Education Endowment Foundation:A third of school leaders using the Toolkit

A third of school leaders using the Toolkit

Author
EEF
EEF
Press Release •2 minutes •

A new survey has shown that 36% of school leaders are using the Sutton Trust-EEF Teaching and Learning Toolkit to inform their spending decisions.

The 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. It has been developed by a team of academics at Durham University led by Professor Steve Higgins.

The Pupil Premium provides schools with an extra £900 for every pupil eligible for free school meals in 2013/14. A total of £1.875 billion is being allocated in 2013 – 14 and the average school in England receives over £83,000. Schools have autonomy to spend the Premium in the ways they think will most effectively support pupils eligible for free school meals.

Sir Peter Lampl, chairman of the Sutton Trust and of the Education Endowment Foundation, said today: The Government is spending nearly two billion pounds on the Pupil Premium this year. The Pupil Premium is one of the few areas of government spending that is set to grow in the forthcoming spending review. It is vital that the Pupil Premium money is spent well, and used on those measures that can do most to improve results for our poorest pupils.

I’m pleased to see that so many school leaders – and a growing number of classroom teachers – are turning to research on what works rather than simply relying on past practice. It is particularly heartening that the Sutton Trust-EEF Toolkit has grown so much in popularity. But we still need to ensure that more teachers act on the evidence, and embrace the most cost-effective measures that can make such a difference to the learning and life chances of their poorest pupils.”

Dr Kevan Collins, chief executive of the Education Endowment Foundation, said: I’m delighted that increasing numbers of teachers and heads are using evidence to help them make decisions about how to spend the Pupil Premium. As the Premium becomes a fixture in school budgets we’re trying to provide schools with the knowledge they need to make the informed decisions, as well as with advice on how to evaluate the impact of these decisions in the classroom.”

The survey of 1587 teachers was conducted by the National Foundation for Educational Research and commissioned by the Sutton Trust.

For more information about the poll view the Sutton Trust’s report here.

View the Teaching and Learning Toolkit here.

View the EEF’s DIY Evaluation Guide here. The Guide is an accessible resource for teachers which introduces the key principles of educational evaluation and provides guidance on how to conduct small-scale evaluations in schools.