Insights into Action: Using EPIC to plan for practice change 

51% of headteachers have reported to YEF that they are not confident in identifying and delivering evidence-based interventions for preventing children’s involvement in violence.   

To better enable awareness and engagement of this evidence, YEF launched the Education Practice Insight Creator (EPIC) in July 2025, with over 250 schools having completed it so far. 

EPIC is a free, digital self-assessment tool designed to help education leaders understand how well current practice aligns with the evidence on preventing children’s involvement in violence.   

Education leaders are prompted to answer 37 questions on evidence-informed practice in their setting, in turn receiving a:

• results dashboard
• bespoke insights report
• live comparison data

Allowing them to benchmark their education setting with other settings all over England and Wales.  

Designed with and for education leaders, it remains the only violence prevention self-assessment tool available online for school leaders across England and Wales.  

EPIC within the Catalyst Programme 

The Catalyst Programme has been designed to support education settings to adopt evidence-based strategies that prevent children’s involvement in violence, while also building long-term capacity within the sector.

Jo Tedstone, who leads on the delivery of this programme at the YEF, introduced it in her earlier blog here. 

The first step for all participating settings involved in the Education Catalyst Pilot Programme has been to complete their EPIC self-assessment. The reflective exercise of answering the EPIC questions on violence prevention practice has provided education leaders with a structured opportunity to engage with the evidence set out in the Education Practice Guidance report, and has enabled them to identify practical areas for improvement through the personalised insights report that EPIC generates. This outlines the extent to which practice in their setting aligns with the evidence on what works to prevent violence and importantly, steers users to think about who to target interventions at.

Catalyst Partners who are supporting various education settings have used these valuable insitghts to work collaboratively with leaders, to identify what they are doing well and where further support could make the greatest difference. These conversations have then shaped planning for effective implementation and sustained practice change.

Coaching for Change: How Learn Sheffield used EPIC to drive reflection and practice change 

Learn Sheffield, are one of the Catalyst Partners utilising EPIC in this developmental way.  Project lead and Learn Sheffield Improvement Partner, Sai Patel, shares their unique approach below: 

Our model combines collaborative group meetings and individual coaching visits. Each term, schools come together to share insights, explore emerging research, and discuss common challenges. These sessions also focus on addressing racial and social inequality, ensuring that change benefits every pupil. In our first meeting, we analysed findings from the EPIC assessment, clarified interpretations, and provided an overview of the programme. 

Alongside this, individual coaching meetings with each school’s YEF Champion (the person with direct oversight of the programme) offer bespoke support. These visits help Champions prioritise actions based on their school’s context and EPIC results, enabling them to develop and implement effective plans for change. 

Early feedback has been positive. Schools are already identifying key priorities and building strategies to create safer environments. This collaborative approach is laying the foundation for meaningful, long-term impact across Sheffield. 

For us at YEF, it has been exciting to see not only Learn Sheffield, but all the 80 settings involved in the Catalyst programme using their EPIC insights report to drive conversations around school improvement and practice change. Designed to be completed as an annual self-assessment, the participating settings will complete it again in the next academic year, allowing them to track areas of improvement.  

Whether you’re leading a mainstream school, college or alternative provision setting, EPIC and our guidance an help take the next step.