Pupil Premium 'Catch-Up' Funding

The Department for Education is working with the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) and other partners to scale up delivery of the Nuffield Early Language Intervention (NELI).

NELI is a high-quality, evidence-based, 20-week intervention designed to improve the language skills of reception age pupils. It involves scripted individual and small group language teaching sessions, delivered by trained school staff, usually teaching assistants. Several EEF trials have found that NELI improves both children’s oral language and early literacy skills. A recent trial of the programme found that children made on average three months of additional progress compared to children in the comparison group.