Pilot evaluation of Future YOU
In 2021, What Works for Children’s Social Care (now part of Foundations) commissioned the Policy Institute to conduct a pilot evaluation of Havant and South Downs College’s Future YOU programme, a mentoring intervention for students with experience of children’s social care in the 2021/22 academic year. The project was open to all 16- to 19-year-olds enrolled at the college with experience of children’s social care in the previous six years. Participants were to receive weekly one-to-one mentoring sessions, structured around four learning modules hosted on a Google Site: social skills, emotional skills, digital skills, and career skills.
Through the evaluation period, 21 students took part in at least one mentoring session across the academic year, 13 students completed baseline and endline surveys, and three participated in case studies. Due to the lower-than-expected take-up of the intervention, it was not possible to quantitatively assess the project as planned. However, qualitative data suggested that, though there was limited fidelity to the intervention design, staff and participants viewed the project as a helpful addition to the college’s support offer.