The impact of HeadStart on absence, exclusion and attainment
We believe young people thrive when they feel more involved in their communities and are given the chance to shape the services that support them, and thanks to funding from The National Lottery Community Fund this is happening all across England.
We know this thanks to research showing promising reductions in exclusion rates across our HeadStart partnership areas.
Taken from the Impact of Headstart Interventions on Secondary Pupil Absence, Exclusion and Attainment paper from the Children and Families Policy Research Unit, in this blog we take a closer look at these findings, the possible reasons behind these reductions, and why it matters.
What is HeadStart?
Started in 2016, HeadStart was a six-year, £67.4 million National Lottery funded programme set up by The National Lottery Community Fund.
It aimed to explore and test new ways to improve the mental health and wellbeing of young people aged 10 to 16 and prevent serious mental health issues from developing.
The six HeadStart partnerships were based in Blackpool, Cornwall, Hull, Kent, Newham, and Wolverhampton.
Since 2016, HeadStart programme has supported over 246,000 young people through both universal and targeted interventions. In addition, 5,200 parents and carers have been supported and more than 24,000 staff have been trained.
What the research shows
The study explored the impact of HeadStart on young people’s school outcomes, using routinely collected data from the Department for Education to explore whether the programme has been effective in improving attendance, exclusion and attainment.
Although the findings show that the HeadStart programme had no observable effect on attendance or attainment rates, it prevented approximately 800 students from experiencing a school exclusion in 2016/17, its first year of implementation. This represented a 10% reduction in exclusion rates across HeadStart local areas. Based on the estimated effects of HeadStart on pupils' exclusion rates that are statistically significant, the programme saved around £6 million by reducing exclusions in 2016/17.
While the study showed promising reductions in exclusion rates, it cannot tell us whether the decline in exclusion rates was due to improvement in school policies or changes in young people’s behaviours at school. The six HeadStart partnerships designed multiple interventions to address both, delivered in a range of settings including schools, communities, online, and with families. Some interventions were child-focused (peer mentoring, one-to-one counselling), some were directed at school staff or other professional groups (training and workshops), and some were directed at parents and carers (parent peer mentoring).
Contributing factors across the HeadStart partnerships that can be attributed to the reduction in exclusions, include:
- Co-production in schools leading to a greater understanding of what young people need
- Resilience conversations used by staff so they could take a different approach when talking to young people
- Staff being more trauma informed
- Changes in school practices with a greater focus on resilience.
Examples from HeadStart Blackpool*
Back on Track
HeadStart Blackpool’s Back on Track service supports "our children" - young people aged 10-16 who are looked after by the local authority and at risk of being excluded from school. Back on Track is delivered by a team of Resilience Coaches, using the approach of Resilient Therapy (Hart et al), they work across systems including children's social care, education, health and third sector organisations to build individual resilience and resilience in the system to enable the young people to remain in school where appropriate. In its first year of delivery, Back on Track ensured that 14 young people had remained in education, saving £8,000 in school charges and Blackpool council £15,000 per year per pupil at a Pupil Referral Unit.
Friend for Life
HeadStart Blackpool’s Friend for Life programme matches "our children" with trusted adults who volunteer to make a lifelong commitment as a friend. The project enables children aged 10,11 and 12 to choose who they want to be matched up with by watching vlogs created by the adults. Children who have a Friend for Life have reported fewer negative influences and more positive influences on their lives, as well as improved self-confidence and those with a friend for life for one year or more also demonstrated reduced incidences of fixed-term exclusions, an increase of six days per year in school, and no permanent exclusions.
Why reduced exclusions matter
These findings suggest the potential of programmes like HeadStart to support young people to remain in school, which is a hugely significant protective factor. The study highlights existing research showing that exclusions, particularly if permanent, can affect a young person’s social and emotional world by disrupting relationships with peers and damaging trust in teachers.
Excluded young people often feel isolated, tend to have poorer mental health and are more likely to become involved in youth crime/violence. Any interventions showing the potential to reduce exclusions, such as HeadStart, has the potential to prevent further and more significant negative outcomes later in life.
What’s next?
As a test and learn programme, the HeadStart programme ended in July 2022, with many of the approaches having been sustained and embedded locally. We’ve highlighted the findings released today because we know it will be of interest to others working to reduce school exclusions.
The findings add to the series of evidence that has been shared by the HeadStart Learning Team from the start of the programme to contribute to the understanding of the links between improved mental health and wellbeing, positive outcomes for young people, and the importance of increased investment in adolescent mental health prevention.
The final evaluation of HeadStart will be completed in mid-2023.
* These are examples of HeadStart services. These are not directly attributable to the findings taken from the Impact of Area Level Interventions on Attendance, Exclusion and Attainment paper.