§ Phil HopeTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how the Connexions service will be evaluated. [46325]
§ Mr Ivan LewisThe evaluation of the Connexions Service will build on the experience of the pilot studies using a combination of opinion surveys, impact studies and a programme identifying effective practice.
Opinion surveys. These will cover the views of young people including non-users of the Connexions Service and the opinions of the key stakeholders involved with each Connexions Partnership. Run annually, using a standard set of questions, these surveys will make it possible to monitor changes in views towards the Service over time as Connexions is rolled out nationally.
Impact studies. This component of the evaluation strategy will look in detail at Partnership activity to assess how effective the service has been in helping young people. The focus will be on the range of interventions made by a personal adviser and the intention is to track a selected cohort of young people over time to assess outcomes.
Identifying effective practice. The third component of the strategy is to secure prompt feedback about what works operationally and what constitutes effective practice. A rolling programme of studies will be commissioned covering specific issues relevant to the key delivery areas of the Service.