Evaluations are key to understanding the effectiveness of services for children and families which aim to keep children safe, recover from abuse and adversity and improve relationships and well-being. However, doing evaluation can be difficult, especially when trying to do it alongside providing help.
Often practitioners have to juggle evaluation demands with assessment and intervention and many will not have had wider training or experience in evaluation or research methods. One particular challenge is engaging service users in the evaluation and keeping them on board throughout the process; a crucial factor determining the evaluation’s success.
At the NSPCC, the practitioners who deliver our services have gained a huge amount of experience from evaluating more than 25 of our services for children and families with service users. This is what we’ve learnt about how to make evaluation work in practice.
1 Put evaluation on the agenda from the very beginning
Give the service user an overview of the evaluation in initial planning meetings so that it is not sprung on them later. Provide evaluation leaflets alongside service information leaflets to be read in their own time and discussed at their next session.
2 Allow enough time for discussion
Make sure you have factored time into session and resource planning to discuss the evaluation with the service user. It’s vital they have a clear understanding about what will be involved and the importance of completing any follow-up measures.
3 Use simple language and be enthusiastic when explaining the evaluation
Describe how evaluation can give the service user a voice, empowering them to have their say and to shape future service delivery. If you don’t feel you understand the evaluation then speak to someone about this.
4 Be clear about confidentiality and consent
Service users should understand how their data will be protected and any safeguarding or confidentiality agreements and limits. Make it clear that it is up to them if they want to take part and that participation will not influence their access to the service (where applicable).
5 Give plenty of reassurance to service users
Let them know that they can ask for help if they don’t understand any of the questions, they can leave out any questions they don’t want to answer and can work through any questionnaires at their own pace.
6 If service users are unsure, ask if they would be willing to give it a go
They can always change their mind about taking part or completing a questionnaire later if they feel they don’t want to continue.
7 Recognise your own views and influence on the service user
Practitioners who feel unsure about the evaluation or dislike a particular measure can project these feelings onto the service user, influencing their ability or willingness to take part. It is important that everyone has the chance to participate and feels able to say yes or no. In our experience, service users are often willing to complete sensitive questionnaires that practitioners may initially be resistant to handing out, and will say no if they don’t want to do them.
8 Keep follow-up questionnaires on the agenda throughout case management
These are crucial to understanding the outcomes of the service and its longer-term impact. Remind service users about longer-term follow-ups in summary reports and closure letters and send out “keep in touch” cards to facilitate future contact.
9 Explore options to assist with long-term follow-ups
Would this be done better by another person (eg a school teacher or learning mentor)? Is there a better place to do this than the service centre (such as in school)? Could you arrange a reunion coffee/ play morning for group work participants and complete follow-up measures during this time?
10 Learn from colleagues about what does and doesn’t work
Ask other practitioners who have had evaluation success to share a script of the things they say to service users or to video-tape themselves having these conversations. Where possible, involve practitioners in staff training so that examples can be given and practical questions can be answered.
Content on this page is produced and controlled by the NSPCC, sponsor of the Guardian Social Care Network practice hub.
