Evidence-informed practice is now regarded as instrumental to school reform efforts both in England and elsewhere (Greany, 2015). This is especially important given the focus on school self-improvement coupled with a drive for high-quality teaching within a devolved, and increasingly autonomous, education system. Teaching schools are outstanding…

In early 2007, at the start of the Local Authorities Research Consortium's (LARC's) first year of work, local authorities (LAs) wanted to know if integration of services was having an impact on outcomes. One year on, the question has become--how can we make integrated working deliver better outcomes faster and more consistently? The shift in…

The Secondary School Curriculum and Staffing Survey (SSCSS) has been carried out every four to six years since 1965. The 2007 survey was carried out by the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER), on behalf of the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF). The aim of this survey was to create a picture of the secondary…

This report summarises key findings from the statistical aspects of the research conducted to assess the impact of the pilot on the attainment of bilingual pupils in participating primary schools. Research was conducted by a team at the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) between 2004 and 2006 on behalf of the Department for…

Creative Partnerships (CP) commissioned the National Foundation for Educational Research to research the sharing of practice generated through CP within and between schools locally. Based on 93 interviews with teachers and CP staff, the research explored the relationship between the dissemination of the work of CP and the more informal means by…

The focus of the Local Authorities Research Consortium's (LARC's) first year was to identify the early impact of integrated children's services and the features that promote or hinder success in improving outcomes for children and young people. The research operated in varied localities within the 14 participating Local Authorities (LAs), with one…

This position paper has been produced in order to inform some of the current debates on National Curriculum Assessment in England. The Education and Skills Committee of the House of Commons has announced an inquiry into Testing and Assessment. In part this will examine testing and assessment in primary and secondary education as a key issue.…

Many thousands of children in the UK are educated at home, and the subject of support for the home-education community is debated. The National Foundation for Educational Research conducted research to examine the views of home educators about the support they receive from local authorities, other home-educating families, schools and other…

Over recent years there has been an increasing emphasis on making provision within Further Education (FE) colleges for pupils in key stage 4 of secondary schools. Although there has been research exploring young people's responses to vocational and work-related opportunities, it has generally concentrated on their experience of attending college…

Service Children's Education (SCE) is an agency of the Ministry of Defence (MOD) that is dedicated to the education of children of service families and MOD personnel serving outside of the United Kingdom, specifically in Belgium, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands, Cyprus, Gibraltar, Falkland Islands, Belize and Brunei. These schools follow the…

The National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) is carrying out a nine year evaluation of citizenship education in England on behalf of the Department for Education and Skills (DfES). The Citizenship Education Longitudinal Study (hereafter, the Study) began in 2001 and is tracking a cohort of young people from age 11 to 18, who entered…

In 2005-6 a team from the NFER carried out an evaluation of the implementation of Renaissance Learning mathematics and reading programs in selected Specialist (secondary) and feeder (primary) schools in London. The research involved matching schools implementing the programs (14 "treatment" schools) with 7 similar schools where the…

The Increased Flexibility Programme for 14 to 16 year olds (IFP) was introduced in 2002. The aim of the programme was to "create enhanced vocational and work-related learning opportunities for 14 to 16 year olds of all abilities who can benefit most", including supporting provision of the GCSEs in vocational subjects. The first cohort of…