Research School Network: Dare To Do Fewer Things Better! Evaluating the impact of current practice using the EEF ​‘A School’s Guide to Implementation’ Guidance Report

It’s the start of a new term. Is your team brimming with optimism, focused, and committed to adopting behaviours and strategies that will improve outcomes for your students?

Or do conversations stop when you enter the staffroom? Is sickness absence on the rise? Is teacher retention becoming a problem at your school?

The roles and responsibilities of a teacher seem endless. A dedicated teacher will always do their utmost to complete every task to the best of their ability. The more experienced among us might gently remind them that there aren’t enough hours in the day for that. Teachers eventually learn to prioritise and, hopefully, forgive themselves for not being superhuman. But what can school leaders do to ensure their staff maintain a healthy work-life balance?

There are many possible solutions, but for the purpose of this blog, I’d like to focus on one.

If you introduce something new, ask yourself: What can you stop doing?

One of the most daunting but necessary steps is to stop interventions and strategies that are ineffective. Often, these are things we continue simply because they’ve always been done or because we’ve invested time and money in the training and resources.

The new Implementation Guidance Report from the EEF includes a valuable tool designed to help school leaders carefully evaluate the impact of current practice. A School’s Guide to Implementation

This tool, which can be found on page 22, provides a structured approach to reviewing interventions and strategies, ensuring that leaders make evidence-informed decisions. By using it, leaders can assess what is working well, what needs to be adjusted, and what may no longer be effective, helping to streamline practices for greater impact. It encourages thoughtful reflection on how best to allocate resources, time, and effort to achieve the greatest benefit for students.

Doing fewer things better is key. We all want our children to have access to the best support, resources, and interventions possible. However, by continually adding to what we offer without removing some strategies, we risk watering everything down. We have limited capacity. If we spread ourselves too thinly, we don’t excel at anything.

We often think about the cognitive load of our children. But leaders must also be mindful of the cognitive load of their staff.

So, before introducing a new strategy or intervention, ask yourself:

- Do we need something new, or could we tweak existing practice to improve it?

- Is now the right time to start something new?- 

- Have we fully embedded our existing strategies?

- Is there anything we can stop?

References:

Sharples, J., Eaton, J., Boughelaf, J., (2024) A School’s Guide to Implementation. Education Endowment Foundation: London