My research and evaluation projects common involve a rapid literature review to set the context and ensure we build on, rather than duplicate, existing knowledge. In add-on I have also undertaken a number of focused literature reviews.
Where do young people turn to for advice on money matters? (2021)
A rapid literature review for the Money and Pensions Service (MaPS) (2021) explored where and how young people look for information and advice on money matters, and how much they ely on online information. Contrary to an expectation that young people would primarily look online, the evidence indicated that young people will first to to and are more likely to trust information from family and friends. Indeed they find it hard to navigate or judge the trustworthiness of online information and are largely unaware of specialist or reliable sources. The report points to need for improved financial education for children, young people as well as their families and relevant professionals who they turn to; as well as individualised, one-to-one advice. Read a summary of the key findings here and the full report here.
What drives the disproportionate school exclusions of certain groups of children? 2019
This literature review was commissioned by the Department for Education to help explain the continued disproportionality in exclusions from English schools of certain groups of pupils from mainstream English schools. These include Black Caribbean boys, Gypsy, Roma and Traveller children, children with additional or special needs or disabilities and children entitled to free school meals – ie on low incomes.
An examination of 115 sources found that the potential drivers were numerous and layered. They included prior childhood trauma, coupled with disadvantage and negative profiling and stereotyping, especially along racial and class grounds. Morever they had a multiplier effect and reflected wider societal contexts, not least discrimination along the lines of class, race, gender and poverty. This fed into the wider review by Edward Timpson CBE. Read the executive summary or full report
A review of the deployment of volunteers to support families, for NSPCC, 2021.
Although volunteering is common in the UK, there is limited robust evidence around its effectiveness. This review found that volunteers worked in a range of levels and roles to support families, e.g. befriending, supporting, advising, mentoring. Essential requirements included skills, knowledge, experience; being safe, trustworthy and consistent; and good volunteer coordination, planning, training and support. It was interesting to note that using ‘peers’, i.e. volunteers from the same group or local area, brought both advantages and disadvantages. While many positive outcomes were noted in the literature, it also stressed the methodological and practical challenges in gathering robust data around impact.
Read full report here. Listen to our podcast here
Literature review on ‘Early help’ for Action for Children 2019
‘Early help’ was defined as ‘providing support to a child or family as soon as a problem emerges, at any point in a child’s life’. However the evidence found indicates that the term remains vague in practice and outcomes are not routinely or systematically measured. At the same time it is a challenge to develop universally applicable outcome measures to suit the range of circumstances experienced by all families and children and the variety of programmes. Only a few sources detailed long-term early help interventions. This review also noted that early intervention for children and families had been demoted politically in recent years and undermined further by austerity and other funding cuts to local services and preventative measures. Read summary here