An Evaluation of the You Matter Radicalisation Awareness Programme

Abstract

The ‘You Matter Radicalisation Awareness Programme’ was developed by You & Co, Victim Support’s children and young people’s programme, in partnership with SLYNCS, utilising funding from the Department for Education. Thirty Youth Champions were recruited to help co-create a package of materials to raise awareness to help prevent radicalisation for delivery to young people and parents in a range of school and community based settings. This report is a summary of an evaluation completed by the University of Central Lancashire between July 2017 and March 2018. The evaluation comprised of two discrete but inter-linked components. The first concerned the journeys and outcomes for the thirty young people (the Youth Champions) who were recruited to help co-create the materials. The second concerned the outcomes achieved for the young people in a range of school and youth based settings who were recipients of the final package itself. Ethical approval for the study was granted by the PSYSOC ethics committee at the University of Central Lancashire. You & Co is Victim Support’s programme for supporting children and young people who are victims and witnesses of crime and abuse. SLYNCS are a youth empowerment charity, providing opportunities for young people to make positive changes in their own lives, their communities and society as a whole. In addition to providing an evaluation of the programme as a whole, the University of Central Lancashire was also involved in providing some briefing and training sessions to staff from both You & Co and SLYNCS. The thirty Youth Champions were also supported by the University of Central Lancashire to complete a Level Two Institute of Leadership and Management (ILM) Award, which was specifically designed to recognise the work of young people working as leaders in their local community