Evaluation of Pause Plymouth
Client: Plymouth City Council
Duration: 3 years
Funder: Plymouth City Council
Evaluation approach
The evaluation aimed to provide a qualitative insight of the experiences of the women receiving the intervention, the staff delivering the intervention, broader system engagement and the impact of the Social Outcomes Partnership (SOP) commissioning model. The evaluation included conducting qualitative interviews with the first two communities of women involved, as well as the practitioners delivering the programme, both at the outset and towards completion of the programme, as well as interviews with Pause Plymouth Project Board stakeholders.
Outcomes and impacts
The evaluation generated valuable insights into the experiences of women participating in Pause Plymouth and the impact of delivering the programme through a Social Outcomes Partnership. Findings informed future development of the service, strengthened Plymouth’s position as a pioneer in outcomes-based funding, and enabled evidence-based refinements to the Pause model to maximise its effectiveness and impact.
Overview
Pause Plymouth was a voluntary programme for women who had experienced, or were at risk of, repeated removals of children from their care. Pause provided individual, bespoke and holistic support that aimed to empower women to work towards their goals, developing strategies that could help meet the unique needs of each individual woman, motivating the woman and mobilising resources to help her tackle the root causes of destructive patterns, develop new skills and avoid further trauma including future care proceedings. Practitioners assisted women in navigating the myriad of agencies and services available to them and helped to create a space for them to reflect, learn and aspire; helping them to avoid or break this cycle.
The Social Research Unit was commissioned to conduct an evaluation of the Pause Plymouth programme.