The document discusses the strategies to improve educational achievement for disadvantaged pupils through the Pupil Premium, particularly focusing on the roles of the Sutton Trust and Education Endowment Foundation. It emphasizes the importance of using evidence-based approaches, such as the teaching and learning toolkit, to inform decision-making in schools. Additionally, it addresses common myths about educational research and the necessity of evaluating the impact of interventions to ensure effective implementation.

1. The Pupil Premium
Strategies to Improve Achievement that Work?
Lee Elliot Major and Robbie Coleman
8th July 2013
lee.elliotmajor@suttontrust.com
robbie.coleman@eefoundation.org.uk

2. Two charities, one aim
• The Sutton Trust was founded in 1997 by Sir Peter
Lampl. It is dedicated to improving social mobility
through education.
• In 2011 the Sutton Trust as lead charity in partnership
with Impetus launched the Education Endowment
Foundation, funded by a Department for Education
grant of £125m. The EEF is an independent charity
dedicated to breaking the link between family income
and educational achievement.

3. Complementary approaches
EEF Sutton Trust
Pupils eligible for free school meals Low and middle income students
5-16 year olds 0-18 year olds
Funds and evaluates programmes
and approaches
Runs own programmes and conducts
research and policy work
Attainment-focused Aspirations and progression
Core attainment at 11 and 16
Stretching able students; mobility at the
top end
Linking research and practice – Sutton-EEF Teaching and Learning Toolkit

4. Supporting schools to close the
gap in three ways
• Ensuring that schools have access to high-
quality, independent evidence, as a starting point
for decision-making and innovation.
• Helping schools evaluate the impact of
strategies to close the gap with guidance, advice
and case studies.
• Building the evidence of what works to raise the
attainment of disadvantaged pupils in schools
through rigorously evaluated large scale projects.

5. 1. Teaching and Learning Toolkit
• The Toolkit is an accessible, independent summary of
educational research.
• Practice focused: aims to
help schools make
informed decisions and
narrow the gap.
• Based on meta-
analyses conducted
by Durham
University.

6. Toolkit overview:
A starting point for decision making

7. Example: Approach summary

8. References

9. Scenario: Spending the Pupil
Premium
• A large secondary school receives £250,000 from the
Pupil Premium in 2012-13.
• How should the school decide to use this money?
• Should the school spend the money on professional
development to improve the quality of feedback pupils
receive, or small group tuition, or class size reduction?
The Toolkit doesn’t tell you what to do, but we hope that it will
help teachers and schools make more informed decisions.

10. Caution!
Myth 1: Research
provides a simple list of
dos and don’ts.

11. Reducing
Class Size
Average cost-effectiveness
High
Impact
Teaching
AssistantsLow
Impact
Low
cost
High
cost
Peer tutoring
One to one
Small group
tuition
Feedback
Aspiration
interventions
Parental
involvement
Block
scheduling

12. 2. Supporting “DIY evaluation”
• Evaluating the
impact of the
decisions you make
is very important.
We’ve published a
DIY Evaluation
Guide with Durham
University, which
could help.

13. Applying evidence in practice
External evidence summarised in the Toolkit
can be used to inform choices.
Step 2: Identifying possible solutions
Evaluate the impact of your decisions and
identify potential improvements for the future.
Step 4: Did it work?
Mobilise the knowledge and use the findings
to inform the work of the school to grow or stop
the intervention.
Step 5: Securing and spreading change
Applying the ingredients of effective
implementation.
Step 3: Giving the idea the best chance of success
Identify school priorities using internal data
and professional judgement.
Step 1: What do you want to achieve?

14. Caution!
Myth 2: There are proven
methods which work every
time, in every context.

15. 3. Funding rigorous evaluations
• So far, the EEF
has funded 56
projects working
with 1,800
schools and
300,000 pupils,
building on the
5,500 studies in
the Toolkit.
Synthesise
existing
evidence
Make
grants
Evaluate
projects

16. Caution!
Myth 3: We already
know enough about what
works, we just have to go
and do it.

17. Reflections
• Evidence can help you capturing the benefits of
current and new spending.
• But, there are no off the shelf solutions; context,
implementation and evaluation matters.
• Research can support teachers to make better
decisions, but only in tandem with professional
judgment and consideration.