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Embedding Formative Assessment programme

Building on over 20 years of research by Dylan Wiliam and Siobhan Leahy, this programme has shown to make a positive impact on student achievement and teacher behaviours. (EEF)

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Start Date

Start date
2 year programme, flexible start date

Format

Format
In person training and online support

Cost

Cost
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Embedding Formative Assessment

  • Boosts learner engagement through effective use of formative assessment techniques, fostering a supportive learning environment where students experience success and motivation increases.
  • Enhances responsiveness in lessons across your school, empowering teachers to collect better evidence and improve learning every lesson.
  • Achieves positive impacts on learner outcomes, as evidenced by the EEF’s report (Feb 2019) showing two additional months’ progress in GCSE Attainment 8 scores for learners in EFA schools.

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EFA Programme Summary
Download an overview of the programmes content and sample of a Teacher Learning Community workshop using the attached.

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What schools are saying about the Embedding Formative Assessment programme

“There is a buzz through the staff. In terms of materials, everything is provided by the SSAT, but at the same time we can change it to adapt to our needs. Teachers have been picking and choosing what works for them, for their students, their subjects, and their classes. It’s all backed up by research – we know it works.”

Rachel, The Hayling College

“The T&L development work we have done on Embedding Formative Assessment has been the most powerful and transformative T&L strategy I have been part of during my time at Balfour. This is because it has raised standards in lessons for all students regardless of their prior attainment, gender, socioeconomic status or SEND need by giving students much more of what they individually need to succeed.”

Gary Anderson, Assistant Headteacher, Sir Graham Balfour School, Stafford

“Raise the profile of EFA and celebrate it as much as you can. Use briefings, newsletters, your website, parent mails, mini reminders on whole school platforms and leadership meetings to get staff and stakeholders talking about it! Highlight staff members who have done well or have challenged themselves.”

Charlotte Harland, Assistant Headteacher, Hilbre High School

EFA Toolkit

Based on over 20 years of research, this toolkit, written by Professor Dylan Wiliam and Siobhan Leahy, provides 16 fully resourced workshops for your team. Designed to form the basis of a two-year professional development programme, the workshops support your teachers to gain a confident understanding of Dylan Wiliam’s 5 strategies of formative assessment.

Cost: £375 + VAT

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Why do the Embedding Formative Assessment Programme?

Building on over 20 years of research by Dylan Wiliam and Siobhan Leahy, this programme has shown to make a positive impact on student achievement and teacher behaviours.

Through a full randomised control trial involving 140 schools, the Education Endowment Foundation found:

  • Learners made the equivalent of two months’ additional progress in their Attainment 8 GCSE score.
  • Learners in the lowest third for prior attainment made more progress than their classmates in the top third.
  • Teachers felt the Teacher Learning Communities (TLCs) improved their practice by allowing valuable dialogue between teachers and encouraged collaboration.

Additional benefits of the programme:

  • Improve teaching and learning across your school by empowering teachers to trial and refine formative assessment techniques.
  • Enable learners to take responsibility for their own learning through peer and self-assessment techniques.
  • Support your teachers in taking ownership over their learning by providing structured professional development and leadership opportunities.
  • Build a stronger sense of community in schools with teachers and learners collaborating with each other to achieve common goals.

How does the EFA programme work?

The EFA programme, based on extensive research by Dylan Wiliam and Siobhan Leahy, focuses on long-term habit change to improve formative assessment practice among teachers. This two-year whole-school programme, fully supported and resourced, comprises Teacher Learning Communities (TLCs) with meetings held every four weeks, facilitated by a selected TLC leader. An expert EFA mentor provides tailored support to ensure effective implementation and sustainable impact for the school.

This support will include:

  • An initial day’s training in-school for school leaders and teachers leading the TLC meetings.
  • Regular email/telephone contact with an assigned mentor with key reflection and planning points.
  • Two in-person visits at the end of year one and two to review the programme and plan the next steps in implementation.
  • A wide breadth of supporting resources, exemplars and case studies which can be used to support and maximise the impact of the programme.

You will need to:

  • Commit to the programme for two-years with an understanding that teacher habit change takes time.
  • Free up time and resources to implement the programme with fidelity.
  • Treat implementation of the programme as a process, planning and executing it in stages working with your mentor.

EFA works across all phases in education

For secondary schoolsFor primary schoolsFor MATsFor international schools

EFA in secondary schools

More than 400 schools have done EFA and the impact on their schools is clear. Boosts learner engagement, enhances teacher responsiveness, creates a culture of collaboration and enhances achievement.

Book a support call and one of our team members will show you how EFA can work for your school.

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EFA in primary schools

Embedding Formative Assessment is crucial for fostering a culture of continuous improvement in education. By incorporating formative assessment practices, teachers and learning support staff can gain valuable insights into children’s learning, identifying gaps in knowledge, and misconceptions, adapting teaching to meet individual needs, ultimately enhancing learner achievement and engagement. Join the network of Primary schools already doing EFA.

Read a case study about EFA in a primary school

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Primary cluster model

Primary schools can join as individual schools, but if they may wish to join as a cluster of three schools, splitting the programme fee.

Please note, where primary schools join as a cluster, their training day and all subsequent mentor catch-ups and visits are delivered to all of the schools as one group. Participating schools can establish cross-school teacher learning communities (TLCs), or keep the TLCs separate as wished.

Contact us to discuss how this might work for you.

EFA in MATS

The EFA programme is eligible for MATs. We can work with you to make the programme work for your setting. Discount available for group of schools.

Book a support call and one of our team members will show you how EFA can work for your school.

Book a support call

EFA in International schools

The EFA programme is eligible for international schools. We can work with you to make the programme work for your setting.

Book a support call and one of our team members will show you how EFA can work for your school.

Book a support call

Case studies

Don’t just take our word for it. View these case studies:

Empowering teachers and students: The impact of Embedding Formative Assessment
Anne Johnson, Deputy CEO and Charlotte Carter, Pastoral & maths teacher, Catcote Academy

Discover how Catcote Academy’s innovative use of the Embedding Formative Assessment (EFA) programme transformed teaching practices and significantly improved student outcomes. This case study highlights the power of collaborative teacher development and adaptive assessment techniques in a supportive environment, making a lasting impact on students with diverse needs.

Read case study

Embedding Formative Assessment: not just a box-ticking exercise but something long-term and meaningful for all
Mrs Jo Allan, Junior Assistant Vice Principal, Castle View Enterprise Academy

Two years on, the impact of the EFA programme is clear. Our school culture has transformed. Staff feel empowered to take ownership of their professional development, and there’s a genuine sense of collaboration across departments.

Read case study

Read more EFA success stories

Key information

Price information*
SSAT members
Non-members
EFA toolkit
£375
£375
2 year support programme
£5,875
£6,875
Price information*
SSAT members
EFA toolkit
£375
2 year support programme
£5,875
Non-members
EFA toolkit
£375
2 year support programme
£6,875

*Prices exclusive of VAT

Full supported programme

  • Two-year long programme.
  • Training for all of your staff.
  • Fully supported by an expert mentor.
  • Everything you need to run 16 Teacher Learning Community workshops.

For a member school with 50 members of staff, this equates to a full year of training for a teacher for £58.75.

Group discounts

Discounts are available for schools joining as a group. These discounts are modelled on an individual basis, depending on the number of schools involved and how the mentor is deployed. Contact us to discuss how this might work in your context.

Book a call with the EFA team

Speak with the EFA team to learn more about the benefits of Embedding Formative Assessment in your school.

Book a call

Gain credits with the Chartered College of Teaching

Those who complete the EFA programme will be able to apply for an exemption from the Development of Teaching Practice Award for teachers (20 credits).

Find out more

Going Further with Formative Assessment

Are you looking to sustain the impact of the Embedding Formative Assessment programme? This new support package provides training for new members of your team, professional development for strategic leaders and workshop resources for your TLCs.

Find out more

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the research evidence for the impact of the programme?

An Education Endowment Foundation randomised control trial with 25,000 pupils in 140 schools across England found:

  • learners made the equivalent of two months’ additional progress in their Attainment 8 GCSE score
  • learners in the lowest third for prior attainment made more progress than their classmates in the top third
  • teachers felt the Teacher Learning Communities (TLCs) improved their practice by allowing valuable dialogue between teachers and encouraged experimentation with formative assessment strategies
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What is the time commitment for the programme?

The programme lasts two years from your starting point. In each year there will be 8 workshops. 75 minutes must be allowed for each workshop. Time must be planned between workshops to enable teachers to work collaboratively and give feedback on techniques observed in lessons.

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Why is the programme two years?

Teacher change takes time. The programme focuses on teachers being given choice, flexibility, small steps, accountability and support to effect long-term habit change. Initially, schools reported an increased prevalence of formative assessment techniques and improved student engagement, but effectiveness and impact on student outcomes is a longer term goal. One year, simply isn’t enough.

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Who needs to be involved?

This is a whole-school programme. All teachers should be a member of a TLC group.

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What topic areas that will be covered over the two years in the TLCs?

Over the two years, Dylan Wiliams’ five strategies for formative assessment will be covered. These include:

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What support and training is provided?

Each school will have an expert EFA mentor who will work with you for two years. This support includes:

  • Practical planning support for readiness
  • An initial day’s training in-school or online for school leaders and pre-selected TLC Leaders. Note, this is not an all staff training day
  • Regular email/telephone contact with your mentor with key reflection and planning points
  • Two face to face visits at the end of year one and two to review the programme and plan the next steps in implementation
  • A wide breadth of additional supporting resources, exemplars and case studies which can be used to support and maximise the impact of the programme
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How many teachers should be in each TLC?

We would advise a group size of around 10, groups may need to be as low as 8 or as high as 14 depending on school circumstances.

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Can learning support staff be part of TLC groups?

Yes. Many schools involve support staff in the programme. These staff can either form part of the TLC groups with teachers where you feel they would be comfortable and confident to share their practice. Another option is to form a TLC of only these staff to allow discussions to become more focused on their role.

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Will all TLCs in a school work on the same topic at the same time?

Yes, it is integral to the success of the programme that they follow the agendas provided. Some adaptations may be made, but these must be discussed with your EFA mentor to prevent lethal mutations of the programme. However, teachers have choice as to what formative assessment technique they wish to work on in their own classrooms to develop their practice.

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How should I choose my TLC workshop leaders?

TLC Leaders should be voluntary and ideally not members of the senior leadership team. Their role is to facilitate the sessions. They are not expected to be experts in formative assessment and may be at any point in their career. They will lead and participate in all of the TLC activities.

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What monitoring will be required both internally and externally?

Internal monitoring and evaluation of the programme will be supported by your EFA mentor and is an essential element of the implementation of the programme. This would form part of your usual monitoring of T&L. The resource contains pro-formas for peer observations and learning walks. Externally, the evaluation team may ask you to complete student/teacher surveys or also be part of group interviews. These will be done at a time convenient to you.

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What about part time staff?

This will always be a challenge in schools. Where possible, all staff should attend all meetings. However, this isn’t always possible so we recommend giving staff who can’t attend sessions a ‘buddy’ from the group that can support them in sharing discussions and learning. Recordings from the sessions are also available on the final handout so these can be watched at anytime.

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What if a TLC Leader is absent for one or more of the workshops?

This will happen over the course of the programme. We recommend that every TLC group has two TLC Leaders, either as co-leaders, or with a deputy lead.

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What is the difference between formative assessment strategies and techniques?

The five key strategies of formative assessment are identified in the table above. The techniques that can be used to enact these strategies in the classroom are, for example; no hands up, exit tickets etc.

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Any questions?

Contact us or call 020 7802 2300.

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