Education Endowment Foundation:First early years setting joins growing network of 23 Research Schools

First early years setting joins growing network of 23 Research Schools

New Research School in Ipswich wins £200,000 funding to help improve quality of teaching in their area
Author
EEF
EEF
Press Release •4 minutes •

In plans unveiled today by the Education Secretary Damian Hinds, an alliance of schools in Ipswich has won funding to boost the quality of teaching in the region through better use of research.

Highfield Nursery School – in collaboration with Kesgrave and Farlingaye teaching school alliance and Springfield Teaching School Alliance – will receive £200,000 over three years to become the Research School for the Ipswich region and the focal point of evidence-based practice

Part of a joint initiative between the EEF and the Institute for Effective Education (IEE), and part-funded through the Government’s Opportunity Area programme, the new Research School will build networks between schools in the area and develop a programme of support and events to get more teachers using research evidence in ways that make a difference in the classroom.

Highfield will be the first early years setting to join a growing network of 23 Research Schools across the country, including in the other 11 Opportunity Areas. The first five Research Schools were announced in October 2016, with a second six established in January 2017 and a further 11 in July 2017

Since then, they have delivered a wide range of activities nationally to help teachers to use research to improve their teaching. They include programmes to help schools make the most of teaching assistants, training to support literacy in the early years and an initiative to develop Research Leads to spearhead the use of evidence in the classroom. The Research Schools have also hosted conferences for schools in their areas and disseminated Research Schools Network newsletters, sent to thousands of teachers around the country

Published today, the Ipswich Opportunity Area plan sets out a series of ambitious targets to improve outcomes for young people in the region. All the Opportunity Area delivery plans can be viewed here.

Sir Kevan Collins, Chief Executive of the Education Endowment Foundation, said:

Lil Newton, Strategic Director at Highfield Nursery School, added:

Councillor Gordon Jones, Suffolk County Council’s Cabinet Member for Children’s Services, Education and Skills, said:

Further information is available at the Research Schools website: www.researchschool.org.uk.

Notes to editors

1.The Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) is an independent charity set up in 2011 by the Sutton Trust as lead foundation in partnership with Impetus Trust (now part of Impetus – The Private Equity Foundation), with a £125m founding grant from the Department for Education. The EEF is dedicated to breaking the link between family income and educational achievement. Institute for Effective Education (IEE) is an independent charity working closely with schools, school leaders, academy chains, other third sector organisations, and policy-makers to promote the use of research evidence to inform and improve education outcomes for all children, especially the most disadvantaged.

3.Ipswich is one of 12 Opportunity Areas that are developing plans to tackle social mobility and improve opportunities for young people. The full list of Opportunity Areas is as follows: Blackpool, Bradford, Derby, Doncaster, Fenland and East Cambridgeshire, Hastings, Ipswich, North Yorkshire Coast, Norwich, Oldham, Stoke on Trent and West Somerset.

4.The first eleven Research Schools are:

The Research Schools in the other 11 Opportunity Areas are: