Career Ahead: Feasibility Study Report

Summary

Career Ahead was an 18 month targeted school-based intervention designed by Making the Leap (MtL)to support Year 11 students at risk of not progressing into education, employment or training after secondary school.

The programme aimed to improve young people’s confidence, motivation, resilience, communication and interpersonal skills to support their progression into education, employment or training.

Career Ahead supported 121 young people across five secondary schools and two pupil referral units (PRUs) in London. It was delivered by Youth Career Leads (YCLs) and combined group sessions, tailored mentoring, work experience and follow-on mentoring. It was implemented for the first time during this study with two cohorts:

• Cohort 1: September 2021 to March 2023
• Cohort 2 : September 2022 to March 2024.

The evaluation by Dartington Service Design Lab (DSDL) aimed to:

• Develop and test Career Ahead’s programme theory
• Support ongoing improvements to the delivery model

Programme improvements were developed through Rapid-Cycle Design and Testing in collaboration with MtL staff and an Experts by Experience group (EEG). The EEG included 10 young people with lived experience who supported design improvements and informed evaluation methods.

Evaluation approach

The evaluation combined theory of change, realist evaluation and contribution analysis alongside Rapid-Cycle Design and Testing.

• The theory of change helped clarify how the programme was expected to work
• An iterative design process meant delivery was reviewed and refined in response to emerging findings.
• Realist evaluation principles were used to investigate mechanisms and contextual factors influencing delivery and outcomes.
• Contribution analysis supported an understanding of the programme’s role alongside other factors affecting young people’s progression.

The evaluation drew on both qualitative and quantitative data to construct and validate contribution claims.

Key insights

The Career Ahead programme was implemented during a period of significant disruption as schools managed COVID-19 and related pressures. It was a new and evolving intervention implemented with small cohorts. The evaluation approach was designed to capture emerging insights and outcomes should be viewed as indicative.

Report insights:

• Career Ahead contributed to positive changes in some young people’s non-cognitive skills, such as confidence, motivation, and resilience.
• One-to-one mentoring by Youth Careers Leads (YCLs) was highly valued by participants.
• Group sessions and work experience placements had mixed results, with challenges in attendance and delivery. Follow-on mentoring had low participation compared with schools-based delivery.
• Delivery in PRUs faced significant challenges and was discontinued, indicating that the programme design would require tailoring to work effectively in alternative settings.
• Recruitment and targeting of young people most “at risk” of NEET remained a challenge across cohorts. Some young people found this negative framing stigmatising, initially affecting their perception of the programme.
• Programme modifications, including ‘taster’ sessions and YCL’s improved coordination with schools, improved participant engagement in cohort 2.

Limitations:

• Surveys were administered by Making the Leap, not independently, which may have introduced bias.
• Some survey measurement tools were not fully validated for the UK context.
• The study included small sample sizes and did not include a control or comparison group.