Key Aims
• Address disengagement in boys, particularly disadvantaged boys
• Build confidence, resilience, motivation, and academic self-belief
• Provide safe space for emotional expression and student voice
• Strengthen links between boys’ experiences and school practice
There was strong school engagement demonstrating a strong appetite for the programme’ s themes. Student voice emerged as a major success: boys reported feeling more comfortable expressing emotions, sharing views, and engaging in discussion. Facilitators developed strong rapport with groups, with students praising the engaging, relatable, and supportive delivery style. The inclusion of real-life stories and interactive activities actively supported emotional openness with many students commenting on them and most importantly, there was anecdotal evidence that schools began acting on student feedback, showing early impact beyond the sessions.
From Student Outcomes( Survey Analysis) A matched dataset of 127 learners allowed robust pre – post analysis using:
• Paired t-tests( to check significance)
• Cohen’ s d( size of impact)
• Pearson correlation( baseline – post relationship reliability)
Significant improvements across combined Year 9 & 10 groups included: 1. Resilience – Q2( p =. 0011) 2. Academic agency – Q4( p =. 003) 3. Motivation to study – Q5( p <. 001, strongest effect)
Year 9 showed the clearest and most consistent gains, with significant improvements in:
• dealing with setbacks
• academic control
• motivation( Cohen’ s d around 0.3 each)
Year 10 showed positive but not statistically significant gains, likely due to:
• smaller sample size
• greater variation within the cohort
Qualitative comments reinforced the data, with 67 students choosing to provide open comments with strong themes included feeling more open, supported, understood, motivated, and engaged. There was some feedback that some groups experienced or perceived lower engagement linked to school culture or teacher buy-in( e. g. they felt that their concerns were not going to be listened to.) This is definitely an area that needs enhancing in future iterations to ensure impact for the learners.
It is important to note that, as the programme was a pilot, programme adaptations across the year meant session content varied across cohorts.
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