Young People's Survey

The YPS can be used in different ways to suit different purposes. It can be completed by young people shortly after they first enter provision in order to assess their baseline socio-emotional skills. This information can be used for planning purposes (e.g. to tailor provision to the needs of the young people who are attending). The YPS can also be used at both baseline and shortly after or near the end of provision, in order to assess young people’s socio-emotional skill growth. The YPS is designed to be used once or twice per year, so is not designed for use in shorter-term provision. This is because it takes time for socio-emotional skills to become embedded in young people’s thinking and behaviours, and to 'transfer' to other areas of their lives.  ​

For longer-term engagement with young people (for example, a year or more) the YPS may also be used at 'mid-point' to explore how skills are developing. ​

We recommend baseline surveys are completed once staff and young people become comfortable with one another to minimise the risk of young people self-reporting higher scores than accurate, which makes it difficult to detect actual changes. ​

It is possible to use the YPS to measure change over a shorter timeframe (e.g. three months), as long as the design and intent of the provision is closely aligned to socio-emotional skill development, and expectations are realistic about the amount of change likely. ​

We recommend using the main YPS with young people aged 10 and older. There is a more accessible version for young people of a younger age or who have specific additional needs.​

Formats ​

The YPS is administered as a questionnaire either electronically or on paper. We recommend a worker being with the young person while they complete it so the young person can ask any questions they may have and they can be encouraged to ask for clarification about the meaning of any words where needed.​

How long does it take?​

On average we have found the YPS takes a young person 15 minutes to complete.​

Strengths and Limitations​

Strengths ​

• It can be used to understand baseline levels of socio-emotional skills and as a measure of the development of socio-emotional skills over time. ​

• It can show how young people's skill growth is transferring to other areas of their lives, supporting longer-term impact ​

• YPS data and quality data (via the QPT) can be analysed together in order to connect the quality of your provision to outcomes for young people.​

• It can inform session planning and future provision planning. ​

• It can be used with young people in any kind of provision.  ​

• There is an accessible version for young people of a lower age or with additional needs.​

• Practitioners are encouraged to explore and explain the tool and the words used with young people. This will not bias or invalidate the tool. The more young people understand it, the more reliable the data is likely to be. ​

Limitations​

• Responses can be subject to ‘response bias’, i.e. young people changing their behaviour or response to meet what they think is desired, therefore it is best to wait for at least four hours of active engagement to build a relationship with the young person before they complete it.​

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

• The tool is ideally used over a relatively long timeframe, between six months and a year 

Interpreting the Data​

Data collected with the YPS measure can be entered into the the College's Data Portal to view the change for individuals, cohorts and at an organisational level. YPS data can also be explored alongside data from our other measures to look at the relationships between quality, engagement and outcomes. ​

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. ​

The average 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.