Education Endowment Foundation

The Education Endowment Foundation (EEF), established in 2011 by the Sutton Trust and Impetus Trust with £125 million from the Department for Education, is an independent UK charity and What Works Centre for Education dedicated to breaking the link between family income and educational achievement. It raises outcomes for 3–18-year-olds, especially socio-economically disadvantaged pupils in England, through rigorous evidence generation, funding robust evaluations of scalable interventions, and disseminating actionable insights via guidance reports, tools, and resources for schools, leaders, and policymakers. Core values emphasize independence, transparency, impact at scale, and evidence-informed practice.

EEF funds thematic priorities like early language and maths development, cognitive science applications, self-regulation, leadership for teacher retention, GCSE resits, post-16 attainment, and evidence mobilisation. It supports development, delivery, and independent evaluation of teaching interventions, whole-school programmes, and professional development, targeting primary/secondary pupils, nurseries, and colleges—always at scale across multiple (often 10+) English schools for broad rollout potential.

Eligible applicants are UK-registered charities and academic institutions capable of multi-site delivery and evaluation; no income thresholds apply, but projects must align with biannual themed rounds (spring/autumn, deadlines ~4–6 weeks after opening, e.g., next in late September). Typical grants range £100,000–£500,000 (up to £1m+), via EOI online form, shortlisting, interviews, and co-developed plans with evaluators; outcomes in 2–3 months.

Exclusions include apprenticeships, single-school projects, core/unrestricted funding, or non-scalable ideas. Distinctively evidence-obsessed, EEF mandates independent evaluation, publishes all results (including nulls) openly, and translates global/UK research into practitioner tools, prioritizing disadvantaged learners' systemic improvement.