Education Endowment Foundation
The Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) funds projects that improve outcomes for pupils with special educational needs or disabilities and independently evaluates promising teaching and learning programmes aimed at improving pupil attainment, particularly for children and young people from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds, across early years, school, and post-16 settings in England.
Eligible Organisations
Any not-for-profit organisation working in schools and other educational settings are welcome to apply. This includes schools, local authorities, universities, social enterprises and community interest companies.
Applications are also open to for-profit organisations involved in education, although for-profit applicants are typically expected to make a financial contribution to project costs.
Suitable Projects
Projects must focus on raising attainment and other educational outcomes for children aged from 3 to 18 with special educational needs. To be successful, projects should be practical, cost-effective, scalable and supported by evidence on the impact on learning outcomes.
Application Process
Applications can be made using the online application system. There is a useful guidance document to help you, available from the Education Endowment Foundation website.
Important Dates
EEF generally launches two funding rounds per year, in Spring and Autumn, with applications usually opening in late January and late September. There are currently no open funding rounds; applicants to the Autumn 2025 round will be notified of outcomes by the end of December.
Funding Range
There is no minimum or maximum size of grant, but past grants have tended to range from £90,000 to £1.5m.
