Evaluation

Alongside the summary of the feedback we receive from teachers and pupils, we regularly conduct pre and post performance questionnaires to monitor changes in knowledge, attitudes and skills related to a particular topic.

We devise the questionnaires in consultation with our clients, the questions may reflect local concerns as well as building on the content of the play and workshop. Recent examples include a year 4 smoking prevention project, a year 9 sex & relationships education project and a Key Stage 3 bullying prevention project.

One of the most striking findings from all of our questionnaires is that children and young people's confidence in their teaching staff tends to increase after Caught In The Act has visited a school - the effect of seeing that the school is prepared to deal with a difficult subject leads to an increased willingness to use school as a support network.

These large-scale knowledge, attitudes and skills surveys allow us to demonstrate the impact of our work.

Having seen JUST BE GOOD TO ME, our sex & relationships education play for year 9s, 71% of pupils know that emergency contraception can be taken up to 72 hours after unprotected sex. Prior to the play only 26% of pupils thought that was the case. Before seeing the play 43% of boys agreed with the statement "A person should wait until they are in a committed relationship before having sex" . After the play, 54% of boys agreed with the statement. This is perhaps a more significant result than knowledge about emergency contraception as it suggests an attitudinal shift of a very positive nature.

Having seen WHICH WAY NOW?, our alcohol and drugs awareness play, there is a 24% increase in the knowledge about physical harm caused by alcohol and drugs. This survey has also revealed that there is a significant gender difference in knowledge relating to the laws surrounding cannabis. Although many young people are confused about cannabis and the law, 56% of girls as opposed to 32% of boys, thought that the maximum prison sentence for possession of cannabis was lower than it actually is. This reveals how much pupils would benefit from follow-up work in the school to help clarify this information. Before seeing the play 21% of boys agreed with the statement "Being drunk means you can have more fun". After the play that number had reduced to 11%, another very positive attitudinal shift.