Event Details

Piloting for Scalability: Education Endowment Foundation’s trial piloting approach and evaluation in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

This Lancaster Evaluation Group (LEG) welcomes Dr Maria Pomoni from the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) who will present EEF’s piloting approach and evaluation for the Hanen Learning Language and Loving It (LLLI) trial programme during the Covid-19 pandemic. Maria will present the mixed-mode delivery model for Hanen LLLI in response to Covid-19 disruptions and practitioner feedback favouring greater flexibility. The pilot, conducted in 17 nurseries across Liverpool, combined in-person and online sessions to assess feasibility and acceptability for early years practitioners in both private and maintained settings. Qualitative and survey data were gathered to understand experiences and implementation barriers, and the findings informed improvements to the programme’s logic model. While the pilot focused on delivery rather than pupil outcomes, its insights laid the groundwork for a subsequent efficacy trial to evaluate the impact on children’s receptive language. The process showcases EEF’s approach to using pilots to refine, adapt, and scale educational interventions in real-world contexts.

Maria is a Speech and Language Therapist by training, whose interest in eating behaviours among children with ASC led to a PhD in Psychology. Although deeply passionate about academia, in 2018, she left academia to focus on evaluation and now works for the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) as a Research Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist and serves their mission to make UK education more accessible for disadvantaged pupils.