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Welcome to our first newsletter post. As part of the Research School Network we are excited to be a hub for Suffolk, the eastern region, and further afield, leading and sharing guidance on making the best use of evidence to inform teaching and learning.
Our work promoting and sharing evidence-informed practice is designed to support teachers, teaching assistants, leaders, governors and MATs, in utilising 'best bets' offered by robust research evidence. In the coming months:
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our website will share blogs, links and resources
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follow @SWATrustResSch for updates and links
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get involved in CPD programmes including 'Maths at KS2/3' and 'Maximising the Impact of TAs'
We'd love to hear from you and involve you in our network to secure fantastic opportunities and raise outcomes for all, especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds, across the region.
Andy Samways and Chris Dale
Directors of the Samuel Ward Research School
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A selection of recent blogs that caught our eye ...
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Our Research Leads Programme is off to a great start in Suffolk. Evolving through collaboartion with the Suffolk School to School Support Partnership and Stuart Kime of Evidence Based Education our group of talented leaders and teachers are honing their skills in this exciting role. Read Stuart's recent blog here and gain a participant's reflections in Julia Farrow's blog series.
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School leaders from across the region have been taking advantage of the DfE EEF SSIF Roadshows as they shape Round 2 bids. James Turner, Deputy Chief Executive of the EEF, wrote an extremely useful blog to support putting evidence at the heart of the process of preparing strong bids.
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We were excited to welcome Rob Webster and the UCL team earlier this term to launch a Suffolk cohort within the national Maximising the Impact of Teaching Assistants (MITA) trail. Four schools are part of the intervention group within this national EEF trial involving 128 schools and four further schools are control schools for the duration of the two year trial. We'll keep you posted with progress and reflections of those involved.
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ResearchED 2017 in London last month was a fantatsic event with over 1600 teachers in attendance. Chris Dale and Andy Samways were delighted (if a bit daunted!) to contribute a workshop session. The day was a was a great opportunity to hear from an excellent selection of research-engaged professionals and meet so many inspiring colleagues. Imagine our surprise when Dr Gary Jones attended our session ... one in which we'd quoted him as a key influence on our thinking around leadership of evidence-informed practice! Read the blog of Chris's experience here.
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Subscribers to our newsletter can benefit from 30% off the list price of inspiring books in the Suffolk based John Catt online bookshop. Great titles are being added every month and reflect an increasing accessibilty to evidence-informed practice. Simply enter the code 'SI30' on the 'shopping cart' page.
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EEF/IEE recruiting a new Research School for the Ipswich Opportunity Area
In the recruitment round earlier this year we were unable to appoint a Research School to support the Ipswich Opportunity Area and so we are now seeking a school to become a Research School to support the Ipswich Opportunity Area from January 2018.
To submit an application, please register via the EEF website and complete the online form.
If you are interested in finding out more about the role, please do contact us at the Samuel Ward Reseach School as we are committed to working in partnership for the benefit of our locality and region.
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The Research Schools Network has expanded!
In July, Justine Greening, Secretary of State for Education, confirmed the 11 new Research Schools in Opportunity Areas. The announcement doubles the size of the Research Schools Network. From an original project with eleven schools, we have now grown to 22.
The Research Schools Network aims to put the use of research evidence into the hands of schools and practitioners. Research Schools will share what they know about putting research into practice, and support the schools they are working with to make better use of evidence to inform their teaching and learning. The aim, of course, is to ensure that this improves the outcomes for children in the classroom.
Read more about the expanding Research Schools Network here |
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IEE Innovation Evaluation grants
We are now accepting applications for the third round of IEE Innovation Evaluation grants from schools that are involved with the Research Schools Network.
IEE Innovation Evaluation Grants are available to schools that are working closely with the Research Schools Network. They are awarded by the Institute for Effective Education (IEE) to provide funding for pilot evaluations of innovations of teaching and learning approaches that support the Research Schools Network’s goal to improve the attainment of pupils by increasing the use of evidence-based practices. More information is available on the Research Schools website here, or contact us to discuss your application.
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Evidence-based guidance for improving literacy
One of the challenges when trying to use research evidence to improve teaching practice in schools can be the amount of evidence to wade through, and its inaccessibility.
Most schools and their staff simply don’t have the time to sift through the evidence and reach their own conclusions. With this in mind, guidance reports from the Education Endowment Foundation do some of this heavy lifting for you. And a key part of the role of the Research Schools Network is to turn these guidance reports into training programmes that help schools use them in practice.
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What is the evidence on secondary reading?
Ariane Baye from the University of Liege and Cynthia Lake and colleagues from the Center for Research and Reform in Education have updated their paper Effective Reading Programs for Secondary Students. Their review focuses on 73 studies that used random assignment (n=66) or high-quality quasi-experiments (n=7) to evaluate outcomes of 55 programmes on widely accepted measures of reading.
The authors found that specific programmes using one-to-one, small-group tutoring, and cooperative learning showed positive outcomes, as did a small number of programmes emphasising social-emotional learning, technology, or teaching of metacognitive strategies. Benchmark assessments did not affect reading outcomes. Leaving aside tutoring and benchmarks, programmes that provide additional instructional time (usually, a daily extra period) were no more effective than programmes that did not provide extra time.
The findings suggest that secondary readers benefit more from engaging and personalised instruction than from additional time on supplemental courses.
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We are delighted to be supporting ASSET Education's PD Conference in Ipswich on 20th October. Stephen Fraser from the EEF will be with us as we present and run workshops utilising the EEF KS1&2 Literacy Guidance.
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Aiming high for quality CPD
The Research Schools Network aims to put the use of research evidence into the hands of schools and practitioners. One of the three main strands of its work is training, offering CPD that uses the best research evidence to challenged existing practice.
Later this term we will be announcing opportunities to take part in our 3 day programme bringing the forthcoming KS2/3 Mathematics Guidance Report to life.
As a network that is built on evidence, such CPD needs to build on the research into which CPD is effective.
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We will be offering CPD training and events throughout the year. These will be advertised on the events section of our website, and in these newsletters.
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