Embedding Formative Assessment

A two-year professional development programme for all schools and colleges that has been independently proven to increase student achievement.

The programme

Built on over twenty-five years of research by Dylan Wiliam and Siobhan Leahy the EFA programme content focuses on teachers improving their formative assessment practice through long-term habit change. It is a fully supported and resourced whole-school two-year programme that provides everything you need to successfully run a programme of Teacher Learning Communities.

All teachers will meet in groups of 8-14 with TLC meetings calendared approximately every 4 weeks, 9 meetings per year. Meetings last a minimum of 75 minutes and are facilitated by a TLC leader. TLC leaders would be selected from the staff and not expected to be formative assessment experts.

The school will be supported by an expert EFA mentor who will provide tailored support, training and coaching around the effective implementation to ensure the school maximises the impact of the programme and it becomes a sustainable feature of the school.

Formative assessment: the most cost effective way to improve education

Dylan Wiliam, emeritus professor of educational assessment at UCL, explains the evidence for the cost-effectiveness of formative assessment.

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Significant funding available

We are delighted to announce that due to funding from the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF), through the DfE’s Accelerator Fund, we are able to offer a limited number of schools with a secondary phase based in England funding for the fully supported Embedding Formative Assessment (EFA) programme.

Criteria for Schools

  1. Schools with a secondary phase based in England.
  2. Schools must contribute a nominal fee of £1,324.75 + VAT(original programme price £5,299 + VAT) at the start of the programme as part of their commitment and investment in the two-year programme.
  3. Applications for phase 3 of the fund must be recieved by Wednesday 29 March 2023

No less than 50% of successful schools will be based in the 55 Education Investment Areas. In the event applications exceed demand, applications from EIA based schools will be prioritised.

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More information

If you want more information about the Embedding Formative Assessment programme and the DfE Accelerator Fund, please click below.

Find out more about the DfE Accelerator Fund