Five-star research trials of promising interventions
We have planned a total of four randomised controlled trials (RCTs) which are the gold standard of research:
SAFE Helping children achieve High need familiesFostering Changes
The trials will answer a number of crucial questions which can be generalised to most services, programmes and practitioners. These questions include:
- Does the intervention work and how?
- How long do the effects last?
- Who is it most effective with?
- How easy is it to implement well?
- Is it cost-effective?
- What level of practitioner skill is needed for the best outcomes?
Each trial looks at an innovative service development not yet available in England, and will show how they can work under real-life conditions. They will provide lessons in how to best organise services, how to engage parents, train practitioners etc which all local authorities can learn from – disseminating the learning will be an important element.
The full findings from the trials will take from three to five years to be revealed, but important early lessons are already beginning to emerge about service organisation and maximising effectiveness. This new learning will be applicable throughout the country for a range of programmes. Examples include information about the level of practitioner skill needed according to case difficulty; identifying the characteristics of cases that need additional treatment because the programme didn’t work; and information on which strategies work best to engage fathers.
Other learning will come from secondary analyses of recently published trials, publication of the assessment strategies used in the RCTs, which will be useful for practitioners throughout the country; literature reviews on issues of concern to practitioners; and what we've learned while setting up the model services in the RCTs.