Transcript Schoolmate: A partnership approach to evaluating out of

Schoolmate: A partnership
approach to evaluating out of
schools services
Clíona Murphy
Children’s Research Centre, TCD
Outline
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Introducing Schoolmate
Who are the partners?
Evaluating Schoolmate
Developing the tools
Piloting the tools
What next?
A partnership approach - some guiding
principles
Introducing Schoolmate
Flagship project of AIB’s Better Ireland
Programme
 Broad aim is to touch and significantly improve
the lives of Irish children most at risk of missing
school through hunger or lack of nutrition, being
homeless, and/or the effects of drug/alcohol abuse
 Interventions take many forms including breakfast
clubs, afterschools groups and toy libraries
 Delivered by three charities (ISPCC, Focus
Ireland and Barnardos) at 17 sites
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The Partners
AIB as corporate donor
 The service providers
 The service users
 The evaluation team
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Evaluating Schoolmate
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The first three years 2002-2004
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Programme Development Phase (2002)
Implementation Phase (2003)
Mature Operation Phase (2004)
Formative and summative evaluation using mainly
qualitative methods and census
Phase IV (2005-2007)
– Overall aim of this phase is to design and
implement a set of tools for measuring the
outcomes of Schoolmate interventions
Developing the Tools
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A uniform set of measures that can be used
at all sites and for all interventions
 Capture process outcomes as well as stated
outcomes for child
 Complement existing recording and
assessment systems
 Identification of process outcomes informed
by
– Views of service users, service providers, and
teachers from the previous phases
– Best practice guidelines
Piloting the Tools
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Separate questionnaires for young people
aged 11+, teachers, parents and staff were
developed
Met with senior mangers in each charity
Training of service providers
Questionnaires administered at 10 sites
Focus groups and individual interviews
conducted to review effectiveness and
usefulness of tools
Information used to review tools before their
rollout for use with all Schoolmate
What Next?
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Baseline data being returned - follow up data
to be collected in May
 Interpreting/giving meaning to the data
gathered
 Strengthening the script as a way of
maintaining the integrity of the tools in a
climate of staff turnover
 A process which is still underway
A partnership approach
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Some Guiding Principles
– Harnessing different kinds of knowledge
– Being comfortable with taking a position of
‘not knowing’
– Holistic view of children and organisations
– Sharing of skills, ideas and experiences
– Flexibility
– Listening