Helping busy head teachers

Two-thirds of head teachers in England now use the Teaching and Learning Toolkit , developed by Durham University and the Sutton Trust, to inform how best to spend their pupil premium funding, according to a recent survey. Professor Steve Higgins from the School of Education led the team of researchers who produced the toolkit, which has helped ensure that billions of pounds worth of education spending is used effectively to support disadvantaged pupils. Since its introduction in England in 2011, the Toolkit has been adopted by authorities in Australia, recommended by Learning Wales, and is now in the process of being translated into Spanish and Portuguese for schools in Latin America. There is now also a version aimed at Early Years education, such as nurseries. Toolkit development The Toolkits are free online summaries of research to guide teaching professionals on how to use their resources to improve learning outcomes for disadvantaged children. Together, they cover 46 topics, each summarised in terms of the average impact on learning, the strength of the supporting evidence, and the cost. Originally developed by the Sutton Trust and Durham's research team in 2011, the Teaching and Learning Toolkit has been adopted by the Education Endowment Foundation , endorsed by the National Association of Head Teachers and OFSTED, and has directly influenced Government spending and policy.