Hope’s Place has also restarted its evaluation of the impact of courses, based on a set of questions answered by the boys and girls at the start and end of the courses. Each question measures an attitude based on a ten-point scale, covering such issues as positive relationships, emotional intelligence, resilience and self-image. Improvements in scores on these the-point scales may not be an accurate reflection of every impact of a course, and schoolchildren are liable to make quite fluctuating self-assessments, but a general trend does emerge. For 20/21, the girls showed a statistically significant average improvement of 22.1 points, while improvement per boy, though less marked, at 9.2 on average, was similarly significant. Sample sizes for 21/22 were smaller and the results therefore less reliable, but positive improvements were still achieved.
What cannot be measured so easily are the personal responses to the courses, made by pupils and teaching staff. The effect on troubled pupils has frequently raised teachers’ comments. A selection is shown below:
Girls' courses
Aspire courses
Boys' courses
Total pupils
‘Girls enjoyed the sessions, really consistent in good content, punctuality etc. Girls learnt a lot’
‘Good material – always challenging, the lies girls are told!’
‘I think they all really enjoyed being part of the group and feel more confident in their views because of it’
‘I have noticed increased knowledge of issues around self-confidence.’
“In the 10 weeks we learnt about relationships. My favourite week was the stereotype week because it showed you not to judge people.”
“I enjoyed this intervention as we talked about lots of important things.”
“I’ve been more confident in talking about my feelings which is hard for us blokes.”
“It’s taught me that a man makes his own choices and isn’t told what to do by his mates.”
‘’Fun and very emotional because I’ve felt like I connected with everyone.’’
“I enjoyed that everyone respects each other and doesn’t judge anyone.’’
‘’I have learned that I am not alone that other people have the same thoughts as me.’’
‘’Amazing, super, fun, fabulous
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