Registration for Evidence Champions Training is now open

If you missed the virtual launch session for senior leaders, led by Durrington Research School, you can catch up by watching the recording. The session gave a valuable and practical insight into how the role can be strategically used. It also outlined the next steps to take if you want to pursue setting up this role in your school. Although aimed at developing a strategic understanding of the role, aspiring Evidence Champions are encouraged to watch too! Durrington Research School has now opened registration for the Kent Evidence Champion Training course starting in March. If you have any questions, please email EEFectiveKentProject@kent.gov.uk, otherwise please register through the Durrington Research School website

Why do schools need an Evidence Champion?

One of the greatest challenges of school leadership is ensuring that we are focusing our time, energy and efforts into the school improvement priorities that will give our children the best possible chance of success. Using the research evidence ensures that the priorities we identify, and the approaches we use, are framed around ‘best bets’ - what the research evidence says is most likely to work. This matters because the education of the young people who come to our schools is too important to be left to chance. Using the research evidence to shape what we do gives us the best possible chance of being successful.

What will an Evidence Champion do?

An Evidence Champion will have a good working knowledge of the best available research evidence and how to access it. They will be supported with this through the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF), Durrington Research School, Kingsnorth Associate Research School and a network of other Evidence Champions from across Kent. This will enable them to advise on evidence-based practice in their school, so that decisions around improvement work are shaped by the best available research evidence. They will also have opportunities to link into, and take full advantage of, the work of the KAH’s Research Hub.

What will my school’s involvement look like?

If your school decides to commit to this role, you will receive fully-funded training by the EEF’s Research Schools Network to develop your Evidence Champion. Following this, participating Kent schools will be eligible for some additional funding from the EEFective Kent Project to embed and sustain this work in their context (e.g. for staff release time or bespoke support from an Evidence Leader in Education).

The Evidence Champion training will comprise three online training modules in Spring Term 2022:

1. What is an Evidence Champion? Why do schools need an Evidence Champion?
2. What sources of evidence are available and how can we evaluate their usefulness?
3. How can schools effectively mobilise the research evidence and evaluate its impact?

This will be followed by a face-to-face networking workshop in the Summer Term.

For any queries, please contact EEFectiveKentProject@kent.gov.uk. Further information is also available on the EEFective Kent Project webpage.