Since 2019, the EEF has worked to support reforms to the national teacher professional development standards set by the Department for Education. 

Performing the role of an independent ​‘evidence guardian’, the EEF has ensured that statutory and non-statutory policy frameworks are underpinned by robust evidence and that this evidence is applied according to research findings. This has included independently reviewing the evidence underpinning three core teacher development policies: 

1. The Initial Teacher Training (ITT) Core Content Framework – setting out the minimum foundational knowledge and skills that trainee teachers are required to cover in their year of training.
2. The Early Career Framework – underpinning the two year entitlement of an early career teacher to structured development and training building on ITT.
3. The National Professional Qualifications – the professional development frameworks covering a series of leadership qualifications building on ITT and the ECF.

In its role as ​‘evidence guardian’, EEF quality assures frameworks which have been drafted by the Department for Education with the support of expert advisory groups. This involves EEF determining an evidence bar for the framework content and prioritising the inclusion of research with transparent and systematic methodologies. The role also involves working with professional development programme providers to ensure the evidence underpinning the frameworks are applied with accuracy as well as with civil servants to support the better use of research evidence in decision making. 

To date, the EEF’s role as an ​‘evidence guardian’ in England has seen: 

• Over 78,000 initial trainee teachers receive support in developing practices underpinned by high-quality robust research evidence.
• The quality assurance of evidence used in early career teacher training (first two years after initial teacher training), assisting over 25,000 teachers by March 2022.
• The quality assurance of evidence applied through training programmes for specialist teachers and school leaders, of which 150,000 were funded by the Department for Education.