This paper draws on the report produced by the IES (for internal EEF use), UCL’s 2017 review, the EEF’s experience of funding and managing EY interventions and their evaluations, as well as feedback received from evaluation teams, developers and EY settings. 

The paper aims to provide a set of focused, practical recommendations for teams planning to conduct EY evaluations for the EEF. It is intended as a concise summary of lessons learnt from past evaluations and does not aim to provide an exhaustive list of risks or mitigation strategies. We would be very grateful for any feedback on this paper and any advice on increasing the success of EY interventions and evaluations