New report finds pilot to support evidence-informed school improvement shows promise

The pilot project, a partnership between the EEF, West Somerset Research School, and Bristol City Council, was delivered from June 2020 to September 2022.

It included a package of training, support, and resources that took a staged approach to helping schools apply the processes set out in the EEF’s 2018 Implementation guidance report. The programme integrated the recommendations for effective implementation using these processes, with practices related to the effective leadership and deployment of teaching assistants, as set out in the EEF’s Making Best Use of Teaching Assistants guidance report.

Experienced system leaders were recruited and trained as regional implementation leads, who provided direct support to schools. 71 schools across Bristol took part in the project. Each school was asked to identify a school implementation lead, who was a senior leader, to participate in the programme and to establish a school implementation team.

The independent evaluation of the pilot, led by a team from Sheffield Hallam University, aimed to find out how feasible the approach was and if it was ready for a larger scale-up.