The growth of the evidence-based movement is the best thing to happen to education in decades and has led to genuine change for the better in our schools. The most exciting part of this is that it has been a bottom-up movement, led by the profession. Many people and organisations have helped pave the way (ResearchEd deserves a special mention), and in England one of the key initiatives has been the setting up of the Education Endowment Foundation.

The EEF of course contributes in a number of ways. One is running large-scale evaluations of educational interventions in a way and at a scale previously unprecedented in English education. The Research Schools Network is another very valuable initiative. Then there is the dissemination of evidence, not least through what is probably EEF’s most influential product, the Teaching and Learning Toolkit. This is a very user-friendly tool, which summarises a large volume…