In 2013 Rosendale School, in partnership with the EEF, conducted a small scale randomised study to identify whether a programme of metacognition lessons and reflecting on learning could improve educational outcomes for children. This initial research showed that ReflectEd had a positive impact on children’s attainment. Pupils who participated in the study made an average of four months additional progress in maths and developed a more positive attitude to learning compared to the control group. For more details on the first efficacy trial, read our Research page or visit the EEF website.

Following the success of this initial trial, Rosendale Primary School is now carrying out a whole school efficacy trial of ReflectED once again sponsored by the Education Endowment Foundation.

ReflectED whole school approach running for five terms starting in February 2018. Over 100 primary schoools around England have signed up. The trial is a pragmatic two-armed cluster randomised controlled trial (RCT) of the whole-school ReflectED metacognition intervention, with schools randomised equally to either receive ReflectED or continue with business as usual (control).

Rosendale have teamed up with University of York, who will be evaluating the impact of ReflectED applied as a whole school intervention, on attainment in both Key Stage 1 (KS1) and Key Stage 2 (KS2). More specifically, the trial will evaluate the impact of ReflectED on maths and reading attainment in KS2 (primary outcomes), maths and reading attainment at KS1 and metacognition (as reported by the Junior Metacognitive Awareness Inventory at KS2 (secondary outcomes). The research will also explore the impact of ReflectED on students eligible for Free School Meals (FSM).

The primary research questions are:

• How effective is ReflectED in improving pupil outcomes in maths at the end of KS2?
• How effective is ReflectED in improving pupil outcomes in reading at the end of KS2?

The secondary research questions are:

• How effective is ReflectED in improving pupil outcomes in maths at the end of KS1?
• How effective is ReflectED in improving pupil outcomes in reading at the end of KS1?
• How effective is ReflectED in improving pupil outcomes in grammar, punctuation and spelling (GPS) at the end of KS2?
• How effective is ReflectED in improving primary and secondary outcomes for pupils with Free School Meals (FSM)?
• Does ReflectED have an impact on metacognition for pupils in KS2, as measured by the Junior Metacognitive Awareness Inventory (JrMAI)?

 The primary focus of the evaluation is on all pupils in Year 5 in January 2018 through to the end of Year 6 (summer 2019), with a secondary focus on children in Year 1 through to the end of Year 2 for the same period. At the end of the intervention results for students will be compared across control and intervention schools.