Dorset Leadership Conference, 2013Using evidence to inform your leadership approach and support school improvement

James Richardson5th November 2013

james.richardson@eefoundation.org.uk www.educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk

@EducEndowFoundn

Introduction

• In 2011 the Education Endowment Foundation was set up by Sutton Trust as lead charity in partnership with the Impetus Trust. The EEF is funded by a Department for Education grant of £125m and will spend over £200m over its fifteen year lifespan.

• The EEF is an independent charity dedicated to breaking the link between family income and educational achievement.

Achieving our mission: The EEF strategy

We aim to raise the attainment of children facing disadvantage by:• Building the evidence for what works in schools by

identifying and rigorously evaluating evidence-based approaches to teaching and learning

• Sharing the evidence with schools by providing independent and accessible information through the Teaching and Learning Toolkit

• Promoting the use of evidence-based practice through our projects, events and resources such as the DIY Evaluation Guide for schools

EEF Projects

• We are working to fund, develop and evaluate projects that:

• Build on existing evidence.

• Will generate significant new understanding of what works.

• Can be replicated cost effectively if proven to work.

• Examples: Saturday schools, teaching assistants, impact of learning a musical instrument?

Catch Up Numeracy

• One to one intervention with children in Years 2 to 6 who are struggling with numeracy

• Previous research showed an effect size of 0.3• Trial in 50 schools with 300

pupils and 100 teaching assistants randomised

• Effect on attainment measured using standardised maths tests

• Independent evaluation by NFER

• Observations and interviews to inform scale up http://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/proje

cts/category/primary

The EEF approach

Synthesise existing

evidence

Make grants

Evaluate projects

The EEF-Sutton Trust Teaching and Learning Toolkit

• The Toolkit is an accessible, teacher-friendly summaries of educational research

• Practice focused: giving schools the information they need to make informed decisions and narrow the gap

• Based on meta-analyses provided by Durham University

A Pupil Premium Scenario

What do you decide to spend the money on?How do you decide what the money should be spent on?

Number on Roll %FSM Pupil Premium Allocation

750 10% £67,500

Parents Class size reduction

Head of EnglishOne to one tuition

SENCOEmploy more

Teaching Assistants

The Toolkit is a starting point for making decisions

Using the Toolkit

Use the evidence as a starting point for discussion.

Dig deeper into what the evidence actually says

Understand the ‘active ingredients’ of implementation

Teaching Assistants

Implementation

• Identifying activities where TAs can support learning, rather than simply managing tasks.

• Ensuring that TAs are focused on learning as opposed to just ensuring that pupils finish their work.

Approach Potential Gain Cost ApplicabilityEvidence estimate

Summary

Teaching Assistants

0 months ££££Pri, Sec,

Maths, Eng, SciVery low/no impact for

high cost

One to One Tuition

Implementation

• Short periods (5-10 weeks) of intensive sessions (up to an hour 3 or 4 times a week) tend to have greater impact.

• Tuition should be explicitly linked to what happens in class.

Approach Potential Gain Cost ApplicabilityEvidence estimate

Summary

One to One 5 months ££££Pri, Sec,

Maths, Eng, SciHigh impact for high

cost

Reducing Class Size

Implementation

• Smaller classes will not make a difference to learning unless the teacher or pupils do something differently in the smaller class.

• Opportunities for an increase in the quality or quantity of feedback accounts for learning gains.

• Small reductions (e.g. from 30 to 25 pupils) are unlikely to be cost-effective relative to other strategies.

Approach Potential Gain Cost ApplicabilityEvidence estimate

Summary

Reducing class size

3 months £££££Pri, Sec,

Maths, Eng, SciModerate impact for a

very high cost

Overview of value for money

Cost per pupil

Effe

ct S

ize

(mon

ths

gain

)

£00

10

£1000

Feedback

Meta-cognitive

Peer tutoring Pre-school

1-1 tutoringHomeworkICT

AfL Parental involvement

Sports

Summer schools

After school

Individualised learning

Learning styles

ArtsPerformance

pay

Teaching assistants

Smaller classes

Ability grouping

Promising

May be worth it

Requires careful consideration

Applying evidence in practice

External evidence summarised in the Toolkit can be used to inform choices.

Step 2: Identify Potential Solutions

Evaluate the impact of your decisions and identify potential improvements for the

future.

Step 4: Evaluation

Mobilise the knowledge and use the findings to inform the work of the school to

grow or stop the intervention.

Step 5: Embedding Change

Applying the ingredients of effective implementation.

Step 3: Implementation

Identify school priorities using internal data and professional judgement.

Step 1: Identify School Priorities

15

Step 1: Identify School Priorities

Generate a question using data, professional judgement and values.

Does one-to-one oral feedback have an impact on writing outcomes in Year 9

English at Huntington school?

Step 1: Decide what you want to achieve

Step 2: Identify Potential Solutions

Ensure that you start from the best position by seeking internal and external

knowledge.

What evidence is there on the use of oral feedback in improving outcomes?

Step 2: Identify potential solutions

Step 3: Implementation

? Is there disruption to other learning?

How will you organise the feedback during classtime?

How much training do teachers need?

Implementation matters: have you thought about what the approach means for teaching and

learning?

What are the ‘active ingredients’ for effective implementation?

Step 3: Give the idea the best chance of success

Step 4: Evaluation

Did the approach work, what made it work, and how can it be improved next time?

Can you isolate the variable you are interested in (in this case the nature of

feedback) by keeping everything else as similar as you can?

Step 4: Put energy into evaluation

Supporting “DIY evaluation”

• We’ve published a DIY Evaluation Guide with Durham University, which introduces the principles of evaluation.

Step 5: Embedding Change

Moving from what we know to what we do.

Have we captured and embedded oral feedback in English?

Could it make an impact in other areas?

Step 5: Making innovation stick

Applying evidence in practice

External evidence summarised in the Toolkit can be used to inform choices.

Step 2: Identify Potential Solutions

Evaluate the impact of your decisions and identify potential improvements for the

future.

Step 4: Evaluation

Mobilise the knowledge and use the findings to inform the work of the school to

grow or stop the intervention.

Step 5: Embedding Change

Applying the ingredients of effective implementation.

Step 3: Implementation

Identify school priorities using internal data and professional judgement.

Step 1: Identify School Priorities

22

Internal Data

Research Evidence

Evaluate

Closing reflection

What are the challenges of using evidence to inform your approach to school improvement?

Taking part in EEF research: james.richardson@eefoundation.org.uk

£36mgranted to projects

2,200schools

participating in projects

440,000pupils involved in

EEF projects