Education Endowment Foundation

🧠 What does it take to develop confident problem solvers in maths? 🧮

In the latest episode of our podcast, we explore how to develop pupils’ mathematical thinking so they can reason, represent, and apply knowledge more confidently.

With insights from classroom practice and research, the discussion focuses on what it really takes to build confident problem solvers — and why it matters for long-term success in maths.

Tune in: https://eef.li/a6ECfw

🧠 Metacognition isn’t just about pupils “thinking about thinking” — it’s also about how teachers deliberately support that process in the classroom.

Some useful points to reflect on:

✔️ Explicitly modelling thinking can help pupils approach tasks more strategically
✔️ “Think aloud” strategies make expert thinking visible
✔️ Planning, monitoring, and evaluating learning works best when embedded within subjects
✔️ Scaffolds should support independence, not create reliance
✔️ Small, consistent changes in classroom routines can strengthen learner independence over time

For schools thinking about implementation, consistency and shared classroom language matter too.

💭 Which metacognitive strategies are having the biggest impact in your classroom at the moment?

https://ow.ly/I3Nu50Z6Ezl

Research Schools Network

Metacognition: 5 key changes in the new EEF report The EEF has published an updated version of its popular metacognition guidance. But what's changed?

How can Early Years Pupil Premium (EYPP) funding make the biggest difference for disadvantaged children?

One nursery’s story shows how defining a clear priority can be a key first step in developing an effective EYPP strategy.

Their experience provides practical insights for all settings on how to make the most of your funding and achieve sustained improvement for children.

📖 Read more: https://ow.ly/Bxgi50Z6xpx

📣 We’re looking for primary schools to take part in a new Teacher Choices trial exploring how you teach writing in Year 3 and Year 4.

The project will compare two approaches to re-teaching sentence-combining:

✏️ Explicit instruction

🧠 Metacognitive strategies

Interested in developing writing practice and contributing to education research?

Find out more: https://ow.ly/wJK050Z6GvY

If we want teachers to teach responsively, we have to make space for it.

In many schools, time pressures and competing priorities can make adaptive teaching hard to sustain.

That means leaders have a crucial role — not just introducing approaches, but protecting the conditions that help them take root.

Here are some ways that leaders can support effective implementation:
• building shared understanding of why adaptive teaching matters
• creating a common language around classroom decision-making
• giving teachers time to practise, refine, and revisit approaches
• focusing on coherence instead of ‘the next new thing’

It’s rarely about adding more. It’s about protecting what matters most.

https://eef.li/wPC258

Primary schools: interested in creative approaches to literacy? 📚

We’re looking for schools to take part in a trial of The Power of Reading, a professional development programme for Year 5 teachers delivered by CLPE.

Schools selected for the intervention group will receive:
✔ four in-person training days
✔ high-quality children’s book packs
✔ teaching resources and support

Search your school to find out if you could take part: https://ow.ly/P4xp50YZ2LI

Interested in developing how your setting supports children’s language and communication?

We’re looking for early years settings to take part in a trial of Sheffield Hallam University's Talk with Tales for Children (TWiTCH) programme.

TWiTCH is a professional development programme that aims to improve language development through better interactions during storytime.

What’s involved:

📖 Themed story cycles based on familiar tales

🗣️ Small-group sessions with prompts and reasoning activities

👥 Training, coaching and ongoing support

Key details:

✅ Free to take part

✅ £575 payment for settings trying the programme

✅ £1,000 incentive for settings in the control group

✅ Open to selected local authorities

Search your setting to see if you can take part: https://ow.ly/pxy750YV1TF

Checking for understanding is something most of us build into our lessons.

But the real impact lies in what happens next.

When pupils are unsure, do we pause and reteach?
When some are secure, do we extend?
When responses are mixed, how do we adapt?

This blog looks at what to do next

Check. Adapt. Move Learning Forward. A framework to support adaptive teaching

📖 Support research into reading fluency in Year 5.

Primary schools across London, the South East, East of England, West Midlands, and East Midlands are invited to take part in a trial of Fluency Focus.

This 20-week, whole-class programme is designed to support reading fluency through structured weekly lessons. The trial will explore whether this approach can support pupils’ reading development.

Key details:

✅ Recruiting 120 primary schools

✅ £300 for each school in the intervention group

✅ £500 incentive given to 60 control schools

Search your school to see if you could take part: https://ow.ly/7IvR50YRyjK