Evaluation of SW!TCH Lives

SW!TCH Lives, delivered by LifeLine Community Projects, is an intervention designed to prevent young people being drawn into crime and violence.
Teenage boys hanging out together

About the study

SW!TCH Lives, delivered by LifeLine Community Projects, is an intervention designed to prevent young people being drawn into crime and violence. SW!TCH Lives works with young people aged 11-14 to provide a combination of workshops, positive activities, and mentoring.

We are carrying out this research for the Youth Endowment Fund (YEF) to understand how SW!TCH Lives is working so far.

SW!TCH Lives is an intervention for young people aged 11-14 and is designed to prevent young people from being drawn into crime and violence. To do this, SW!TCH youth workers deliver workshopsfocused on building knowledge and understanding of youth crime and violence, and related issues. Some children also receive 1:1 support from a mentor.

The overall aims of this research are to:

  • Assess how the intervention is delivered, including what SW!TCH staff and stakeholders, school teachers, and young people think about the programme.
  • Identify and test ways to assess the outcomes of the intervention.
  • Measure early ‘distance travelled’ as a result of SW!TCH Lives.

What's involved?

SW!TCH stakeholders

We will interview SW!TCH stakeholders to understand how the SW!TCH Lives programme was designed and has been implemented. We will also explore views about what has worked well during this process, as well as particular challenges that have been experienced.

Mentors / youth workers

We will speak to the youth workers / mentors who deliver the workshops and 1:1 mentor sessions about their experiences of the programme delivery. We will also explore views about what has worked well during the delivery process, challenges that may have been experienced, and areas for improvement. Observations in relation to benefits or challenges for the young people who have taken part in SW!TCH Lives will also be explored.

Teachers / school leads

We will interview teachers in schools who have been involved in organising the implementation of the SW!TCH Lives programme in their respective school. During interviews with teachers we will explore their experiences of working with the programme provider to implement SW!TCH in their school and their views on how SW!TCH Lives has been delivered so far. Observations in relation to benefits or challenges for the young people who have taken part in the programme will also be explored.

Young people

Research activities with young people will include: 

  • Focus groups with pupils who have attended a SW!TCH Lives workshop.
  • In-depth interviews with pupils who are receiving the one-to-one SW!TCH mentoring, including those selected to be ambassadors.

Pupils will be asked about their views and experiences of the SW!TCH Lives programme. Topics of discussion will include:

  • Reflections on the content and delivery of the SW!TCH Lives programme.
  • The impact that it may have had on their awareness and attitudes towards youth crime and violence.
  • Any recommendations or improvements that they might have for the programme.

Privacy notice

In our privacy notice, we explain the legal basis for data processing, who will have access to your personal data, how your data will be used, stored and deleted, and who you can contact with a query or a complaint.

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Our pledge to you 

We respect your wishes

Taking part is voluntary and you do not have to answer any questions you don’t want to. Just let your interviewer know and they will move on to the next question.

We answer your questions

Your interviewer will be happy to answer any questions you have about the study which aren’t covered here. Alternatively, feel free to get in touch with a member of our research team via email at switch@natcen.ac.uk

We ensure your safety

All our interviewers carry photographic ID cards and have been checked by the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly the Criminal Records Bureau). We welcome any feedback you have about your experience with our interviewers.

We guard your privacy

We will treat the information you give us in the strictest confidence under the Data Protection Act 2018. The results collected are used for research purposes only. You will never receive any junk mail as a result of speaking to us. We never pass on your details to other organisations for commercial purposes. Read the privacy notice for more information.

Who are NatCen?

We’re Britain’s largest independent social research agency. For the last 50 years we’ve worked on behalf of government and charities to find out what people really think about important social issues and how Britain is run.

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Find out more 

If you have any further questions or would like to discuss the research, please email switch@natcen.ac.uk.