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Activity and Learning Agreement Pilots – Programme Theory Evaluation
Learning Agreement Provision (Working Paper 4)

Page R, Johnson C, Munro M

Report RR121, Department for Children, Schools and Families, June 2009
ISBN: 978-1-84775-460-8
PDF Download only: £free

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a report researched by IES

The Learning Agreements Pilots (LAP) were launched in April 2006 in 8 areas of England to run for two years. LAP was an initiative targeted at young people aged 16 to 17 who were working but not engaged in any accredited training, ie in jobs without training (JWT). A Learning Agreement outlined the accredited training that the young person would undertake and was drawn up between a Connexions Personal Adviser, the young person and their employer. It also outlined what financial incentive, if any, the young person (or their employer) could receive.

The objectives of the evaluation were to:

test the effectiveness of the LAP approach for re-engagement

monitor and understand how LAP were managed and implemented and to highlight good practice

understand what works (or not) within the pilots: to understand how young people respond to the initiatives, agreements and brokerage and to understand for whom, and in what circumstances the theories behind the programme have worked.

This programme theory evaluation utilised a realist evaluation method which focused on identifying and testing some of the key ‘theories’ that underlie the LAP policy to explore which components of the policy worked or not.

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