Using research to support programme development Examples from
- Slides: 17
Using research to support programme development Examples from Seacroft Sure Start 17 September 2003
Research can be used to: l Steer the strategy Prove progress Tweak the tactics l Plus, help address tensions l l
Strategy Health visitor study
Why we did it l l Seacroft programme is Education-led New birth stats and contact info was not coming through Health visitors did not seem engaged Given the requirement to contact all new births, what do we do about this?
How we did it l l Identified those HVs with highest caseloads in area 45 minute depth interviews with these Following pre-defined topic guide Full written report for programme, summary sent to participating HVs
What came out of it l l Initial consultation process left HVs feeling embattled No-one was taking responsibility for Working Together Communication and feedback had all but stopped New HV appointed to Sure Start team
Monitoring progess Community survey
Why we (first) did it l l l To provide base-line info for Sure Start Unit To test early impact of programme To set a benchmark against which progress could be tracked
How we did it l l Street interviews with random sample of parents of under 4’s Using a pre-defined questionnaire Used professional interviewers (for speed) Sample of 101 first time, 200 a year later
Satisfaction with services in the area for young children
Heard of Sure Start?
Wider benefits l l l Quantified the number of children in area Helped prove the point about monitoring Data show correlation between awareness/usage of Sure Start and other good things Provides info from those not involved with programme Helps promote Sure Start in itself
Tactics Staff survey
Why we (first) did it l Became aware of issues in team early on, eg to do with: – communication – training – understanding of national objectives – awareness of local services – working together
How we did it l l Self-completion questionnaire sent to all staff at home Reminder sent 2 weeks later Findings presented at team meeting Followed by workshop sessions
What came out of it l l l Induction pack put together Policies reviewed Staff development programme instigated Job ‘shadowing’ introduced Team organised into geographical patches
Research should do more than just collect information