- One of three new EEF-funded
projects recruiting schools
Secondary schools can sign-up to take part in a new trial,
launched by the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) today, that
will find out if undergraduate mentors can help boost GCSE
science results.
Ascents 121 aims to improve Year 11 pupils’
science attainment by training undergraduate students to deliver
weekly, one-to-one mentoring sessions to pupils in the lead up to
their GCSE science exam. The EEF is looking for secondary schools
in London, the Southwest, East Midlands, and North of England to
take part in the trial, which will be independently evaluated by
NatCen.
The EEF previously funded a trial of Ascents 121 in 2019, but
disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the consequent
changes in GCSE grading meant that it was not possible to
complete an impact assessment. However, the programme was very
well received by school leaders and mentees, who reported that it
appeared to lead to increased understanding and enjoyment of
science subjects.
This is one of three new EEF-funded projects that schools across
England can take part in.
- The EEF is offering primary schools subsidised access to
Focus4Taps, a programme proven to successfully
boost Year 5 pupils’ (nine and 10-year-olds) science outcomes.
The Focus4TAPS programme aims to raise scientific attainment by
providing high quality professional development for science
subject leaders and teachers over the course of an academic year.
Children who received the programme as part of the EEF’s previous
trial of the approach made an average of 2 months’ additional
progress compared to a control group. The evaluation, led by a
team from Institute of Education – UCL’s Faculty of Education and
Society – also found a similarly positive impact for children
eligible for free school meals.
- Primary schools across England can take part in our upcoming
trial of FFT Reciprocal
Reading. This programme is a structured, targeted,
12-week intervention, delivered to support pupils in Years 5 and
6 (9-11 year-olds) who are struggling to understand texts. It
aims to develop these pupils’ comprehension skills by teaching
them specific strategies – predicting, clarifying, questioning
and summarising, which they can use to make sense of what they
read. An earlier EEF-funded trial found that children in receipt
of the intervention made an average of two months’ additional
progress in reading comprehension and overall reading, compared
to the control group.
Professor Becky Francis, CEO of the Education Endowment
Foundation, said:
“After years of disruption, it’s really exciting that we are
able to resume the important work of testing the impact of
education programmes, so that leaders are able to make informed
decisions about the strategies they choose to
implement.
“It’s more important than ever that schools have assurances
that the teaching and learning approaches they are investing
resources in are going to have the desired effect on pupil
progress.”
Schools can search their school on the EEF website to find
out which opportunities are available to them.
