Birmingham Settlement What Works project

1. Description of the programme
2. The study
3. Key findings
4. Points to consider

• Description of the programme
• The study
• Key findings
• Points to consider
• Full report

Description of the programme

[This is an extract from the Executive Summary of the evaluation report. Further amendments may be made to this Summary, pending review by the Evidence Hub partner]

The aim of the project was to better understand how young people who are marginalised in society think about managing their money so that financial education activities and services delivered by Birmingham Settlement can be tailored to meet their needs.

The objectives were to test how marginalised young people between the ages of 11-25 years can be effectively engaged in a financial capability curriculum in different settings across Birmingham and whether short-term interventions can have a longer-term impact on financial capability. The project was designed around a curriculum of financial capability topics in range of workshop formats to test the efficacy of different configurations of delivery with the target groups. The project exceeded its overall target numbers and was successful in reaching children and young people in the full range of proposed settings identified in the delivery schedule. 352 children and young people (CYP) participated.

The study

The project Theory of Change outcomes were refined between the Phase 1 and Phase 2 delivery periods into the following core themes: By the end of sessions children and young people will be more confident that they know

• Session 1: What it means to ‘budget’ their money
• Session 2: What ‘interest’ on savings is and how to open a savings account
• Session 3: How to make payments from a bank account
• Session 4: What ‘being in debt’ means
• Session 5: What ‘credit’ is

A combination of quantitative and qualitative data capture methods were used to conduct the evaluation and enable the triangulation of findings.

The evaluation considered the impact of project delivery on the financial capability of the children and young people who participated and the effectiveness of project delivery in different settings and formats. It also assessed what worked well in engaging vulnerable and marginalised children and young people; what barriers were overcome and how delivery improved over the period of the project.

Key findings

• Impact against MAS Outcomes (Ability and Mindset) and project process:
  • Children and young people across all settings were able to identify the benefits of having bank accounts, interest on savings and budgeting and reported that they were more likely to save and budget after sessions
  • Older young people gained knowledge of priority bills, loans and credit ratings
  • Children and young people across all settings could identify somewhere to go for help with money matters and reported learning about making more informed spending choices and keeping track of their money
  • Children and young people across all settings reported feeling more confident about managing their own money after sessions
  • Young people in Young Offender Institutions (YOIs) reported increased awareness of the consequences of previous bad debt and a desire to change their behaviour around money on release
  • New skills were developed within the delivery team to make sessions more interactive using participative tools and techniques; the approach became more responsive and relevant to each group and engagement increased as a result.
• Key learning - What worked well in engaging vulnerable and marginalised CYP:
  • Relevant and age appropriate content
  • Responsive and flexible delivery
  • Interactive approach
  • Outreach delivery
  • Financial capability knowledge
• Key learning - What factors support effective delivery:
  • A multi-disciplinary team with an appropriate skill mix
  • Reflective learning as part of the delivery process
  • Strong partnership working with delivery settings
• Implications for policy and practice:
  • Set realistic and achievable goals
  • Need for earlier and wider financial capability education
  • Project evidence supports previous research

Points to consider

• Methodological limitations:
  • The original project outcomes in the Theory of Change were too ambitious for the young people that the project targeted, and the evaluation tools too complex.
  • A new data capture tool was devised to fit with the core theme content in phase 2 which was more effective in capturing some change in ability of mindset.
  • It was difficult to gain access to young people for follow up evaluation activity so the sample size is small and findings are indicative only.

Full report

Birmingham Settlement What Works project- full report