The Confident Resilient Children (CRC) Project Feasibility study

The Confident Resilient Children (CRC) Project aims to support Year 5-6 (age 9-11) children to build resilience and confidence and keep them safe from exploitation and criminality. Delivered by the Titan Partnership, together with Lime and Emerge Leadership, the programme combines universal and targeted elements.

About the study

Funded by the Youth Endowment Fund (YEF), the evaluation of the CRC Project was a feasibility study, which aimed to assess the feasibility of the project from the perspectives of CRC Champions, teachers, mentors and pupils. It also explored what changes are required to refine the programme and considered what a suitable research design for a larger scale evaluation may be.

Findings

• The CRC project was largely delivered as intended. Participants reported that both the teacher-led and mentor-led components were delivered consistently and in line with guidance. Minor adaptations included reducing content to fit teacher-led sessions and dividing children into smaller mentoring groups. 
• Teachers, CRC Champions and mentors had largely positive perceptions of CRC. They liked the appropriately-pitched content, despite suggesting that some topics were challenging for pupils to understand (such as ‘grooming’ or ‘British values’).
• Teachers and CRC Champions perceived that the programme supported pupils to self-reflect and self-regulate, show empathy for others, resolve conflicts and develop confidence. Mentors suggested that CRC supported better decision making, confidence, co-operation and listening among children. Teachers highlighted benefits to teacher-pupil relationships but did not report changes to their practice. Mentors reported feeling more confident to deliver the intervention effectively and believed they were better equipped to work with a wider range of pupils.
• Teachers and mentors reported that pupils were engaged in CRC. The content and activities used (such as iPad activities, graphic novels, role plays and scenario-based games) were perceived to facilitate good engagement.
• Teachers and mentors deemed the training and ongoing support to be sufficient and of good quality. Teachers and CRC Champions perceived that the training comprehensively covered the content and resources, and they welcomed the support from ongoing weekly email prompts. Mentors liked how training content was tailored to the local context and enjoyed the peer learning approach.

Methodology

The CRC evaluation used in-depth interviews with CRC Champions, teachers and mentors. Twelve interviewees across three Birmingham schools participated. The study was undertaken from January-September 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic.