This activity, supported by the Department for Education’s Accelerator Fund, focused on three areas that were particularly impacted by the pandemic: the North of England, East Midlands and Humber, and the West Midlands.
As part of delivery, education settings across all ages and phases were invited to take part in EEF trials of high potential English and maths programmes, deliver initiatives with a proven record of improving outcomes at a reduced cost, and support the development of brand-new approaches.
We commissioned a team of independent researchers from the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) and the Sheffield Institute of Education (SIoE) at Sheffield Hallam University to evaluate this work. Here’s what we’ve learned from the findings:
1. There’s a real appetite for evidence-informed programmes and support, and this programme of work was well received by educators.
Despite challenges associated with the continued impact of Covid, school recruitment exceeded targets across each of these strands of work. Over a fifth of schools in the North of England were involved in at least one strand of this activity.
Educators in participating settings reported that Accelerator Fund-related EEF work reflected their development needs and priorities. Three-quarters were “extremely” or “very” satisfied with their experience of taking part, indicating their enthusiasm for putting evidence to use in their respective settings.
Those who attended the school support training programme said that they did so to strengthen their use of evidence to inform their decision-making. Many were very positive about the practical takeaways and resources they received.
2. This model shows promise in accelerating the development of new, high-quality programmes.
Part of this new activity provided structured support with developing new programmes for potential testing across a larger number of settings. This involved the EEF – as well as other external partners – working to support with the design and initial testing of school-based programmes.
All development teams who participated in this work reported achieving their goals, with very few issues or barriers to the design and implementation of their programme. Several commented that the workshops involved in this work had effectively facilitated thorough, deep thinking about programme design and planning, implementation, and evaluation.
These findings show the value of extending our education generation pipeline to include early-stage development support for new programmes.
3. This activity successfully supported well-evidenced programmes to reach more schools.
Four programmes, which had shown promise in raising pupil attainment in previous EEF trials, were supported to deliver to a larger number of schools as part of this activity: 1stClass@Number, Reciprocal Reading, Switch-On Reading and Embedding Formative Assessment.
We also worked with other programmes with a proven record of impact, supporting them to build their capacity to deliver at a larger scale. This was to ensure that effective approaches are made available to more settings and pupils in future.
Survey data suggests that the subject-areas covered by the programmes selected for scale-up were relevant for schools, reflecting the need for recovery support in maths and literacy. The fact that these programmes were being made available at a reduced cost to schools was also well-received. The systematic approach to capability building which supported scaling was highly valued by programme teams.
Based on the success of the first year of delivery, the EEF’s Accelerator Fund activity has been extended for three more years, until 2025. This work is now being undertaken nationwide, so all schools in England are now eligible to take part in:
- EEF trials of promising approaches across maths, English and science
- Delivering programmes that have shown a positive impact in previous EEF trials at a reduced cost
Find out more.
Professor Becky Francis, Chief Executive of the Education Endowment Foundation, said: