Practitioner Observational Tool

The POT measures young people’s ‘optimal’ skills, i.e. the best someone can do while receiving high-quality support to put these skills into practice within the youth provision setting. If your main goal is to assess socio-emotional skill growth, then observational measures, like the POT, are recommended because they are sensitive to change, and are more valid than self-report. ​

When to use it ​

It is best to collect baseline POT information as soon as possible when young people first enter provision but after at least two weeks (or until sufficient rapport has been built). Ideally you will complete the POT as soon as you have a relationship with a young person and they are 'settled' in provision, so that you have an accurate start score. Later assessments may not accurately reflect young people’s baseline skills as their skills are likely to already be growing through the provision. This baseline skills information can be used to plan provision (e.g. to tailor the provision to the needs of the young people) and to better familiarise you with the young people attending provision. The POT can then be repeated as a follow-up, or near the end of provision, to assess socio-emotional behavioural skill growth. We generally recommend waiting at least two months to conduct follow-up POT scores.​

Formats ​

The POT is administered as a questionnaire either electronically or on paper.  There is a full version for observation of all young people and also an accessible version for observation of young people with additional needs or who are younger in age. This matches the accessible version of the YPS.​

How Long Does it Take?​

On average it takes a member of staff 15 minutes to complete the survey after observing a young person.

Strengths and Limitations​

Strengths​

• The POT is very effective at measuring socio-emotional skill growth as it is very sensitive to change ​

• It is less prone to bias than self-assessment tools  ​

• It can be used with all young people aged 5 to 18 years​

• It is the best tool to use for young people with additional needs or who are of younger ages, who may not be able to complete the YPS.​

• It can be used to capture distance travelled, presenting a more nuanced picture than a simple before and after measure. ​

• It is completed by the practitioner so avoids young people having to complete surveys or questionnaires, if that is an area of concern ​

Limitations​

• It only measures the skills in terms of young people’s behaviour within the provision, it does not measure how well these skills are transferred to other areas of a young person’s life.​

• Like all our tools, the POT should be used "as is", without any amendments 

Interpreting the Data​

Data collected with the POT  can be entered into the College's Data Portal to view change for individuals, cohorts and at an organisational level. ​

The baseline average scores for each item of the survey can be used to inform decisions about future training or provision planning (e.g. low scores would prompt a focus on creating more opportunities to develop particular socio-emotional skills). POT data can also be explored alongside data from our other measures to look at the relationships between quality, engagement and outcomes. ​

The total change from the baseline to the second, or end measurement point can be used to show the growth in socio-emotional skills of the young people you supported. An increase in scores can show that young people participating in the provision are improving their socio-emotional skills and this is potentially because it is high-quality provision. Changes in the profile of young people's scores at different points in provision can also help you understand distance travelled, and how young people are responding to other influences or factors in their lives. ​

A comparison of data for each young person from the YPS and POT (and QPT) also creates opportunities for feedback and reflective conversations with young people about their skills growth.​