Small Charity – Huge Impact
We have undergone two large-scale Randomised Control Trial (RCT) evaluations that have proven impact in young people going through our programmes.
Teachers consistently rate us as Good or Outstanding against the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime recommendations for effective substance misuse programmes.
Our Outcomes Framework allows us to measure our impact against our learning intentions for our entire range of primary-level resources.
In 2018
Nottingham Trent and
Nottingham University
undertook a Randomised
Control Trial (RCT) on
our Primary Programme.
Their research showed we
were effective against our
learning outcomes:
Nottingham Trent and
Nottingham University
undertook a Randomised
Control Trial (RCT) on
our Primary Programme.
Their research showed we
were effective against our
learning outcomes:
*The full peer reviewed, published report can be provided upon request.
Evaluations that have proven impact.
Getting help from others
Pupils in the trial schools had a pre ‐ post intervention score difference at least 5.4 times greater than that of the control group, regardless of the programme’s delivery method;
Improving communication and listening skills
Pupils in the trial schools had a pre ‐ post intervention score difference at least 3.4 times greater than that of the control group, varying between three and 7 times greater improvement across delivery methods;
Knowledge about drugs, alcohol and substance misuse
Pupils in the trial schools had a pre – post
intervention score difference 2.4 higher to that of the control group with no discernible variation across delivery methods;
Making safe and responsible choices
Finally, pupils in the trial schools had a pre ‐ post intervention score difference twice as high as that of the control group, whereas the Teacher‐led plus delivery method showed four fold improvement.
Making a positive (non statistical) impact upon
- dealing with bullying and peer pressure
- managing personal stress
- attitudes towards the police
- assessing risks and consequences of behaviour
- and personal experiences with substance abuse.
Proud of Our Evidence Base
and Committed to Expanding It
We were one of the first YEF funded intervention programmes
With the evaluation published in 2022*, we were one of the first cohort of Youth Endowment Fund projects to receive funding to deliver and evaluate our resources. We facilitated this despite disruption from the pandemic.
*Impacts were shown on reducing children’s self-reported behavioural and emotional problems, children reported slightly lower levels of behavioural or emotional difficulty and in reducing self-reported verbal aggression, substance use and the amount of physical attacks and threats they received. It had a high impact on reducing self-reported non-violent, low-level crime.
*Pupils consulted via interviews and focus groups perceived that their confidence, ability to resist peer pressure, decision making and communication skills had improved.
Moving Forward
We are committed to maintianing the exceptionally high standards we have held our programmes to across our entire suite of programmes. Working with Community Impact CIC, we are working towards the implemtation of a set of tools that will allow schools and our charity to assess how well we are doing against our Outcomes Framework.
We have a massive amount of data and two evaluations that have proven our impact. It is incredibly important to us that we continue to take this research further. We are now planning longer-term studies on impact and effects by developing connections with parents that allow us to evaluate young peoples’ responses over time.
Research Driven
Proven to work
Every Young Person
Teacher and Parent Feedback
Independently evaluated, 80% of teacher responses rate our courses as ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’ against Mentor ADEPIS Quality Standards.
Have Questions?
Want to know more about our programmes, how they are built, delivered and evaluated? Then please feel free to get in touch, we’d love to tell you more.
STaRS for years 1 through 4 is designed to get young people acquainted with using decision making models to help them make good decisions.
Web Warriors is an Online Harms resource for years 5 or 6, that uses our SKILL Decision Making Model.
Our primary programme equips young people with a range of knowledge and skills that aid in the transition from primary to secondary school. It equips them with the social and emotional skills required to overcome the challenges they may face.
The Life Skills Game is a resource that allows facilitators to engage young people in discussion and explore a range of issues linked to risky situations. There are four modules available which cover internet safety, drug and alcohol awareness, knife crime and hate crime.