“The power of the Early Years Pupil Premium lies not in what we buy, but in what we do.
“By focusing on professional development and purposeful use of resources, we're better placed to support children from lower-income backgrounds.”
Read more: tinyurl.com/2nwsh8ms
🗣️ Talk first, read best! 📖
The best way to encourage confident readers is encourage confident talkers.
In your classroom, you can:
1. Prioritise quality interactions
2. Use explicit vocabulary teaching
3. Harness shared reading
4. Encourage collaborative talk
researchschool.org.uk/news/talk-fi...
“Before, we spent Early Years Pupil Premium money on equipment or trips for specific children. Now, we invest in our adults. We know that they will make the biggest difference, if they have the right skills and mentoring.”
Full blog: tinyurl.com/ycxanewh
The Early Years Pupil Premium has increased. How can you make the most of the funding?
Hear how one setting used it to deliver more effective language support for disadvantaged children:
- starting with reflection
- making a long-term plan
- supporting talk
tinyurl.com/ycxanewh
🎉 Evidence-informed metacognition for 16-19 learners.
We’re hosting a conference with the Gatsby Charitable Foundation, 11 June, Friends House, London.
Free tickets now available!
Find out more about who should attend & what to expect:
🎟️ luma.com/0uzz854s
Strengthening teaching isn’t always about doing something new.
Often it’s refining what you already do.
Small changes → clearer responses → better learning.
What’s one routine you’ve refined recently?
👉 eef.li/Sdqq6S
How do you support your students to think about their learning?
We’re exploring how metacognitive strategies are used with 16–19 learners and we need your voice.
🕒 10-min survey
🎁 Chance to win a £100 Amazon voucher
📊 Shape future guidance
👉https://tinyurl.com/y4v9c2rb
👋 We’re growing the EEF Exchange — a community of educators sharing their insights to influence our work.
Join us: tinyurl.com/2h6xc5hs
Early years settings: strengthen your maths practice
Last few spaces for @ndnatalk.bsky.social's Maths Champions, fully funded by the DfE.
Children in participating settings made 3 months’ extra progress in maths & language on average. For PVIs, maintained, & school nurseries. tinyurl.com/4xcc7n8r
A new @theeef.bsky.social planning tool is helping early years settings use the Early Years Pupil Premium strategically. With EYPP funding rising from April 1, the tool supports leaders to plan, target & monitor spending using evidence-informed approaches: buff.ly/QbBmqNf
We're proud to partner with @theeef.bsky.social @place2becharity.bsky.social @ipsosintheuk.bsky.social @lshtm.bsky.social to evaluate the Learning Together Mental Health programme.
Secondary #schools in England can register interest by 1 May 2026: bit.ly/4jvPJZC
#wellbeing #belonging #attainment
Can stories support early maths learning? 📚🔢
We’re inviting primary schools across East England, London & the South East to join a 10-week Maths Through Picture Books trial—it aims to support Reception pupils with early numeracy through shared reading.
👉 Search your school: tinyurl.com/3wtsp5f9
💡If we want students to read complex texts and write with precision, they need regular opportunities to rehearse ideas aloud— using the language of the subject.
That’s how understanding grows.
tinyurl.com/3vsewcky
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💬 We say “talk helps learning”.
But it’s stronger than that:
👉 Talk is learning.
Oral language isn’t separate from literacy — it sits at its heart. Reading, writing and talk are deeply interconnected.
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Secondary schools in England:
How are you managing behaviour and supporting pupils?
Take part in the School Climate Study with @natcen.bsky.social, @youthendowmentfund.org.uk, & us.
✔ Share your experience confidentially
✔ Get tailored results
✔ £100 thank-you
Take part: tinyurl.com/2mrxuhk6
More about the trial:
✔ Free training, coaching & support
✔ Recruiting 132 settings
✔ Incentives: £575 intervention group / £1,000 control group
📍 Selected Local Authorities in North West, East Midlands & Yorkshire and the Humber
📩 Search your setting to see if you could take part
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📣 We’re looking for early years settings to take part in an EEF-funded trial of TWiTCH (Talk with Tales for Children) which aims to support language development in 3–4-year-olds, delivered by @sheffieldhallamuni.bsky.social.
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💡 When pupils struggle with writing, it’s often because they don’t know how to think about the task first.
This blog from Shotton Hall Research School highlights practical ways to build metacognition in lessons.
👉 tinyurl.com/4p9us4a4
How do you support pupils to think before they write?
📣 Early years settings in England
Join our funded evaluation of Positive Early Childhood Education (PECE).
Aims to:
• Support self-regulation (age 3–4)
• Build positive staff–child interactions
Search your setting to see if you could take part: tinyurl.com/3wtsp5f9
💭 Reflection matters, but students need structure to do it well.
@devonresearchsch.bsky.social's blog explores how exam wrappers can support pupils to think about what they did, how it worked, and what they’ll change next.
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💡 School based sixth-forms & sixth-form colleges — want early insights into risks of your learners disengaging?
Take part in our new EEF-funded EdTech pilot project of STEER Tracking.
📩 Search your setting to find out if you could take part: tinyurl.com/3wtsp5f9
Evidence on on-screen exams is still limited, so a careful rollout with strong evaluation will be essential.
Read more: tinyurl.com/4xds2zuc
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We’ve responded to Ofqual’s public consultation on regulating on-screen GCSE and A-level exams.
Our key message: changes to assessment must not disadvantage pupils from lower-income backgrounds.
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📣 Funding opportunity: Our Spring 2026 round closes 11 am, Wed 11 Mar 2026.
Themes:
• Early years maths (pre-Reception)
• 16-19 technical & vocational (attendance & transition)
📩 Apply or share: tinyurl.com/mr7c6928
🗣️ Do you want to know how to structure classroom talk to strengthen metacognition?
Try this:
- Pick one moment (plan, monitor, or evaluate)
- Model your thinking aloud
- Use 2–3 prompt questions to guide pupil talk
Use our new practitioner tool, editable for your context.
🔗 tinyurl.com/ajv67jv2
Check out the blog below, introducing the @theeef.bsky.social's new 'Check.Adapt' resource - a practical tool designed to help teachers respond to pupil learning with effective, targeted feedback and clear next steps.
🎧 New episode of Evidence into Action out now!
We’re exploring metacognition and its evolving role in classrooms with @beverleyjj.bsky.social, Tom Colquhoun of @somersetrs.bsky.social and Emily Smeaton of North Yorkshire Coast research School.
🎙️ Don’t miss it: tinyurl.com/2n2bnvak
💡 How do you know if pupils really understand a new concept?
Our new resource helps teachers notice understanding in the moment and give targeted, effective feedback to support every pupil’s learning.
Download the editable template and make every lesson count.
👉 tinyurl.com/22268b6d
A great opportunity for colleagues in the primary and secondary school sectors to contribute and shape the work of the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) via our EEF Exchange.
Find out more and get involved below! 👇
@theeef.bsky.social
