New £700,000 initiative launched to boost education outcomes across England – North West schools to benefit 

Around 300 schools across England will benefit from 10 new regional partnerships to improve teaching and educational outcomes for local pupils, specifically those from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds, the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) announced today (13 November).   

Each two-year partnership will be led by an EEF-supported research school, a network of schools that champion the use of evidence-informed education in their area.  

Each research school has teamed up with organisations in their local area, such as local authorities and multi academy trusts, to identify and address a specific challenge facing disadvantaged pupils in their area.   

In one partnership, Manchester Communication Research School worked with Manchester County Council to dig into their data. They noticed that disadvantaged pupils in primary schools across the area had low writing outcomes.  

To try and change this, they have designed a partnership with CLIC Trust that will support 30 primary schools in Manchester to improve their writing provision. The partnership will build local networks, host events, and support participating schools with training, peer-shadowing, and monitoring so that they can provide more opportunities for developing writing skills across different subjects.   

EEF said the new collaborations are the latest in its regional work, which aims to support and embed evidence-informed approaches across the country, with a focus on tackling the stubborn attainment gap currently experienced by disadvantaged pupils. The organisation has invested over £700,000 across the ten partnerships to support the work towards this aim.  

The new partnerships and their themes are:   

·  Manchester: Improving writing for four to six-year-olds – led by Manchester Communication Research School, in partnership with Manchester County Council and the CLIC Trust 

·  Lancashire: Supporting communication and language in reception – led by Lancashire Research School, in partnership with Lancashire County Council  

·  Dudley: Improving outcomes in Key Stages 1 and 2 reading comprehension - led by St Matthew’s Research School, in partnership with Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council  

·  South London: Supporting disciplinary reading in Key stage 2 - led by London South Research School, in partnership with Southwark Diocese Board of Education Multi-Academy Trust  

·  Wiltshire: Improving early years communication and language skills through high-quality interactions – led by Somerset Research School, in partnership with Wiltshire local authority  

·  Stockport: Developing oracy skills in young children – led by Alexandra Park Research School, in partnership with Stockport Council  

·  Havering: Improving reading fluency and comprehension in Key Stages 2 and 3 – led by North London Alliance and East London Research Schools, in partnership with London Borough of Havering  

·  Leeds: Supporting social and emotional development for pupils in Key Stage 1 – led by Huntington Research School, in partnership with Leeds Learning Alliance    

·  Worcestershire: Transforming literacy leadership for disadvantaged children and young people – led by Billesley and Tudor Grange Research Schools, in partnership with Worcestershire County Council  

·  Gloucestershire: Improving writing across Key Stages 2 and 3, for disadvantaged pupils – led by Gloucestershire Research School, in partnership with Gloucestershire Council  

The EEF’s Research Schools Network was established in 2016. Now a network of 33 schools across England, each research school supports other schools, colleges, and early years settings in their region by communicating research evidence and helping embed this into practice through training and school-to-school support.  

Since the network began, over 11,000 schools – or almost half of all schools in England – have accessed support from their local research school. The launch of these new partnerships will help to progress this work further, taking evidence from theory into practice in more schools.   

Commenting on the announcements, Chris Paterson, co-CEO of the Education Endowment Foundation, said: “It’s great to launch these 10 new partnerships to help local areas tackle a real problem they’re facing.  

“At the heart of this work are committed teachers and school leaders determined to give their pupils the best education and ensure none are sold short simply due to something like how much their parents earn.”   

Chris continued: “We know that educators up and down the country understand the importance of rooting their teaching in well-evidenced approaches. But taking something from theory to practice isn’t always straightforward.  

“These partnerships, and our wider Research Schools Network, offer the chance for schools to share their expertise and build a community of shared learning of what really works. Adding to this will only improve teaching practices further and ensure that children and young people from all backgrounds are supported to fulfil their potential at school.”