ImpactEd Group

"The SIFT programme has provided us both with invaluable opportunities to dive deep into the UK education sector, each bringing our unique backgrounds and gaining distinct yet complementary experiences across ImpactEd Group’s practices."

www.impactedgroup.uk/news-and-blo...

This week we have been all together at our residential, bringing colleagues from across the country together.

A huge thank you to our keynote speaker Ava Sturridge-Packer CBE for sharing her journey - thank you.

#education

We’ll be sharing more about our plans in the months ahead – but today, we’re delighted to welcome Alex.

More on Alex's appointment: www.impactedgroup.uk/news-and-blo...

#Colleges #FurtherEducation #SystemLeadership

Further education changes lives, power communities, and support 1.6 million learners across England.

That’s why we’re expanding our work at ImpactEd Group to include Further Education and Sixth Form Colleges. And we’re thrilled that Alex Warner is joining us as an Associate to help lead this effort

We're pleased to announce our partnership with @steplab.bsky.social for their inaugural impact evaluation. The project will begin with developing their theory of change before progressing to an evaluation of pupil and teacher metrics.

LIWC are consistently the least engaged pupils across a number of measures.

Whilst stark, equipping schools with this kind of data is powerful, enabling them to act earlier, before disengagement leads to poorer outcomes.

Read the full report:
www.tep.uk/research-and...

White low-income pupils ‘report lowest enthusiasm for school’ in England Boys and girls in demographic start secondary school with weakest levels of engagement, research finds

Few groups in England’s education system attract as much political and media attention as low-Income White children (LIWC).

New research out today takes a step back to ask a more fundamental question: how engaged are LIWC throughout school and what can we learn from the data?

Cont...

✨ 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘀✨
In 2023/24, the school’s attendance rate was 86.7% (13.3% absence), compared with the national average of 7.1%. In 2024/25, attendance has risen to 89.8%, a 3.1 percentage point increase in a single year.

To join the project email hello@impactedgroup.uk to find out more.

Harrogate High School improves absence rate by nearly a quarter

"What I've tried to do is use the resource I have more effectively. Stripping back people's roles, being really clear on what they're doing around attendance." Jane Wearing, Deputy Head, Harrogate High School

Cont...

Scaling educational programmes without losing impact New ImpactEd guidance to help education organisations scale sustainably while preserving impact

In an Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) blog Dr Rajbir Hazelwood introduces the new resources:

educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/news/impact-...

For more details and the resources, see:

educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/projects-and...

Scaling educational programmes without losing impact New ImpactEd guidance to help education organisations scale sustainably while preserving impact

Education organisations face a persistent challenge: how can they grow while maintaining the quality and effectiveness that made them successful? Too often, well-intentioned initiatives struggle to balance a mission-driven purpose with the practical realities of organisational sustainability.

Cont

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The latest series will be shared on Spotify and Apple podcasts in October. Subscribe to hear the first episode of Talking Impact for EdTech Founders here

Spotify: open.spotify.com/show/6NnUgYy...

or

Apple: podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/t...

Incentivising Schools: Beyond Money for Better Engagement

Beth Williams shares what can you do to get the best survey respondents. Is money the answer or is there anything else that works?

The latest series will be shared on Spotify and Apple podcasts in October. Subscribe to hear the first episode of Talking Impact for EdTech Founders here

Spotify: open.spotify.com/show/6NnUgYy...

or

Apple: podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/t...

What are you excited about for the future of #EdTech measurement and evaluation?

Charlotte Dougan talks through how EdTech is making education #evaluation more accessible and inclusive.

Cont...

Top Evaluation Tips for EdTech Companies
🔹It's not a tick box exercise. Do it properly and make sure it works for your organisation
🔹Pick the right partner for your evaluation
🔹Ensure you get buy in from everyone
🔹Don't let the enemy be the perfect of good
🔹Know the problem you are trying to solve

Talking Impact for EdTech Founders Series - Recap Clips

We're sharing some of the best clips from our Talking Impact webinar series

The latest series will be shared on Spotify and Apple podcasts in October

Spotify: open.spotify.com/show/6NnUgYy...

Apple: podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/t...

Warning over lost potential of young maths high achievers Fewer than one in 10 disadvantaged high achievers in maths at primary go on to achieve at least a B at A level, UCL research shows

"Fewer than 1 in 10 disadvantaged high achievers in maths at primary go on to achieve at least a B at A level" UCL & ImpactEd Research Director Professor John Jerrim @tesmagazine.bsky.social www.tes.com/magazine/news/general/the-lost-potential-disadvantaged-high-achievers-in-maths-primary-school

Is your trust board normal? Why it’s time to find out A new research project aims to understand the realities of school governance on the ground to help inform decision making – and you can help

Do we really understand how governing boards operate and how decisions are made? Dr Rajbir Hazelwood of @impactedgroup.bsky.social says a new research project aims to provide essential insights

Is your trust board normal? Why it’s time to find out A new research project aims to understand the realities of school governance on the ground to help inform decision making - and you can help

"Is your trust board normal? Why it’s time to find out" writes Dr Rajbir Hazelwood in @tesmagazine.bsky.social
www.tes.com/magazine/analysis/general/the-realities-for-academy-trust-boards-research

As these go beyond the remit of the typical fundraiser, this highlights the need for a wider collaborative effort to maximise a charity’s chances of being fundable.

Want the full findings? Download from our website here. www.impactedgroup.uk/research-cam...

This suggests that, from the perspective of funders, there is particular room for improvement in the types of information which relate to strategic and financial planning.

Want to stand out from the crowd?

Get your organisational budget in order

Out of the 6 types of information that are considered important by more than three-in-four funders, it is noticeable that two are not rated highly on quality: the Organisation Budget and Strategy / Business Plan.

Read more:

For more insights on Be Fundable: www.impactedgroup.uk/research-cam...

It is noticeable, however, that when looking at the percentage of funders who rated the types of information as ‘good’ or ‘excellent’, there are large drops in these percentages; only eight types of information are rated as ‘good’ or ‘excellent’ by more than half of funders.

What information matters to funders?

We asked funders to rate the average quality of the types of information that they use when making funding decisions.

Overall, this reveals fairly positive results; out of the 20 types of information, 15 are rated as ‘satisfactory’ or above.

However...

Last weekend Dr Rajbir Hazelwood and @elindezoete.bsky.social from @impactedgroup.bsky.social took the findings from our national call for best practice to ResearchEd to share what schools had told us about the 'what' and dive into some great discussion on the 'how.'

Innovative reading intervention having a real impact in classrooms - SHINE Independent evaluation shows students using Are You Really Reading? see significant improvements in their reading skills.

Independent evaluation by @impactedgroup.bsky.social
confirms consistent improvement in student attainment through Are You Really Reading?, developed by Maddy Barnes and Lisa Bradshaw of Three Saints Academy Trust.
shinetrust.org.uk/2025/09/09/i...

Full research available here:
www.impactedgroup.uk/research-campaigns-and-resources/be-fundable

#philanthropy #fundraising #charities

Third, there's still work to be done on how charities engage with funders. Understanding priorities, checking eligibility and having two-way conversations - these basics still trip up more organisations than they should.