This report presents the findings of the process evaluation of the Stronger Practice Hubs (SPH) programme. The SPH programme was launched in November 2022 to run as a two year programme, though was subsequently extended to the end of March 2025. The aim of the programme was to support settings to address the impact of the pandemic on young…

Abstract Households with children eligible for Free School Meals are at risk of food insecurity. This paper reports on a rapid-response study that investigated the impact of the school food voucher scheme during the COVID-19 crisis on young people, families and schools. It pays close attention to the reliance of the state on the goodwill of…

The study was carried out to determine whether Turkish primary school 1st graders experienced reading loss during the summer holidays and whether giving book support to disadvantaged students during the summer holidays was effective in preventing this loss. The research was conducted with 26 students at a rural primary school. The pretest-posttest…

Can summer programs, as remedial supplements to regular schooling, extend learning opportunities and other benefits to disadvantaged students? To frame this question, we compare logics from "social reproduction" and "partial compensation" perspectives, and then apply them to a large mixed method study of four kinds of summer…

In 2019, the Department for Education (DfE) commissioned a consortium of evaluation and early years assessment specialists to evaluate the first phase of Early Years Professional Development Programme (EYPDP1). The evaluation was led by Ecorys, with the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER), Professor Kathy Sylva (the University of…

In September 2022, the Institute for Fiscal Studies' Deaton Review drew attention to clear evidence that the UK compulsory education system is failing to tackle inequality. Their analysis demonstrated that attainment gaps between pupils who are eligible for Free School Meals (FSM) and those who are not exist across all stages of education.…

Purpose: The aim of this study was to examine whether, drawing on the perception of their coaches, the application of the pedagogical model of sport education could be associated with satisfying the basic psychological needs of children from socially vulnerable backgrounds. Method: A 36-session sport education season was implemented within a…

The qualitative case study reported on here was commissioned and funded by the Western Cape Government (WCG) in partnership with the Cape Higher Education Consortium (CHEC) to inquire into attributes of well performing after-school programmes (ASPs) within the Western Cape provincei of South Africa. The research question of the study was: What…

Vulnerable and disadvantaged young people are often disengaged from mainstream education and lack the substantive capacity and opportunity to benefit from nature-focused activities without support. Ecotherapeutic out-of-classroom environmental education (EE) programmes hold the potential to benefit such young people, although research involving…

This article investigates the career paths of learners who attended Youthreach education centres. Youthreach originated in 1989 as an alternative pathway for early school learners experiencing disadvantage. Youthreach is an underresearched sector of the education system, even less is known about the career progression of Youthreach graduates. This…

The COVID-19 pandemic prompted unprecedented school closures in England, which quickly generated widespread concern at the impacts of missed schooling: 'lost learning' became the dominant motif of these concerns and 'catch-up' emerged as the received solution. This article focuses on the central pillar of the government's post-pandemic response:…

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a negative effect on children's mental health worldwide. Existing studies suggest that children with greater levels of hope are more likely to be resilient in the face of disaster. While social support at the family and community level is proposed as an important factor in sustaining and fostering hope, the children…

This paper reflects on the efficacy of the "kids-in-parks" program offered by various national parks in South Africa. Through transformative research, the objectives of the program are reviewed to facilitate future program assessment. Transformative research requires the use of mixed methods; qualitative input was gained from national…

Since 2004, the English Access Microscholarship Program, a U.S. public diplomacy initiative, has impacted at least 150,000 nonelite youths. U.S. Department of State employees created the program in response to suicide bombings committed by Moroccan youths at international sites in Casablanca. The program later expanded throughout the Middle East…

Mentorship from within the community holds great promise for transforming the lives of young people and helping them to take full advantage of educational opportunities. This article discusses the CAMFED (Campaign for Female Education) Learner Guide program, which provides mentors and role models trained by a pan-African network of women leaders.