Measures

We primarily focus on the development of socio-emotional skills, the staff practices that influence them and the application of these skills in the provision and the transfer to other areas of the young person’s life – collectively these form what we refer to as ‘domains’. There are six socio-emotional skills domains: responsibility, empathy, problem solving, initiative, teamwork, and emotion management. These are both influenced by and influence each individual person’s life experiences.  

There is strong evidence and significant consensus that, well-developed socio-emotional skills increase the likelihood of achieving positive later life outcomes for young people, such as: the attainment of qualifications; securing, sustaining and progressing in employment; forming and maintaining positive relationships; developing a physically and mentally healthy lifestyle; and taking action on social injustices that matter to us. Socio-emotional skills are therefore the most important outcomes of youth work and provision.  

More detail about this and the conditions and experiences through which young people develop these skills, can be found in our Outcomes Framework 3.0. This is a shared framework for everyone working with and for young people. 

Measuring outcomes 

There is no one way to measure youth provision; different measures focus on different elements of provision and are therefore appropriate in different contexts. It is always best to start by asking yourself what evidence you need and want, and why: 'evidence of what, for what?'. The tools we provide can help to understand: 

Changes in socio-emotional skills:  the YPS measures the medium to long-term changes in young people’s socio-emotional skills by understanding where they were at before they start, potentially during and after taking part in youth provision. They can track how these skills show up in other areas of young people’s lives – for example, how they engage with peers or families, or in the longer term, changes in their health and livelihoods.  

Changes in behaviour:   the POT measures young people’s socio-emotional skills in youth provision settings through a focus on how young people put these skills into practice in their participation and relationships with others. These changes are often captured through observation by practitioners.   

Young people’s engagement:  the YES tool captures young people’s feedback on their experiences of provision and their ‘mental engagement’ in activities, discussions and their environment. This enables an understanding of how their socio-emotional skills relate to their experience of the provision and their relationships with practitioners.   

The quality of youth provision: the QPT measures the quality of the provision in terms of the experience provided for the young person. This is captured by observations of practice and practitioners to understand how they are creating the conditions that promote young people’s development of socio-emotional skills.  

Data analysis: The Youth Impact Portal is a web-based application where organisations can administer the College’s measurement tools and analyse results.   

Ready to dive in? Check out this PDF guide to get a detailed overview about this hub and our tools.