OxEd Whole Class and Nuffield Early Language Intervention Effectiveness Research Trial 2026-2027

NFER has been commissioned by the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) to evaluate OxEd Whole Class and the Nuffield Early Language Intervention (NELI), developed and delivered by OxEd and Assessment. OxEd Whole Class provides three weekly teacher‑led language enrichment sessions for Reception pupils and, in this trial, will be tested both alone and in combination with NELI’s targeted small‑group and individual support for children with weaker language skills.

The trial will evaluate the effectiveness of OxEd Whole Class in improving Reception pupils’ oral language skills, whether delivered on its own or alongside NELI. Schools will be randomly allocated to one of three groups, allowing for a robust comparison of approaches. Reception pupils will complete language assessments at the beginning and end of the trial. The findings will help build evidence on what works to support children’s early speech, language and communication skills and literacy development.

The purpose of the trial is to evaluate the effectiveness of OxEd Whole Class in improving Reception pupils’ oral language skills, whether delivered on its own or alongside NELI. The evaluation will assess pupil’s expressive vocabulary, receptive vocabulary, listening comprehension and sentence repetition using LanguageScreen (a short digital assessment and screening tool), and will assess how accurately children use grammar and how effectively they convey meaning using the Renfrew Action Picture Test (RAPT).  

To take part, you must:

  • Be a state-funded mainstream primary or infant school in England.
  • Have at least one Reception class (pupils aged 4–5 years). We recommend that no more than two Reception classes take part in the trial. If your school would like additional classes involved, please indicate this on your school EOI so it can be discussed in more detail before your school joins the trial.
  • Have a minimum of 25 pupils (aged 4-5 years) per class in Reception during academic year 2025–26 (schools with slightly fewer pupils may still be considered and placed on a reserve list).
  • Be able to confirm availability of a teacher to deliver the OxEd Whole Class programme and at least one additional teaching support staff member available to support participating class/es (in case the school is randomly allocated to deliver OxEd Whole Class plus NELI).
  • Not currently delivering NELI or OxEd Whole Class to Reception pupils in 2025–26.
  • Not planning to take part in any other EEF-funded Reception trials in 2026–27.

This is a Randomised Controlled Trial (RCT) that will run during 2026–27 academic year. Participating schools will be randomly assigned to one of three groups:

  1. OxEd Whole Class only (intervention group)
  2. OxEd Whole Class plus NELI (intervention group)
  3. Control group (who will continue with usual practice)

An impact evaluation will evaluate the impact of OxEd Whole class and NELI on pupils’ early language development. Alongside this, an implementation and process evaluation will be conducted to explore how schools implement the programmes and perceptions of the OxEd Whole Class and NELI programmes.

Teachers and support staff in all participating schools will be required to administer a short language assessment to the Reception pupils in Autumn 2026. 

Teachers in both intervention groups will complete an online training course (estimated 8 – 10 hours) in the Autumn term and then deliver three 20-minute sessions to their class each week for 20 weeks throughout the spring and summer terms.

Teaching support staff allocated to the OxEd Whole Class plus NELI group will complete an online training course (estimated 8 – 10 hours) in the Autumn term and then deliver three 25-minute small group sessions and two 15-minute individual sessions each week to six pupils for 20 weeks during the spring and summer term.

Teachers and teaching support staff in all schools will be asked to facilitate visits from an NFER Test Administrator to administer two short assessments to selected reception pupils in July 2027.

Further details about the programme and what participation involves can be found in the school information sheet. 

By taking part in this research project, your school is contributing to a robust evaluation that will help build evidence on what works to support children’s early speech, language and communication skills and literacy development.  

All schools will receive a thank you payment in recognition to their contribution to research. Further details on benefits and financial incentives can be found in the School information sheet.

  • February – June 2026: School Recruitment.
  • July – September 2026: Pupil and teacher data collection.
  • October – November 2026: Baseline assessments completed with participating pupils. Online teacher survey completed.
  • November – December 2026: Schools notified of random group allocation. Intervention schools access and complete training.
  • January – June 2027: Intervention schools deliver programmes; control settings continue with usual practice.
  • June – July 2027: NFER Test Administrators visit schools to administer endpoint assessments and schools complete surveys.
  • September 2027: Schools receive thank you payments and feedback reports.
  • June – July 2028: Possible follow-up survey takes place (for schools in the two intervention groups).

Please visit the OxEd websites below to express your interest in participating in this project:

For further information about OxEd Whole Class and NELI, please contact the OxEd team at [email protected]

Please get in touch with the project team at [email protected]