Extension Evaluation of the 'SAFE' (Support, Attend, Fulfil, Exceed) Taskforces

This evaluation is an extension to the existing YEF-funded evaluation of the SAFE Taskforces programme launched by the Department for Education in 2022 in 10 Local Authority areas. The existing evaluation includes a quasi-experimental impact evaluation that uses a difference-in-differences approach to estimate the causal effect of SAFE on a range of outcomes for pupils and local authorities (LAs) during the programme pilot period (from academic year 2022/23 to 2024/25); a mixed methods process evaluation that aims to understand how the SAFE Taskforces programme is delivered and the experiences of those involved; and a cost evaluation that describes the costs associated with delivery of SAFE.

Full details about the SAFE Taskforces programme and existing evaluation can be found within the original SAFE Evaluation Study Protocol.

This extension evaluation seeks to provide added value by estimating longer term causal effects of SAFE on the pupils and LAs that participated in the programme during the initial pilot period. It explores the causal effect of SAFE on the full range of outcomes included in the original evaluation, plus an additional secondary outcome of pupils’ initial post-16 destinations (i.e. Year 12), during the year following of the programme pilot (academic year 2025/26). (Initial post-16 destinations refer to pupil enrollment in publicly funded education, training or apprenticeships on the 31st October in the year when they are aged 16).

As specified in the original SAFE Evaluation Study Protocol, this outcome was not included in the original impact evaluation, as it lay outside the SAFE programme theory of change, some SAFE interventions did not target it, and the smaller eligible sample within the original evaluation period limited power to detect effect. We noted, however, that it would be possible to look at this outcome in a future study. We include initial post-16 destinations in this extension evaluation as, over the extension period, more pupils will reach age 16, increasing power, and because it is an outcome of interest within the implementation and process evaluation.