This conceptual study seeks to understand parent and teacher perceptions of "effective" home-school partnerships across three secondary schools in England, before problematising these normative understandings. Currently there is little research into home-school partnerships at a secondary level in the UK, and the policy environment is…

This document is part of the review of higher technical education in England. It is intended to be read alongside the main consultation document. Further data about student characteristics can be found in the impact assessment that also accompanies this consultation. It is a comprehensive review of higher technical education is the first for many…

In 2011, Southampton Solent University, a post-1992 university in southern England, introduced a new marking scheme with the aims of changing marking practice to achieve greater transparency and consistency in marking, and to ensure that the full range of marks was being awarded to students. This paper discusses the strategic background to the…

This article discusses "Choice and Challenge" as a tool for school improvement and as a "practicable pedagogy" that attempts to embody the principles of "learning without limits," rejecting ability grouping and labelling. As considered here, "Choice and Challenge" emerges specifically from practice at the…

Nursery experience is now common for young children and their families. Questions of quality have focussed mainly on safety and early learning. The roles of subtle emotional processes in daily pedagogic interactions have received surprisingly little attention. This paper discusses the Tavistock Observation Method (TOM), a naturalistic method of…

Evidence-based reform is transforming education at all levels, both in providing effective models for use in schools and in linking policy to effective practice on a broad scale. As early education moves from a concern with effects of preschool versus no preschool to focus on creating and evaluating effective preschool models capable of improving…

Strategies that encourage direct linkage and exchange between researchers and practitioners are more likely to support changes in educational practice informed by research evidence. Nevertheless, significant challenges remain in linking effectiveness education research to real-world practice: addressing the knowing-doing gap. The paper describes…

Pupils with Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) have the greatest need for excellent teaching and are entitled to provision that supports achievement at, and enjoyment of, school. The attainment gap between pupils with SEND and their peers is twice as big as the gap between pupils eligible for free school meals and their peers.…

This 'best available evidence' review was commissioned by the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) in 2019 to inform the Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) Guidance document (EEF, 2020). This review was commissioned explicitly as a broad overview of evidence across a range of topics, with the intention that the EEF might then…

Purpose: It has been argued, extensively and internationally, that sustained school-based continuous professional development (CPD) has the potential to overcome some of the shortcomings of traditional one-off CPD programs. Yet, the evidence base on more effective or less effective forms of CPD is contradictory. The mechanisms by which sustained…

Challenge the Gap (CtG) is a school collaboration programme designed by Challenge Partners that aims to break the link between disadvantage and attainment. The main components of CtG are: (1) after-school workshops drawing on published research and evidenced practice; (2) focused in-school interventions with a selected cohort of disadvantaged…

The following paper builds on a survey of primary students' wellbeing in an attempt to assess the impact of various creative initiatives on this aspect of their lives. Three case studies were conducted in schools with some of the highest aggregate wellbeing scores, all three schools having also been engaged in various extended Creative Partnership…

Background: Despite the widespread use of practical work in school it has been recognised that more needs to be done to improve its effectiveness in developing conceptual understanding. The "Getting Practical" CPD (Continuing Professional Development) programme was designed to contribute towards an improvement in the effectiveness of…

Within the Global Learning Programme (GLP) in England there has been an explicit focus on encouraging more holistic 'whole school' practice and the need for better evidence of its impact. This paper describes how support for a whole school approach to global learning was rationalised and developed within the programme, and how such an approach was…

This paper presents a review of the family services that were offered by a sample of 121 English Sure Start Children's Centres in 2011 and 2012. Children's Centres are community based facilities that aim to improve outcomes for at-risk families and children through the delivery of a range of services largely aimed at families with young children.…