The Department for Education has provided funding to deliver these reviews at scale and evaluate their impact. The funding supports the government’s commitment, set out in the Every Child Achieving and Thriving white paper, to help all pupils reach their potential at school, including through the introduction of government-funded Pupil Premium strategy reviews for schools that need additional support.
Bespoke support for schools
Starting in early 2027, the Research Schools Network will work with individual schools and provide advice and support to help them plan, implement and monitor improvements to their Pupil Premium strategy. This will help them make the most of their Pupil Premium funding and centre their plans on evidence-backed approaches.
Each review is expected to take around two terms. The Research Schools Network will work with school leaders, teachers and pupils to understand the local context and the challenges the school is facing.
Through a mixture of online meetings and in-person school visits, the reviews will provide reflections on areas for development and signpost to helpful resources to help further improve the strategy. Follow-up support will help schools put changes into practice.
Targeted at schools with challenging attainment gaps
Schools are eligible for support if they are in the lowest 25% nationally for disadvantaged pupils’ attainment. This ensures the reviews target schools where the support has the greatest potential to improve outcomes. Eligible primary and secondary schools can request a review by submitting an expression of interest. Research Schools will also contact individual schools that may benefit most from the support.
The Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) will also develop support for organisations that work with groups of schools, such as multi-academy trusts and local authorities, to strengthen how these organisations help schools use their Pupil Premium funding.
Commenting on the work, Professor Becky Francis CBE, CEO of the EEF, said:
How can schools apply?
- Eligible schools can express their interest by completing this form. Applications for reviews beginning in the spring term of the 2026 – 27 school year will be open until Friday 27th November 2026. There will be other opportunities for eligible schools to express their interest at a later date.
- Schools are eligible for support if they are in the lowest 25% nationally for disadvantaged pupils’ attainment, based on three-year average attainment outcomes for disadvantaged pupils for academic years 2022 – 23, 2023 – 24 and 2024 – 25, as provided by the Department for Education.
Further details
- This offer complements the Department for Education’s RISE universal support in their regions. The offer will also be available to schools receiving targeted RISE support.
- The Research Schools Network (RSN) is a collaboration of 32 schools and settings across England, working with schools, colleges and early years settings to champion the use of evidence to improve teaching. They do this by sharing and providing support to use research evidence, with a focus on socio-economically disadvantaged children. The RSN has significant expertise in supporting schools to adopt evidence-based approaches to their pupil premium spending. This includes providing support with pupil premium strategies for schools in their locality.
- The EEF’s Guide to the Pupil Premium is a practical, step-by-step resource to support schools in developing and implementing an effective Pupil Premium strategy.
- The EEF will be commissioning a mixed-methods pilot evaluation of the Pupil Premium strategy reviews, to understand if the quality of the strategies improved following a review. The evaluation will also examine the feasibility of implementing these Pupil Premium strategy reviews at scale.