Impact · Evaluation

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Jamie's Farm Social Impact

 

At Jamie’s Farm, our aim is to empower vulnerable young people from urban areas by improving their capacity for personal and social achievement, and in turn their capacity for engagement with school. Our methods have had success with a variety of young people, and notably school refusers and students on the verge of permanent exclusion.

 

We document the progress of all young people who visit Jamie's Farm, through evaluation of students and their staff. Staff and students are surveyed before, during and after* the Jamie's Farm experience in respect of students progress, and for customer satisfaction.

 

All Jamie's Farm targets are linked directly to the Every Child Matters (ECM) agenda and Social and Emotional Aspects of Learning (SEAL).

 

All data on these pages is collated from surveys conducted on 29 visits between 2007 and 2009.

 

*Surveys conducted two weeks before the experience, on the farm and between 6-8 weeks after the experience. Longitudinal case studies of up to 2 years are conducted through staff and student interviews reviewed over 2, 6 and 12 month periods.

 


Customer Satisfaction

Overall benefit to staff = 8.9 out of 10
Value for money = 9 out of 10
Overall benefit to students = 9.5 out of 10
Overall satisfaction with the Jamie's Farm experience = 9.8 out of 10

 

All staff surveyed would recommend Jamie’s Farm to a colleague, and have expressed an interest in rebooking for the upcoming academic year.

Positive Change

 

Teachers report that of students referred to Jamie’s Farm who are on the verge of exclusion, 91% students have fewer behavioural incidents on return to school.

 

Teachers report that of students referred to Jamie’s Farm who are school refusers 83% of students show a decreased truancy rate.

 

Other vulnerable students are referred to Jamie’s Farm due to poor behaviour, often linked to their specific learning needs. 90% of vulnerable students show improved engagement with school following a visit to Jamie’s Farm by increasing targeted personal and social skills.

 

100% of students show improved personal skills, communication and empathy

  • Teachers report 94% of students show increased motivation to learn on return to school as a result of the visit (whilst 100% of students report increased motivation to learn).
  • Students demonstrate an overall 30% increase in ‘focus and concentration’, and ‘the ability to learn new skills’ and overall 20% increase in ‘the ability to cope in difficult situations’.
  • Students demonstrate overall 20% increase in both their ‘ability to respect and empathise with others’, and ‘improvement in relationships with adults/peers’.

 

Case Studies

 

  • A year 9 student with 150 instances of poor behaviour and 4 internal exclusions Sept 08-Jan 09 has not been internally excluded since his return to school. (January 2009)
  • A year 10 student referred to the farm for being at risk of exclusion due to truancy level in excess of 40% has truanted no GCSE classes since her return to school.(February 2009)
  • A year 9 student who visited on a pilot visit in 2006, referred for near-exclusion, has renounced gang membership, is now on target for 5+A*-C at GCSE and aims to begin his A levels next year. His teachers attribute Jamie's Farm as the turning point for these new trends.

 

For detailed case studies and the perspectives of visiting young people and their staff, see our testimony pages.