Projects

The New Plan for Immigration set out the Government's intentions to strengthen the asylum system migration system with clear eligibility and routes to the UK. The Nationality and Borders Act UK provides the legislative framework for the NPI. As part of the NPI an Enhanced Integration Programme was announced and this is delivered through the Refugee Employability Programme, which aims to provide employment and language support to refugees to improve their chances in the UK labour market. In partnership with Ipsos, Rand and Renaisi, IES is providing expert advice to this important programme.

An investigation into the place of bootcamps within technical education. The aim of this research is to dig into the Bootcamps to build a better understanding of what they deliver and how far this articulates with provision elsewhere. The initial stage will involve a systematic extraction of information, including links to occupational standards, in order that we can build a descriptive picture of content and design, as well as scoping interviews with DfE policymakers. This will form underpinning evidence to take forward further work on potential options to further enhance adult training provision and options. It may include stakeholder consultation workshops.

IES have been awarded a grant from the Youth Futures Foundation to carry out an impact pilot study to assess the feasibility of a future full Impact Study to assess the effect of Cumbria Youth Alliance’s Forging Futures programme. Forging Futures supports young people with complex needs in Cumbria to enter employment, education or training if they are not currently. This work has been commissioned as part of the Youth Future Foundation’s What Works grant programme.

We will work with the West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA), in partnership with iCeGS, to develop an All Age Careers Blueprint for West Yorkshire. This will provide strategic direction for the combined authority for careers, education and skills, and enable them to be ready for further devolution.

The aim of the research is to understand more about the experiences of veterinary professionals and students with disability and chronic illness.

Research and analysis to support Greater Brighton local authorities and partners in addressing impacts of rising costs of living on residents.

EEF has commissioned IES to conduct an efficacy trial evaluation of the Early Talk Boost programme, which will begin in schools in 2024. Early Talk Bost is an early langugae intervention with 3 and 4-year-olds who have demonstrated difficulty with communication and language skills. Early Years practitioners are trained to deliver a nine-week intervention with groups of up to eight children per setting, and parents/carers receive guidance to support children's language development at home. The project will include an evaluation of outcomes and a process and implementation evaluation (IPE). Update, June 2024: This trial experienced significant challenges in the recruitment phase that meant the requisite number of children would not be enrolled. Due to this, IES reached an agreement with EEF that it would be cancelled. A lessons learned report will be published in 2024.

Youth Futures Foundation has commissioned IES in partnership with Global Development Network to lead a systematic literature review of ‘systems change’ interventions, including in-depth assessment of three key levers of systems change, to support their Connected Futures grants programme and wider work on systems change to improve employment outcomes for young people who are at risk of marginalisation in the labour market.

EEF has commissioned IES to conduct an efficacy trial evaluation of the Early Talk Boost programme, which will begin in schools in 2024.

Ofsted wish to track a small diverse group of teachers through their professional development journeys during 2022/23 to understand the experience of development and perceived impact/change over time and to make recommendations for policy. The work is part of the DfE’s golden thread, aiming to improve teacher retention and quality. This study includes those with experience of early career framework induction and national professional qualifications (NPQs) but excludes those currently in Initial Teacher Training (ITT) and uses qualitative methods to allow for reflection, gain true insights and build rapport and engagement to support tracking, and has a number of stages.