Case Study: Prince's Trust

princes trust

Project: Research

Date: November 2005 – March 2006

This well known charity creates opportunities to help young people get their lives on track. The xl programme, the Trust’s biggest, helps more than 14,000 young people aged 14-16 in areas of greatest need, providing a mix of activities related to the world of work, enterprise, team skills and community projects.

The Need

Xl was going through a period of change and the Trust wanted to extend the programme outside of mainstream schools, including Young Offender Institutions, Pupil Referral Units, colleges and youth centres.

They wanted to identify what changes might be needed to make xl more effective outside of schools and what skills and training were required by advisers to deliver it well. The Trust also wanted to find out the range of educational opportunities available to this age group outside of mainstream schools across the UK.

The approach

I adopted an approach in consultation with Trust staff that included qualitative and quantitative research, utilising a mix of descriptive, depth and hard data. This included:

Visits to xl clubs and interviews with staff and young people
Interviews with regional and national Trust staff
Interviews with key stakeholders, including the QCA and Association of Colleges
Desk research, including web, paper and database sources
A questionnaire for heads of xl centres and xl club advisers

The result

I produced a report with a number of recommendations to help to take the xl programme into its next phase of development. This was done with the co-operation and support of Prince’s Trust staff and others with a stake and interest in wanting xl to work.

You can read the PDF report here: 'xl Outside the Mainstream'

'Gary delivered a high quality report that is helping to develop our strategy. He is extremely professional, good to work with and highly recommended.'
Julie Murray
Head of xl Programme, The Prince's Trust

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