An introduction to the Thriving Lives Toolkit and its underlying research
Original video: https://youtu.be/ooGD9QSnJE0
An introduction to the Thriving Lives Toolkit and its underlying research.
Let's take a look at the Thriving Lives Toolkit. I'd like to explain the evidence behind the toolkit and outline the approach we took to developing it and why. Later, I'll also go through the details of one of the principles and how the toolkit is put together in a separate video.
So, here's how we went about gathering that evidence base. We worked with ICEGS, the International Center for Guidance Studies, a research center based at the University of Derby, which specializes in career guidance and developmental research. The research they undertook included an extensive literature review and a survey of numerous schools across the country educating service children. Additionally, they conducted qualitative case studies involving focus groups and interviews in schools throughout the country.
We were careful to include a balance of primary and secondary schools, different numbers of service children, and different armed forces branches. The research team spoke to school leadership, staff, and the children themselves to understand the context of the schools and the perspectives of the young people. They also consulted specialists, including experts in managing and developing quality standards.
The research was led by an experienced senior team of researchers at this Institute, who brought expertise in research, policy, practice, and complex evaluations. They used a grounded theory approach to develop a framework based on the thorough literature review, survey responses, interviews, and case studies.
The framework underwent user testing and received feedback from schools and SCiP Alliance stakeholders. We made amendments based on this feedback. It was also reviewed by stakeholders in key relevant policy positions in the Ministry of Defense, Department for Education, the Office for Students, and Ofsted. These stakeholders had positive feedback, noting that the framework encourages schools to embark on a journey and ask questions rather than dictating what to do.
User testing was conducted with a range of schools to ensure diversity, and their feedback helped shape the framework's layout, order, and additional information and signposting needs. To address the need for further information and signposting, we developed a suite of training modules linked to each of the principles. These modules were developed with the input of teachers and are divided into three tiers: Tier 1 for initial engagement, Tier 2 for in-depth information, and Tier 3 for additional ideas and resources. All of these modules are available on our website.
Our approach recognizes the diversity of service children's experiences; they are not a homogeneous group, and the context for different schools can vary significantly. With service children distributed across the UK, some schools have a high proportion of them, while others have just one or two. Therefore, our approach is based on posing questions for consideration rather than providing a one-size-fits-all list of actions. Schools can reflect on these questions with the support of our training suite and the SCiP Alliance community to help them develop their own practices in their unique contexts.
