An independent evaluation of the Hallé Support and Help in Education (SHINE) on Manchester Saturday School programme

Plain English summary of protocol

Background and study aims
The Hallé SHINE on Manchester programme is delivered by funded host schools for pupils in those schools and other local primary schools along with the Hallé Orchestra. There has been some research over the last nine years looking at the impact of similar SHINE primary school programmes, which has been promising although limited in its design. This two-year study preceded by a one year pilot (initial) phase will provide a robust evaluation of the programme by using more rigorous research design and methods. We aim to find out whether the Hallé SHINE on Manchester programme helps to improve pupils’ reading and maths skills and whether it improves attitudes to school, learning and music.

Who can participate?
Pupils in a school which is running the Hallé SHINE on Manchester programme or in a local partner school. Pupils need to attend a school that is willing to agree to all research procedures. Pupils should be disadvantaged or underachieving as nominated by their class teachers. Pilot year of the study (2012/2013 academic year) – Year 5 and Year 6 pupils. First year of the main study (2013/2014 academic year) – Year 4, Year 5 and Year 6 pupils. Second year of the main study (2014/2015 academic year) – Year 4 and Year 5 pupils. Schools in the pilot phase in the 2012/13 academic year will also participate in the main study in the 2013/14 academic year. Schools that join the project for the main study will participate in the 2013/14 and 2014/15 academic years.

What does the study involve?
Schools will run the programme for around 60 pupils in total from their own school and from other local partner schools. Each school involved in the study (both host schools and partner schools) will need to nominate a number of children (disadvantaged or underachieving) who would be eligible to attend the programme from both Year 5 and Year 6 pupils in their first year of participation and from both Year 4 and Year 5 in their second year of participation. Each year, after teachers have nominated eligible pupils from both year groups, all pupils in those year groups will complete the InCAS assessment of reading, maths and attitudes to learning. Each school will then be randomly allocated to sending the nominated pupils from one of the two year groups involved (either Year 5 or 6 nominated pupils in the first year and either Year 4 or 5 nominated pupils in the second year) to the SHINE programme. At the end of each school year all pupils in these year groups will again complete the InCAS assessment. For each year of the study the results of pupils who have attended the programme will then be compared to the results of pupils who were not in the allocated year group (and therefore did not attend the programme), in order to find out the effect that the programme had on pupils’ attainment. At the end of the study, the findings from all three years will be combined for more certainty about the effect.

What are the possible benefits and risks of participating?
Participating pupils who are in the selected year group in their school will have the opportunity to attend the Saturday School programme. The activities at the programme are designed to be interactive and fun and to engage pupils. The programme will give them extra support with academic work and may improve their literacy and numeracy skills, leading to better future outcomes. As the programme is for children who are disadvantaged or underachieving there may be a stigma attached to attending. However, eligible pupils will have the choice whether to attend the programme or not. The programme is designed to be different from school, fun and engaging, and pupils should enjoy attending. This has been the experience in other areas.

Where is the study run from?
The independent evaluation is being conducted by Durham University. The recruitment of schools and support for running the Hallé SHINE on Manchester programme is the responsibility of the SHINE Trust and the Hallé. The schools involved are in Manchester, UK.

When is the study starting and how long is it expected to run for?
This main study starts in June 2013 and runs until September 2015. There is a pilot element to the study that runs from June 2012 until September 2014.

Who is funding the study?
The Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) (UK)

Who is the main contact?
1. Principal Investigator: Professor Carole Torgerson (carole.torgerson@durham.ac.uk)
2. Trial Manager: Victoria Menzies (victoria.menzies@cem.dur.ac.uk)

Contact information

Study information

Eligibility

Locations

Countries of recruitment

• England
• United Kingdom

Study participating centre

Sponsor information

Durham University (UK)
University/education

Research Office
First Floor, Maple Block
Mountjoy Centre
Stockton Road
Durham
DH1 3LE
England
United Kingdom

Website	http://www.dur.ac.uk
"ROR"	https://ror.org/01v29qb04

Funders

Funder type

Charity

Results and Publications

Study outputs

Editorial Notes

12/09/2016: Publication reference added.