculum design and implementation

This studentship aims to replicate much of the case study research five years on from the original Welsh Government funded independent evaluation and ten years on from when the Foundation Phase was first rolled out. This would involve revisiting the 41 primary schools and 10 funded non-maintained settings, repeating the classroom observations and interviewing the staff. It may also include repeating the survey of parents. Data will be compared to the original data to identify changes in delivery and practice of the Foundation Phase. It may also provide a unique opportunity to consider how the Foundation Phase is being delivered alongside more recent policy reforms, such as the Literacy and Numeracy Framework and the introduction of standardised testing for all 7 to 13 year olds in Wales. Furthermore, the Welsh Government have stated that they plan to publish a Foundation Phase Action Plan in Autumn 2016 and this research will be able to examine what impact this Action Plan is having in schools and funded non-maintained settings. A critical focus of the study will be to explore possible explanations for the apparent limited impact of the Foundation Phase in closing the attainment gap between key groups - such as between boys and girls and between pupils eligible for free school meals and other pupils.