The Sutton Trust-EEF Teaching and Learning Toolkit is an accessible summary of educational research which provides guidance for teachers and schools on how to use their resources to improve the attainment of disadvantaged pupils.

The Toolkit currently covers 30 topics, each summarised in terms of their average impact on attainment, the strength of the evidence supporting them, their cost and their applicability. It is a live resource which is regularly updated to reflect the current state of knowledge in education.

Notes on the January 2013 Update

The Toolkit is a live resource which will be updated on a regular basis as findings from EEF-funded projects and other high-quality research become available.

Major updates made to the Toolkit in January 2013 include:

• The addition of eight new topics: Aspiration interventions, Behaviour interventions, Collaborative learning, Extended school time, Mentoring, Physical environment, Social and emotional aspects of learning, Small group tuition.
• A full update on all existing topics to incorporate the publication of new research.
• The addition of video case studies and improved links to further reading and providers of professional development via the Teacher Development Trust's GoodCPDGuide.

Significant changes to existing topics include:

• An adjustment of the average impact in Feedback from nine months to eight months. This adjustment was made following the publication of a new meta-analysis of Assessment for Learning. It suggests that gains from implementing more effective feedback are challenging to achieve in school contexts.
• Splitting Homework into Homework (Primary) and Homework (Secondary) to reflect the difference in impact according to stage.
• An adjustment of the average impact in Sports participation from three months to one month following the publication of two new meta-analyses.
• Adjustments to the average impact estimates for Ability grouping, Block scheduling and School uniforms. These estimates are now given as point estimates (i.e. a single number of months progress) rather than ranges, for consistency with other summaries.  Where the research shows different impacts for different groups of pupils, as in the case of Ability grouping, the average impact for disadvantaged students has been shown.
• Cost estimates for Digital technology (previously Information and computer technologies) have been reduced to moderate, based on the increasing use of cheaper laptops and tablet PCs in schools.
• Cost estimates for One to one tuition by an experienced teacher have been reduced to high, based on figures supplied by schools.