The summer holidays are a welcome pause for teachers and school leaders: a time to rest, reset and, once the end-of-term exhaustion fades, reflect on the year ahead.

It’s also a great moment to revisit the research. Evidence can act as our north star, helping us to cut through the noise of competing ideas and focus on the “best bets” for making a real difference to pupils.

Of course, research can often feel dense and difficult to apply. That’s where we come in. Our job is to build and summarise the evidence and make it easier for teachers and leaders to turn insights into action.

Here’s a round-up of seven research findings from, or related to, recent Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) publications to fuel your thinking ahead of the next school year.

1. ChatGPT can potentially help with workload, without damaging quality

Generative AI tools like ChatGPT are becoming part of everyday life. For time-strapped teachers and leaders, they raise an obvious question: can they help to reduce workload without compromising quality?

This year we published findings from one of the first ever school-based trials of ChatGPT. Teachers who used the tool, alongside a guide with tips on how to use it well, reduced their lesson planning time by 31 per cent. Encouragingly, there were early signs that the quality of their plans and resources held steady, too.

Something to think about: how might AI support your team’s planning next year and what training or guidance would you need to use it successfully?

2. With almost three in 10 pupils now eligible for pupil premium, making every penny count has never been more important

This year’s data shows that 29 per cent of pupils in England are now eligible for the pupil premium. This is the highest this figure has been in recent years. With schools required to publish strategy statements before the end of the calendar year, now’s the time to reflect on how best to invest the funding.

Our Guide to the Pupil Premium offers a step-by-step process for planning, delivering and monitoring an effective strategy.

Something to think about: are your pupil premium plans aligned to your school improvement plans, and are they based on solid evidence?

3. Edtech interventions are a double-edged sword, with the power to both narrow and widen the attainment gap

Our latest evidence review focused on educational technology (edtech) and what makes it effective.

While the overall picture showed a small positive impact on pupil outcomes, the story was more complicated for socio-economically disadvantaged pupils. In fact, the average impact for these pupils was lower, suggesting that poorly implemented edtech could actually widen the attainment gap.

The key message? Edtech works best when it supports, rather than replaces, strong classroom teaching.

Something to think about: how are digital tools used in your school? Are they enhancing good pedagogy or just adding noise?

4. SEND support needs are rising, but evidence can help

Many schools are seeing both a rise in the number of pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and an increase in the complexity of needs. While wider reforms are on the horizon, the need for practical support is urgent.

Our recently launched SEND Hub brings together guidance and resources grounded in the best available evidence. These include our Special Educational Needs in Mainstream Schools report and the “five-a-day” teaching approaches that support all pupils, especially those with SEND.

Something to think about: how inclusive are your core teaching practices, and are your staff confident using teaching strategies that support your pupils with SEND?

5. Teaching assistants are most effective when they support high-quality teaching

This year we updated our guidance on the effective use of teaching assistants (TAs), based on a new review of more than 50 studies.

The overarching message is that TAs should be deployed to help all pupils to access high-quality teaching.

In particular, pupils who need the most support should spend as much (if not more) time with qualified teachers as their peers.

Something to think about: are your TAs being deployed in ways that support high-quality teaching?

6. We know much more about what works in the early years

Earlier this summer we published the findings from independent evaluations of seven early years programmes: four focused on communication and language, and three on early maths.

These findings strengthen the evidence base around early education, highlighting which approaches show promise in building the foundations for later learning.

Something to think about: are your early years staff up to date with the latest evidence on early language and maths development?

7. Not all subject-specific classroom talk is equal

From group discussion to teacher questioning, talk is everywhere in our classrooms. But not all talk is equal - and when carefully designed with the curriculum in mind, subject-specific talk can be a powerful driver of literacy and learning.

Our Evidence into Action podcast includes a deep dive into this topic, featuring insights from classroom experts and researchers.

Something to think about: how confident are teachers in your school in modelling what effective talk sounds like in their subject?

Chris Paterson is co-CEO at the Education Endowment Foundation

You can now get the UK’s most-trusted source of education news in a mobile app. Get Tes magazine on iOS and on Android