Projects

This project is an extension of the Coaching Early Conversations Interaction and Language (CECIL) project looking at two speech and language therapy teams (Nottinghamshire and Hackney) interventions in private, voluntary and independent (PVI) nurseries to support practitioners to develop two- year -olds language skills. This project includes longitudinal case studies and telephone interviews and theory of change workshops over the 21/22 academic year.

IES has been commissioned to conduct an independent evalaution of a suite of hybrid and on-line programmes. Our approach is to go beyond a traditional training evaluation to capture the results of participants’ working differently and leading the change of a personalised care agenda. Methods include participant surveys and organisational case studies. In addition we will analyse marketing and programme datasets to explore reach and selection.

IES has been contracted to evaluate the mentoring programme delivered in England by the ETF with DfE grant funding during 2021-22. The process evaluation includes analysis of MI, interviews with mentors grant leads and stakeholders, surveys with mentors and mentees. The programme includes a short online course introducing mentoring, a programme for those nwe to mentoring and an advanced course for experienced mentor. Alumni events are also planned for cohort 1.

This is a 3.5 year evaluation (led by Ipsos MORI) of the Help to Grow: Management (a government subsidised programme that provides 50 hours (over 12 weeks) of leadership and management learning, mentoring and peer networking to SMEs, delivered by Business Schools). The aim of Help to Grow is to increase SME productivity and turnover through the adoption of new management techniques. Our main role will be to support the qualitative aspects of the evaluation, delivering interviews with SME beneficiaries, Business Schools and other stakeholders and producing around 7 x best practice case studies, and other outputs, each year. Our work will mainly be Autumn to Spring each year.

In response to the Covid-19 pandemic, NHS England (NHSE) and NHS Improvement (NHSEI) commissioned the Institute for Employment Studies (IES) to conduct a series of three Snapshot Surveys of the Primary Care Workforce to provide a ‘temperature check’ of the wider workforce at key moments. The findings of these surveys offered valuable insight for NHSE and NHSEI into the wellbeing of the workforce as it coped with the demands the pandemic had on services. The purpose of this piece of work is for IES to assist NHS England in continuing to understanding the wellbeing of the Primary Care workforce over time. IES will conduct three bi-annual online surveys of the Primary Care Workforce at approximately six-month intervals to provide a ‘snapshot’ of wellbeing, resilience and burnout levels, and intention to leave, within the workforce.

The project will supply workforce diversity and inclusion research. IES will conduct qualitative research to identify sector specific reasons driving the underrepresentation of certain groups of Londoners in the workplace, and lead a supporting evidence review. The relevant sectors are: Green Economy, Creative and Cultural Industries, Digital & Tech, Health and Social Care and Hospitality.

The project involves a pilot study of a literacy intervention called Catch Up Literacy® run for foster or kinship carers with children in Year 5 or 6. The project includes an impact assessment (run by our partner NIESR), with the primary measure being literacy measured by the York Assessment of Reading for Comprehension (YARC). IES will also run an implementation and process evaluation involving surveys of children in care and foster/ kinship carers, and interviews with foster carers and the delivery team (those running the training) to find out about foster carer and child experiences of taking part in the project and changes in reading confidence and skills over time.

IES is designing and implementing an impact evaluation of the newest offer in NHS England and NHS Improvement’s suite of coaching support offers for primary care staff. To capture longer term impact we will be using a multi-method approach including a series of on-line surveys, prompted journalling and career tracking.

This project has been funded by the Charity of Sir Richard Whittington and is part of the Mercers’ Company Early Years special initiative. It is evaluating a 10-week intervention to upskill Early Years practitioners with the confidence, knowledge & skills to help parents encourage the foundations of STEM through everyday activities and interactions, and to support STEM skills in their settings. The project is being delivered by Peeple in collaboration with the University of Oxford and Sheringham nursery. The project is taking place from April 2021 to March 2024 and the evaluation will be using theory of change development, interviews, observations and outcome data analysis.

The Skills Accelerator, incorporating Local Skills Improvement Plans trailblazers and a pilot £65m Strategic Development Fund (SDF) was announced in the Skills White Paper. Within varied contexts, the SDF pilot will provide capital and programme grant funding to build capacity and explore how education providers can work together most effectively, with employers and other partners, to respond to local skills and innovation priorities. This project will provide early evidence on successful SDF applicants’ collaboration and how they begin to make use of funding. IES will undertake 35 in-depth interviews with successful applicants and relevant partners/stakeholders to inform the Spending Review.