PATHS to SuccessWhat schools will get and what we need in return

Professor Neil HumphreySchool of Education, University of Manchester

neil.humphrey@manchester.ac.uk

Overview

• Project background• Research design• What schools will get• What we need in return• Q and A

Project background

• Research funded by the National Institute for Health Research

• Training, materials and academic assessment funded by the Education Endowment Foundation

Project background• Social and emotional wellbeing in childhood is important in its own right, but also

has implications for public health because of its associations with academic achievement, employment, and other crucial outcomes later in life

• Research indicates a rise in mental health difficulties in the last several decades– 1 in 10 children and young people experience clinically significant problems– Higher rates of difficulties among adolescents compared to children

• Schools have become the main focus of efforts to reverse the above trends• Universal, evidence-based preventive interventions are delivered to all children

and can be particularly effective– The inoculation metaphor– “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure”

• However, the evidence base in the UK is extremely small and those studies that have been carried out are inconclusive

– We simply don’t know enough about what works in promoting social and emotional wellbeing in English schools

– NIHR funding came about as a direct result of the lack of evidence available in the UK

Project background• Why PATHS?

– Evidence– Convenience

• Evidence– Strong international evidence base– Recommended to HM Government by Graham Allen in the Independent

Review of Early Intervention– One of only 12 ‘model programmes’ nominated by the Centre for the Study

and Prevention of Violence• Convenience

– Materials have already been adapted for the English context by Barnado’s– Training sources already in place in the UK– Designed to be delivered by class teachers, ready to go ‘off the shelf’– Short sessions that can easily be accommodated into the school day

Project background• Aim

– To examine the impact of the PATHS curriculum on the social and emotional wellbeing of children in primary schools in England

• Objectives1. To determine the impact of PATHS on a variety of outcomes (e.g.,

social skills, academic attainment)2. To determine whether the impact of PATHS is sustainable3. To determine the impact of PATHS on children’s adjustment to

secondary school4. To assess the role of implementation variability in mediating the

impact of PATHS on outcomes for children5. To assess the validity of the logic model for social and emotional

learning programmes6. To examine the cost-effectiveness of PATHS

Research design• Cluster randomised controlled trial (CRCT)

– This means that schools are randomly allocated to (a) implement PATHS with pupils in Key Stage 2 (Y3, 4 and 5), or (b) continue their usual practice, over a two-year period

– At the end of the trial, all schools will be free to decide whether to start/continue using the PATHS materials

• We want to recruit 70 primary schools– 35 will implement PATHS– 35 will carry on as normal

• Any primary school in Greater Manchester is eligible to participate• Our target population are children in Years 3, 4 and 5 at the start

of the 2012/13 school year– One class in each year group per participating school

Research design• Refer to basic study flow chart in pack• School recruitment• Time 1 measurement (June/July 2012)

– School level: usual practice survey– Pupil level: Years 2, 3 and 4

• Pupil survey – SSIS, KS27 and CHUD• Parent survey – SDQ, KS27 • Staff survey – SDQ• Pupil academic assessment – PIPS

• Time 2 measurement (June/July 2013)• Time 3 measurement (June/July 2014)

Research design

• Randomisation– Handled independently by Christie Clinical

Trials Unit– Each participating school will be randomly

assigned to either (a) implement PATHS in Y3, 4 and 5, or (b) continue usual practice, over a two year period

Research design

• PATHS schools implementation fieldwork– One visit per half term (maximum 6 per year)– Observations of PATHS sessions– Brief teacher survey– Brief interviews with key stakeholders (e.g.

staff, parents, pupils)• Arranged at dates/times convenient to

each school

Research design

• After the trial is completed, all schools will be free to start/continue implementing PATHS

• We will continue to track the cohort of pupils who are transfer to secondary school at the end of the trial, to assess– whether any impact is sustained– whether PATHS impacts upon adjustment to

secondary school

What schools will get• Benefits for ALL schools, regardless of the group to which they are assigned• No financial cost – our funding from EEF/NIHR covers everything • Payment of £100 towards teacher cover for survey completion at each annual wave of data collection• PIPS assessment data for study cohort (Y3, 4 and 5)

– Standardised scores for reading, maths, picture vocabulary and non-verbal ability– Highly predictive of end of KS outcomes– Normally c.£5+ per pupil per assessment– See flyer in delegate pack!

• Survey feedback – social skills, behaviour, mental health– Bespoke feedback for each school

• School level, class level• Useful for school policy, planning and practice, OFSTED (e.g. behaviour and safety)• Simple, easy to understand, accessible• See sample in delegate pack!

• Opportunity to – Be involved in a piece of cutting edge research that has the potential to shape future educational policy and

practice in England– Explore and develop social and emotional learning practice as part of a network of schools in Greater

Manchester

What schools will get• PATHS schools – training, materials, support• Training

– 1 day initial training for Y3, 4 and 5 teachers in early September (INSET day)

– Follow-up training day after half-term (or early January)– Training for Y6 teachers at start of 2013/4 school year

• Curriculum materials– Lesson packs for Y3, 4, 5 and 6– Supplementary materials (e.g. posters)

• Implementation support– Technical support and assistance from implementation team

• PATHS psychologists – Craig, Kirsty, Emma• Modelling, coaching, feedback

What we need in return

• Our funding enables us to offer the various ‘perks’ of participation (e.g. PIPS data, the PATHS package, the survey feedback) at no financial cost to schools

• However, we do need a commitment from participating schools to fulfil our data collection requirements in relation to the target cohort of pupils (one class in each of Years 3, 4 and 5 at the start of the 2012/13 school year)

What happens next?• Please discuss participation with your school leadership team• We will email and/or telephone each delegate after a week (9 March

onwards)• For those schools who wish to participate, we will draw up a

memorandum of agreement outlining– What is entailed by participation– Key conditions (e.g. randomisation) and milestones (e.g. survey and training

dates)– What schools will get– What we need in return

• Head teacher of the school needs to sign the memorandum in order to progress to the next phase of the study– Arrangements will be made for baseline (Time 1) surveys– We need a response rate of 85% or higher (pupil and staff surveys) to enable a

given school to be entered into the randomisation process

What happens next?

• If you have any questions about the project, please get in touch!– Alexandra.barlow@manchester.ac.uk– 0161 275 3504