Remedi restorative mentors: a randomized controlled trial for a youth violence mentoring intervention
| ISRCTN | ISRCTN12813855 |
|---|---|
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1186/ISRCTN12813855 |
- Submission date
- 14/04/2023
- Registration date
- 18/04/2023
- Last edited
- 07/02/2025
- Recruitment status
- No longer recruiting
- Overall study status
- Ongoing
- Condition category
- Other
Plain English summary of protocol
Background and study aims
The Restorative Mentoring (RM) project provided by Remedi aims to deal with significant levels of violent behaviours and violent crime committed by children and young people in the Greater Manchester area. In particular, the intervention focuses on children and young people aged 10-17 years who have displayed violent behaviours and/or have committed a violent offence but who are not subject to an order higher than Out of Court Disposal (OOCD) level, who will be referred to Remedi via the police and youth justice services.
Who can participate?
Children and young people aged 10-17 years who have displayed violent behaviour OR have committed a violent offence, capped at the level of an OOCD sanction. Referred via Youth Justice Services and Police.
What does this study involve?
Provision of a dedicated, trained team of 10 full-time practitioners providing intensive one-to-one support for children and young people with three primary focuses:
1. Intensive mentoring: including supported engagement with specialist mental health services
2. Restorative justice
3. Family support
Following referral and initial suitability check, participants are offered:
All:
1. Initial introduction and needs assessment
2. Supported referral on and direct support to access wider specialist mental health services
3. Impact assessment and evaluation
4. Mentoring: ‘Action Plan’ agreed with young person with SMART goals and expectations established, one-to-one support with lower level mental health needs (confidence building etc). Will last for around 12 weeks, based on 3-4 sessions per week.
Restorative justice: Provision of full Restorative Justice intervention with harmed individuals identified (if desired by harmed/victim). Restorative justice will be offered and mentioned during the mentoring work to give many opportunities to take part – using REMEDI’s empathic thinking work during the mentoring.
Restorative-based family work: to address conflicts/improve communication and support etc. will be based on a family plan including family circle work, REMEDI’s ‘Together Families’ programme and work towards a family agreement/exit plan.
What are the possible benefits and risks of participating?
Possible benefits include reduced violent behaviours, reduced levels of aggression, reduced weapon carrying (where applicable), reduction in displayed ‘behavioural problems’, reduced involvement in violent and non-violent criminal offences, reduction in gang involvement, improved relationships with friends, reduced levels of crime, reduced demand on other statutory services, reduced community tensions, and improved mental/physical health. There are no risks expected.
Where is the study run from?
Community places in the Greater Manchester Area, UK
When is the study starting and how long is it expected to run for?
September 2021 to September 2025
Who is funding the study?
Youth Endowment Fund (UK)
Who is the main contact?
Dr Amy Wells, hello@youthendowmentfund.org.uk
Contact information
Principal Investigator
Room 2133
University House
University of Birmingham
Edgbaston
Birmingham
B15 2TT
United Kingdom
| Phone | +44 (0)121 414 6658 |
|---|---|
| s.bandyopadhyay@bham.ac.uk |
Study information
| Study design | Single-centre interventional single-blinded randomized controlled study |
|---|---|
| Primary study design | Interventional |
| Secondary study design | Randomised controlled trial |
| Study setting(s) | Community |
| Study type | Prevention |
| Participant information sheet | Not available in web format, please use contact details to request a participant information sheet |
| Scientific title | A randomized control trial for a mentoring intervention aimed at diverting youth with violent behaviour from the criminal justice system |
| Study acronym | RRMPRC |
| Study objectives | This randomised control trial investigates the effectiveness of the Remedi mentoring intervention, which aims to divert children and young people aged 10-17 who have exhibited violent behaviours from the criminal justice system. |
| Ethics approval(s) | Approved 25/03/2022, University of Birmingham Humanities and Social Sciences Ethical Review Committee (Edgbaston, B15 2TT, UK; +44 (0)121414 8825; s.l.cottam@bham.ac.uk), ref: ERN_22-0117 |
| Health condition(s) or problem(s) studied | Prevention of further violent behaviours and violent crimes committed by children and young people aged 10-17 |
| Intervention | The intervention will be offered to children and young people aged 10-17 who have committed a violent offence or have displayed violent behaviour identified by the police and youth justice services. Once referred, the participants will be randomized 1:1 into the two arms of the study, the control and treatment groups. The researchers will use the statistical software Matlab to implement the randomisation. Allocation concealment will be ensured because Matlab will be operated by the University of Birmingham researchers, who will not release the randomisation outcome until the child or young person has been recruited into the trial and gone through the initial questionnaire phase, which takes place after all baseline measurements have been completed. Central randomisation will be used, as the Remedi administrators who are involved in CYP recruitment, will have to contact the University of Birmingham researchers to receive the allocation of the CYP. Participants and mentors will be blind to the randomisation procedure, while the University of Birmingham staff responsible for the randomisation will be blind to the questionnaire answers. The control group will receive "Restorative Choices", a short mentoring scheme which tends to consist of four sessions usually lasting 1-2 hours (depending on the attention abilities of participants). The treatment group will receive "Restorative Mentoring" which consists of three components: mentoring, restorative justice, and restorative-based family work. "Restorative Mentoring" will last for around 12 weeks, based on 3-4 sessions per week. |
| Intervention type | Behavioural |
| Primary outcome measure | The contact of the CYP with the police or youth justice services, including reoffending, rearrest or involvement as a perpetrator, victim or witness. Such contact will be measured by administrative police data, 6 months and 12 months after the intervention ends. |
| Secondary outcome measures | Behavioural and emotional problems measured using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire at 6 months and 12 months after the intervention ends |
| Overall study start date | 01/09/2021 |
| Completion date | 30/09/2025 |
Eligibility
| Participant type(s) | Other |
|---|---|
| Age group | Child |
| Lower age limit | 10 Years |
| Upper age limit | 17 Years |
| Sex | Both |
| Target number of participants | 502 |
| Total final enrolment | 412 |
| Key inclusion criteria | Referrals will consist of any young person (aged 10-17 years) in receipt of any out-of-court disposal (at any level) who has committed a violent offence in Greater Manchester Once referred to Remedi, children and young people must provide written, informed consent (or assent if relevant) before any study procedures occur. The same process would apply for parents/carers where CYP are living with a parent or carer. |
| Key exclusion criteria | 1. CYP who are unable to take part or who fail to engage with the intervention 2. CYP should not participate in other youth support programmes at the same time as the intervention |
| Date of first enrolment | 24/04/2023 |
| Date of final enrolment | 28/02/2025 |
Locations
Countries of recruitment
- England
- United Kingdom
Study participating centre
Manchester
S1 4FW
United Kingdom
Sponsor information
Charity
1st Floor
64 Great Eastern St
London
EC2A 3QR
England
United Kingdom
| Phone | +44 (0)7414405031 |
|---|---|
| hello@youthendowmentfund.org.uk | |
| Website | https://youthendowmentfund.org.uk/ |
Funders
Funder type
Charity
No information available
Results and Publications
| Intention to publish date | 31/10/2025 |
|---|---|
| Individual participant data (IPD) Intention to share | Yes |
| IPD sharing plan summary | Other |
| Publication and dissemination plan | Planned publication in a high-impact peer-reviewed journal |
| IPD sharing plan | No later than 3 years after the trial, the researchers will deliver the following for sharing purposes: 1. A dataset to the Department for Education containing only the personally identifying data (i.e. name, address etc) for the CYP in the treatment and control groups, with a list of random reference numbers. 2. The evaluation data set and random reference numbers to ONS (https://www.ons.gov.uk/) (no directly identifying data will be included). The researchers have no further information on ONS’s publication plans. |
Study outputs
| Output type | Details | Date created | Date added | Peer reviewed? | Patient-facing? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Protocol (other) | 30/04/2024 | 07/02/2025 | No | No | |
| Statistical Analysis Plan | 06/02/2024 | 07/02/2025 | No | No |
Editorial Notes
07/02/2025: The following changes were made to the study record:
1. Protocol and statistical analysis plan uploaded.
2. The overall study end date was changed from 31/03/2025 to 30/09/2025.
3. Total final enrolment added.
14/04/2023: Trial's existence confirmed by the Ethics Committee at the University of Birmingham.
