The programme, delivered by academics at Nottingham Trent University and the University of Birmingham, aims to raise reading skills by developing pupils’ oral reading fluency, their reading comprehension, as well as their motivation to read. Pupils work in pairs to complete structured reading activities.
The independent evaluation of PALS-UK, led by Manchester Metropolitan University and funded through the Department for Education’s Accelerator Fund, saw 4,800 Year 5 pupils across 114 schools take part. In half of the schools, teachers delivered the PALS-UK programme, while the other half continued with their ‘business as usual’ practice.
The analysis found that pupils in primary schools using the PALS-UK programme made, on average, two months’ additional progress in reading compared to pupils in the schools who did not. These results have an EEF security rating of moderate to high, meaning there is a good level of confidence in this result.
When looking specifically at the impact of the programme on pupils experiencing socio-economic disadvantage, the evaluation found that those eligible for Free School Meals (FSM) made an average of one months’ additional progress compared to their peers in schools not running the programme.
This finding, however, is less secure than the finding for all pupils and should not be interpreted as evidence that the programme is less effective for disadvantaged pupils. Further analysis included in the evaluation suggested that the progress levels for children eligible for FSM and for other children in schools receiving PALS-UK were in fact very similar.
PALS was originally developed by academics from Vanderbilt University and the EEF’s new evaluation adds to evidence from previous evaluations conducted in a US context. The EEF is exploring funding a larger trial of the programme.
Alongside the promising results of the PALS-UK programme, the EEF has published a further four evaluation reports today.
- Community Apprentice: This social action programme supported Year 10 pupils to design and deliver a charity fundraising campaign, with the aim of developing non-cognitive skills of social confidence, teamwork and self-efficacy. The evaluation of the programme, run by Envision, included 761 pupils from 30 different schools. Results found that pupils who took part in the Community Apprentice programme made no more additional progress in their attainment compared to pupils in schools who did not take part in the programme. There is a high level of uncertainty around this result though which should be kept in mind when considering the overall impact of this programme. The study also provides strong evidence that the programme has positive effects on pupils’ sense of general self-efficacy and their social confidence, as well as some evidence in support of a positive effect on teamwork.
- Mathematical Reasoning: This programme aims to improve mathematical attainment for Year 2 pupils by promoting an understanding of numbers, quantitative reasoning and problem solving. It is delivered within pupils’ normal maths lessons and teachers are provided with training to support this delivery. This pilot evaluation, conducted by University College London (UCL) Institute of Education (IOE), included 32 schools and used evaluation activities such as questionnaires and interviews to assess whether an online version of the teacher training would work for this programme. The findings broadly support the idea of online training to help deliver this programme, with participating teachers finding this useful in preparing them for delivery of the programme to pupils.
- EEFective Kent Project: This project saw EEF partner with Kent County Council to support take-up of evidence-based programmes, as well as training and the developing research champions to advocate for evidence-informed education. The evaluation of the project, led by Institute for Employment Studies (IES), sought to understand the uptake of evidence-based practices in the area as well as the reach and sustainability of the project and used methods such as surveys and interviews. The evaluation found that participants valued the training offered and found it relevant to their context but overall, the rates of participation among Kent schools were lower than expected. The COVID-19 pandemic and budgetary pressures affected schools’ ability to take part in the project. This evaluation faced some difficulties, impacting how it met the overall intended evaluation design which means we cannot have a high level of confidence in the findings.
A further evaluation report released today looked at the early roll-out of the Early Career Framework which ran in 2020, prior to the national policy being launched the following year.
The ECF is a professional development entitlement for teachers in the first two years in their career, setting out key skills, techniques and knowledge to support them to best become effective teachers. The ECF formed part of the Department for Education’s Teacher Recruitment and Retention Strategy and has been rolled out across schools in England over the last few years.
The evaluation of the early roll-out, led by the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER), investigated the potential impact of the programme on teacher retention in state schools in their first two years of teaching, as well as their self-efficacy, teaching quality, and job satisfaction.
The evaluation found that early career teachers (ECTs) who participated in the ECF ERO were as likely to remain in the profession after two years as their peers in schools continuing with a business-as-usual induction process. These results have an EEF security rating of low to moderate due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, which interrupted delivery and resulted in some schools in the comparison group having access to ECF-based support.
The evaluation also found that participants in the ECF were more likely to stay in their original induction school after two years and reported positive benefits to their teaching practice and confidence.
Commenting on the evaluations released today, Emily Yeomans, co-Chief Executive of the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF), said:
Dr Emma Vardy from Nottingham Trent University, who co-delivered the PALS-UK programme, said:
Professor Helen Breadmore from University of Birmingham, who also delivered the programme, said: