About the Toolkit

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 and their cost.

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. In addition, we would welcome suggestions for topics to be included in future editions. If you have a topic suggestion, or any other comments or questions about the Toolkit, please contact Robbie Coleman at robbie.coleman@eefoundation.org.uk.

Why is research useful?

We know that the relationship between spending and pupil outcomes is not simple. Between 1997 and 2011 per pupil spending increased by 85% but over this period improvements in pupil outcomes were marginal on most measures. At school level, it is clear that different ways of spending school budgets can have very different impacts on pupil attainment, and choosing what to prioritise is not easy. Even once a decision to implement a particular strategy has been taken there are a wide variety of factors which determine its impact. We believe that educational research can help schools get the maximum “educational bang for their buck", both in terms of making an initial choice between strategies, and in implementing a strategy as effectively as possible.

One particular spending decision which research can inform is how to spend the Pupil Premium. Introduced in 2010, the aim of the Pupil Premium is to raise achievement among disadvantaged children. It provides additional funding to schools for disadvantaged pupils to ensure they benefit from the same educational opportunities as pupils from wealthier families. In 2012-13 the Pupil Premium is worth £623 per child, and by 2014-15 this is expected to rise to approximately £1,200 per child. If the Pupil Premium is to succeed in achieving its ambitious goals, the choices that schools make in allocating the money are of vital importance.

A range of approaches were selected for analysis and inclusion in the Toolkit, based on: i) approaches commonly mentioned in connection with education policy, ii) suggestions from schools, and iii) approaches with a strong evidence of effectiveness not covered by either previous criterion.

Average impact

Average impact is estimated in terms of additional months progress you might expect pupils to make as a result of an approach being used in school, taking average pupil progress over a year is as a benchmark.

For example, research summarised in the Toolkit shows that improving the quality feedback provided to pupils has an average impact of eight months. This means that pupils in a class where high quality feedback is provided will make on average eight months more progress over the course of a year compared to another class of pupils which were performing at the same level at the start of the year. At the end of the year the average pupil in a class of 25 pupils in the feedback group would now be equivalent to the 6th best pupil in the control class having made 20 months progress over the year, compared to an average of 12 months in the other class.

These estimations are based on ‘effect sizes’ reported in British and international comparative data (see table below). Effect sizes are quantitative measures of the impact of different approaches on learning. The Toolkit prioritises systematic reviews of research and quantitative syntheses of data such as meta-analyses of experimental studies. To be included in the analysis an approach needed to have some quantifiable evidence base for comparison.

Cost

Cost estimations are based on the approximate cost of implementing an approach in a class of twenty five pupils.  Where the approach does not require an additional resource, estimates are based on the cost of training or professional development which may be required. Approaches marked with £££ or less could be funded from the 2012-13 pupil premium allocation of £623 per eligible pupil.

Evidence

Evidence estimates are based on: the availability of evidence (i.e. the number of systematic reviews or meta-analyses and the quantity of primary studies which they synthesise); the methodological quality of the primary evidence; the magnitude of the impact (in terms of effect size); and the reliability or consistency of this impact across the studies reviewed.

Notes on the January 2013 Update

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: