Evaluation of the Alexi Project ‘Hub and Spoke’ programme of CSE service development. Final report.

Abstract

This report details the evaluation of a programme of service development as it was rolled out through 16 new services, which were designed to extend the coverage and reach of child sexual exploitation (CSE) services in England. They were funded by the Child Sexual Exploitation Funders’ Alliance (CSEFA). The 16 services were all established by voluntary sector organisations, and specialised in working with young people affected by CSE. Each service adopted a ‘Hub and Spoke’ model of service development, which involved an established voluntary sector CSE service (known as the ‘hub’), locating experienced project workers (known as ‘spokes’) in new service delivery areas. These spoke workers undertook a range of activities to improve CSE work locally, including individual casework and awareness-raising with children and young people, and consultancy, training and awareness-raising with professionals locally. The evaluation adopted a realist approach. This focusses not just on whether programmes or interventions work, but on how or why they might do so (Pawson and Tilley, 1997 ). It takes a theory-driven approach to evaluation rather than concentrating on particular types of evidence or focussing on ‘before’ and ‘after’ type data. It starts from the principle that interventions in themselves do not either ‘work’ or ‘not work’ – rather it is the people involved in them and the skills, attitudes, knowledge and approach they bring, together with the influence of context and resources, that determine the outcomes generated. The evaluation was undertaken between September 2013 and January 2017, exploring how the 16 services developed during a phased roll out. The evaluation team undertook extensive fieldwork at each site on two occasions (one visit for the final eight sites), including 276 interviews with Hub and Spoke staff, professionals locally from children’s services, police, and health, and with children and young people and parents/carers. In addition, quantitative data were collected (about numbers of young people and professionals reached), and spoke workers produced case studies about their work with young people.