ThinkForward: Evaluation report and executive summary

This report presents the findings of the evaluation of the ThinkForward coaching programme developed by Impetus Private Equity Foundation. 

The pilot was evaluated using a range of qualitative methods and a small Randomised Controlled Trial (RCT). The aims of the evaluation were to determine whether a future large-scale evaluation was possible, and to gain an initial estimate of the programme’s impact on GCSE scores, the likelihood of continuing into post-compulsory education, and decreasing pupil absences. Randomisation took place at both school and pupil level. Within the two randomly assigned intervention schools, eligible pupils were randomly allocated either to an intervention group or a within-school control group. Across the four schools, there were 181 pupils in the Y11 cohort, 40 of whom received the intervention, and 160 pupils in the Y10 cohort, 37 of whom received the intervention.