EEF case studies focus on key themes drawn from our EEF Guide to Supporting School Planning: A Tiered Approach, which schools have already been working hard to strengthen this year: high-quality teaching, targeted academic support and wider strategies.

A key high-quality teaching and targeted intervention strategy is improving social and emotional learning. When carefully implemented, social and emotional learning can increase positive pupil behaviour and well-being, and academic performance. An overarching theme from the EEF guidance report, Improving Social and Emotional Learning in Primary Schools, is the importance of implementation and the monitoring of progress, with school leaders prioritising this work if it is to have impact.

Since partial school closures, many schools have been reviewing their core vision and curriculum offer. The recommendations in this guidance report provide a starting point for school leaders to critically review how they support children’s social and emotional development. These three case studies offer a window into schools that have been testing out approaches to do just that:

• Woodhall Primary School explain how they have trained Emotional Literacy Specialist Assistants to support pupils in developing social and emotional learning strategies.
• The case study from Sheringham Nursey School outlines how staff have introduced emotional dials to help children identify and transition between zones of regulation. 
• Billesley Primary School explain how they approach teaching interpersonal skills explicitly to encourage meaningful interaction between pupils. 

These EEF case studies can be shared with senior leadership teams, governors, and teaching staff as part of each school’s drive to engage with evidence and assess how best to implement the right strategies for their students.

If you would like to share your experience as part of the EEF case study series, please do get in touch.